Odisha farmers join global mobilization movements to demand a climate deal benefitting Small Farmers

More than three hundred farmers in Nuapada and Bargarh districts of Odisha, India organised a “March To the Crop Field” on the Global Mobilization Day for CoP 21

As the global leaders prepare to strike a new deal to fight climate change during the Conference of Parties 21 (CoP21) meeting at Paris that starts tomorrow, villagers from drought affected districts of Nuapada and Bargarh organized a “March to the Crop Field” asking the world leaders to make a definitive climate deal that reduces global warming and greenhouse gases and support small and marginal farmers in adapting to negative impacts of climate change.

This March was organised at two places – Kharamal village in Bargarh district and Kushmal in Nuappada district – where about three hundred villagers – including women and children participated to send out their message to the world governments to save small farmers from vagaries of climate change by signing a strong climate deal in Paris.

The villagers have demanded that:

1. Small and marginal farmers are facing the maximum impacts of climate change and as a result are losing on their livelihoods, resorting to distressed migration and even committing suicides due to crop failures and other reasons.  We want the governments at CoP21 to finalize a deal that arrests global warming and helps small farmers to fight the impacts through schemes and programmes suitable for the small farmers.

2. We want the governments to support local agro-ecology based farming projects and programmes.

3. We want the governments to support decentralized water harvesting and management systems.

4. We want the governments to end corporate control of the farm sector including their control of our seeds.

5. We want the governments to promote organic farming.

6. We want the governments to ensure local farm based enterprises owned and operated by small and marginal farmers with all kind of support provided to them.

7. We want the governments to ensure best remuneration to farmers for their produces and insure all crops and farmers irrespective of land ownership, with adequate and dignified insurance amounts.

8. We want the governments to provide assured irrigation, cold storage facilities and ensured marketing of farm produces to the farmers.

9. We want the governments to help the farmers fight with all sorts of disasters such as droughts, floods and cyclones and support farmers in their coping and resilience efforts.

10. To strengthen climate change adaptation programmes like the MGNREGA.

Water Initiatives Odisha (WIO) and Mahanadi River Waterkeeper facilitated this action along with Vikash, Khariar; CANSA and Action2015 India as part of a global mobilization day being organized throughout the world by thousands of common people including small farmers, landless labourers, fisherfolks, forest dwellers, concerned citizens, social activists, civil society organisations and others who want the global leaders to take a strong decision to deal with climate change.

Water Initiatives Odisha (WIO) is a state level coalition of civil society organisations, farmers, academia, media and other concerned, which has been working on water, environment and climate change issues in the state for more than two and half decades now.

Mahanadi River Waterkeeper, a member of Global Waterkeeper Alliance, works towards conservation of River Mahanadi in India