Necessity of a comprehensive law to ensure right to food

WHEN we talk about right to food, at first instance, people gets confined to the idea of providing food assistance to the poor as a sign of kindness to the poor where approach appears as faulty. Providing food assistance to the poor by the state is not a charity work, it is part of right of the poor people to get direct food considering that they are in the situation of not being able to secure their food by themselves. 

However, right to food is not only limited to food related social safety net schemes. Right to food implies something more than providing direct food assistance. Substantial part of right to food remains with the state responsibility to adopt appropriate legal and policy measures so that people can feed themselves either by producing food by them or by buying food from the market. Right to food essentially means that there must have appropriate remedy measurers either through compensation or penalty or any other appropriate means when state or any third party make any obstacle by any means that affect food intake situation of the individual or the  group. All these essential components of right to food are clearly stipulated in various international human rights instruments, and are widely accepted by both states and non state actors.   

Now, if we take few instances from last one and half month, we can see how farmers' across the country whose livelihoods are absolutely depended on the farming are being badly affected due to continued political blockade. Since safe and secured communication is being hampered due to violent observation of the blockade, farmers are failing to supply their products to the markets. They are being compelled to sell their produces at the low price pushing them in loss and financial crisis.  To quote from news published in The Daily Star, “We grow crops to make some money. Let alone that, I am now in deficit,” added the crestfallen 25-year-old farmer, who incurred losses of Tk.70,000 for the price crash of cauliflower alone. He had to sell the winter vegetable for as low as Tk 40 a maund (40 kg), which in normal times would have been Tk 300-400.

Another widely circulated newspaper Prothom Alo reported, 'about 60 to 70 percent of the vegetables produced around the year in the country, are grown in winter. About 40% of this is harvested in January and February. Due to the political turmoil, the farmers have almost stopped gathering vegetables from the field. Where the vegetables are not being sold, they are rotting. Tomatoes, brinjal, beans and cauliflower are being sold cheaply.

On the other hand, due to lack of supply of food items, urban mass are experiencing high food price. In such experiences, it is very obvious that the losses farmers are being incurred due to political blockade will have direct impact on the food intake scenario of their family. These losses will also have impact on meeting other essential needs of them and their family members. An assessment study on the impact of 2013 hartal and blockades on food security situation of vulnerable poor conducted by UN Food Security Cluster reported that food security of the vulnerable groups worsened significantly during the hartal and blockade period. 

However, right to food is not elaborated in any of our legislation, and there is no readily available direct remedial measure for the poor farmers and urban consumers to ask for remedy. 

That's where the necessity of a comprehensive law on right to food lies. If there has a law recognising that any actions preventing farmers' existing opportunity of managing their food security would be considered as a violation of the right to food and affected people would be entitled to appropriate remedy, farmers' and other affected groups could go for redress for violations of one of the most significant human rights closely linked with right to life and existence. 

The writer is human rights advocate.