Philippines: Small-scale agriculture and indigenous rights for food sovereignty

Indigenous Peoples’ rights to food sovereignty and land could mitigate the risk of food insecurity, even during a pandemic crisis.

In Southern Philippines, a Taboli-Manobo indigenous community faced severe food shortages during the COVID-19 lockdown. For them, the impacts of the pandemic are worsened by the large-scale coffee plantation agribusiness that grabbed their lands and the lack of governmental support.

Yet the millions of small farms like theirs across the country are more environmentally friendly and help ensure food sovereignty through indigenous farming practices. With Friends of the Earth Philippines (Legal Rights & Natural Resources Center), communities are demanding recognition of indigenous land rights to resist the expansion of industrial agriculture.

Agroecology for food sovereignty has been a clear response to the systemic crisis deepened by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this series of videos, six Friends of the Earth groups show how agroecological practices have been the fundamental basis to build sustainable solutions with solidarity at the centre.