Kathmandu: The three-day international conference on Food Sovereignty and Peasants Rights has concluded in the capital on Monday issuing a 16-point Kathmandu Declaration.

The conference organised by the National Farmers’ Commission, a government institution established for safeguarding the Peasants’ rights, was attended by more than 450 peasants, agricultural experts, representatives of different ministries of Nepal government and international delegates from 11 different countries.

The international conference was inaugurated by the Rt. Hon. Prime minister KP Sharma Oli, as a chief guest of the program, while Hon. Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, ex-Prime-minister and the Chairman of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) addressed the conference as the Chief guest of the concluding session.

The conference, organised with the mission to promote the exchange of knowledge, expertise and national experience on farmers’ issues, has demanded from the governments to establish powerful and executive constitutional commissions in various countries for protecting the rights of peasants, farmers and agricultural workers towards ensuring food sovereignty.

Likewise, the conference has demanded true implementation of agrarian reforms for ensuring right of the tillers, peasants and food producers in all the natural and productive resources.

Similarly, it has demanded drafting and implementing the Peasants’ Rights Act to ensure small and marginal farmer’s rights. Land should be recognised as a productive resource and tillers of the land should be provided a chance to genuinely carry out farming, and the absentee landlordism should be discouraged, the statement read.

It has further called upon promoting cooperatives and collective models in agriculture production, processing and distribution so as to increase the production and productivity, improving the livelihood of the peasants.

Similarly, it has demanded promotion of organic agriculture, ensuring justice and equality for women and subsidy in production, processing and marketing of food by the small farmers.

It has demanded a ban on MNCs and FDI in agriculture, asked for provisioning minimum support price for small farmer’s production and implementing ILO Convention in agriculture sector.

It has also called for a pension scheme for the peasants based on their contribution.