On October 16 of this year, the Festival for Food Sovereignty will be held on the esplanade of the MAAC in Guayaquil. That day was declared World Food Day by the FAO, and Food Sovereignty Day by the peasant social movement.
The purpose of the festival is to raise public awareness about the risks of chemical industrial agriculture, as well as the damage to public health and the environment caused by agrotoxins and genetically modified crops. In fact, the alternatives proposed by the agroecological movement to recover the value of Family Farming and the diversity of healthy and authentic products from our land will be demonstrated and explained.
During the Festival, the Ecuadorian Agroecological Collective, which brings together thousands of farmers who cultivate the land using organic methods, will present a Manifesto that includes its aspirations and proposals to guide Ecuador towards the Agriculture of the Future. The changes required in the country's agricultural policy and food system will be presented.
These issues are highly topical because the National Assembly is currently debating a bill called Agrobiodiversity, Seeds and Agroecological Promotion, which if approved would provide incentives for the production of organic foods and would open up spaces for urban consumers who wish to eat well to do so.
According to spokespersons for the Collective, “The issue of food is of utmost importance for national political events, since a large part of the illnesses suffered by the population derive from poor nutrition and the model of agriculture with synthetic chemicals. The commercial distribution channels (markets and supermarkets) give a lot of space to industrialized and processed products, so that Ecuadorian consumers do not have the option of accessing quality food. However, there are already more than 200 commercial initiatives, such as fairs and community baskets, where agroecological products can be obtained directly from peasant hands.”
The Festival will begin from 8:00 to 10:00 am, with an allegorical parade that will run from Centenario Park to Malecón 2000. At least 5,000 people will participate in the parade, who will then gather at the MAAC to enjoy the fair of agroecological products, and the artistic and cultural festival.
The largest Pamba Mesa in Ecuador will be held here. This is a public exchange and sharing of the most diverse foods and preparations of our land that will come from all provinces and regions of the country.
For more details please contact
Ricardo Cevallos
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