SHILLONG, July 28: Chairperson of North East Slow Food and Agrobiodiversity Society (NESFAS) and Coordinator of The Indigenous Partnership (TIP), Phrang Roy, on Wednesday, along with others, represented the indigenous people globally, defending and promoting their food systems, at the preparatory even (Pre-Summit) for the Food Systems Summit scheduled for September, organised by the UN from July 26-28 virtually.
In four different sessions at the Pre-Summit on Tuesday, Roy highlighted how the indigenous people’s food and knowledge systems continue to be marginalised in policy-makings despite visible benefits and results while also conveying strong belief that the indigenous food systems are the game-changers which the UN is looking for in the upcoming Food Summit.
Emphasising on this, Roy called on the UN to acknowledge the same.
In the first session titled ‘Ensuring No One is Left Behind: Equitable Livelihoods in Food Systems’, Roy was quoted saying, “Indigenous people have been shouting from the hilltops that our indigenous food systems are game-changers and they need acknowledgement and specific support. Unfortunately, no one has seriously listened to us so far.”
The NESFAS chairperson cited an example of how a recent study on 18 villages in the North East showed virtually non-existent severe food insecurity among the villages.
He reiterated that while indigenous peoples are invulnerable, they are often put in a position of vulnerability in many countries worldwide.
“Often, this exploitation of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is due to the absence of proper laws that protect their lands,” he said, while advocating an intercultural approach in education in schools and universities for this to change.
In all the sessions, Roy was addressed with the Khasi prefix “Bah” instead of the wonted “Mr.” or “Dr.” in a gesture to acknowledge the indigenous way of referring to people.
Roy also made a rallying call to confront the global food industry that remains major contributors to the current social, environmental, and economic crises that are affecting the entire planet.
As custodians and enhancers of 80 per cent of biodiversity globally, Phrang called on the UN multiple times in his sessions to categorically acknowledge the food system of 470 million indigenous peoples worldwide.
He also requested the UN to set up an autonomously managed Indigenous Peoples Trust Funds to revitalise indigenous peoples’ food systems. He also voiced his strong support for women empowerment citing examples of how matrilineal indigenous communities are socially egalitarian, economically balanced, and politically based on consensus building. “They (women) can be our beacons of hope to build back better with women’s agency, voice and leadership,” he added.