We, peasants, farmers, farmworkers, Indigenous Peoples, fisherfolk, pastoralists, herders, rural women, rural youth and children, along with our organizations, coalitions, networks, and allies in civil society organizations, reaffirm the anti-imperialist position and the centrality of the peasant struggle for land, food, and justice in achieving sustainable agriculture and food for all. 

We recognize that the clear onslaught of imperialism in its many forms in the Global South, has caused immense poverty, hunger, has displaced millions of rural poor from their homes and communities, and has impeded their development as nations.  

We register our collective objection and resistance to US-led wars and militarism; its expanding corporate and private capture of the world’s resources such as lands and waters, and; the co-optation of climate-recovery solutions for data-mining, data-management, and appropriating resources for such. 

We oppose the US-backed Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinians, Lebanese, Syrians, and Yemenis that continues to expand especially in Gaza despite reaching ceasefire agreements. And we decry its pivot to Asia Pacific, priming the region for war against China with ally states by building its military bases, clinching security agreements and military partnerships that embolden “counter-insurgency” programs, and holding big war exercises. 

We reiterate that imperialist expansion and capture of communities and food systems facilitated through technology, greenwashing, and supposed “carbon-offsetting” practices put market interest first before genuine development. The infrastructure needed for these  so-called “sustainable” and “smarter alternatives” displace  peasants and the rural poor from their land, uses up water resources and critical minerals needed by countries to build industries for their own development. These so-called “green-technologies” are not just directly involved in land grabbing and appropriating prime agricultural lands, forests and Indigenous Peoples’ sacred mountains for commercial and private use, they also rob our people of the right to development and the right to self-determination.  

We condemn governments’ sweeping neoliberal programs that convert land from sites of self-sustaining food production to serving corporate agricultural demand for profit that not only disrupt established farming practices but also displace and further marginalize underserved communities. 

We highlight the cases of rural people fleeing their homes and farms due to militarization in the countryside and how this is precisely coordinated with counterinsurgency campaigns by governments to inhibit peoples’ political expressions. Making use of advanced technology including its massive data gathering to surveil those engaged in agricultural-based labor, governments and its favored giant corporations collaborate in militarizing rural areas that help facilitate land grabs for so-called green projects, mining of critical minerals, and the corporate capture of food systems. It is clear that military expansion and agricultural digitalization go hand-in-hand in rationalizing the profit-driven production rather than collective nutrition and national development.

We clarify our position for technological advancements that genuinely uplift peoples’ lives and fairly distribute the fruit of peoples labor rather than prioritize private profit and becoming a subsidiary market for weapons development for war and mass coercion. In this case, war has even come to weaponize hunger itself. The technological developments of the latter kind must be clearly revealed as destructive, exploitative, and severely damaging to both the people and the environment. 

And lastly, we push and call for international solidarity of rural peoples and peasants with progressive pro-farmers organizations in the Global North to build and strengthen a broad resistance to the corporate driven climate crisis which is being packaged today to push for neoliberal reforms at the state level, as well as to the wars and militarism that ravage rural communities in the Global South. 

In this year’s Day of the Landless, we, the undersigned, reaffirm our commitment to arousing, organizing and mobilizing our ranks and the broad peasant masses as a formidable force against imperialism. Only through our collective efforts and action can we achieve just demands for land, food and justice. 

Our calls: 

Peasants rise for land!

Intensify peasant struggle against imperialist plunder, war and militarism!

Assert our rights to our resources!

Reclaim our food systems! 

#DOTL2025

In 2023, according to the State of Food Security and Nutrition, World Report 2024 released by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN, an estimated 28.9 percent of the global population that is, 2.33 billion people were moderately or severely food insecure. This include 10.7 percent of the population – 864 million people who faced severe levels of food insecurity.

The crippling situation has not been created in just a day – it is the consistent promotion of imperialist neoliberal policies that have pushed for trade liberalization in food and agriculture, not to mention the killer conditionalities coerced by the IMF standby agreements in many parts of the world.

A significant growth, 16.8 percent has been reported in the production of wheat, cotton, and rice crops, and the sector improved its share in gross domestic production; agricultural sector growth of 6.3 percent was the highest in 19 years. The government of Pakistan continues to earn huge foreign exchange reserves, all through the back-breaking labor of peasants, a vast majority of whom include landless farmers, including women. However, it is indeed shameful that poverty rate in Pakistan has increased from 38.6 percent to 39.5 percent over the last five years, with food prices sky high, making basic food items to be beyond the reach of the poverty-stricken masses.

While the peasantry, and the urban poor face hunger and malnutrition, the government guards the interest of traders and investors such that it continues to import wheat grains from abroad, while pushing prices down for local wheat, pushing small and landless farmers in debt and bondage, left to face hunger and misery.

With more than 24 standby agreements with the IMF, the nation’s debt keeps soaring; it has increased by around Rs. 4.64 trillion in the past months. While the people of Pakistan suffer from monstrous policies protecting the imperialist and local elites, the scenario is no different in other part of the world.

The ongoing imperialist wars of aggression in occupied Palestine for the past 12 months has now spread to Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and is fast marching toward Iran. The destruction of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank knows no bounds; 70% of agricultural land being wasted through direct bombing and toxic chemicals; farmers are killed persecuted and their means of production such as water wells, trees including centuries old olive trees are deliberately destroyed; fisher folk are forbidden access to the seas. All this is part of the genocide happening in Occupied Palestine, and has been part and parcel of the US-led Zionist fascist regime for more than 7 decades.

The unchecked carbon emissions from our colonizers over many centuries has given rise to climate crisis. Globally, and particularly in Pakistan, it is starkly evident that climate change has vastly negative impact on food security especially for rural communities and a variety of climate change impacts such as floods, droughts, and hurricanes.

The solution lies in not putting the country up for sale and taking dictation from international financial institution like IMF, but for building self-reliance in food and agriculture and national industry. It is critical at this juncture that we adopt food sovereignty as the base for our food and agriculture policy; making the voice and decision making of small and landless farmers, especially women in policy development and implementing, making just and equitable land distribution a priority can help the country to break the shackle of debt and pauperization, and also help in establishing a national industry, prosperity and food security.

Release by: Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT)

In a press release, the PKMT stated that it strongly opposed the recent move of the Technical Advisory Committee, operating under the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), Islamabad, wherein it had approved and recommended commercialisation of two high-yielding GM varieties of sugar cane; insect-resistant transgenic sugar cane (CABB-IRS) and herbicide-tolerant transgenic sugar cane (CABB-HTS) developed by the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. It now needs final approval of the NBC.

“The PKMT denounced this attempt. This will further allow the corporate sector to control our food and agricultural production. The approval for GM sugar cane commercialisation will be disastrous for the country, especially for the agriculture sector. It will be the first GM food crop in Pakistan,” officials of the non-profit organisation stated in a press release.

The world, they said, had already witnessed the failure of Bt cotton crop in India; farmers had borne the brunt of the Bt cotton, and the rapidly falling cotton yield in Pakistan was also a testimony to the fact.

“It’s also to be noted that GM crops are banned in several European Union (EU) countries as well as Turkey and many other countries.”

They recalled that in 2019, there was an attempt to introduce maize seed in Pakistani market, but the Ministry of National Food Security & Research distanced itself from the approval of genetically modified maize.

“Now, after the failure of Bt Cotton, and disapproval of GM maize, another attempt is being made, which will only further undermine farmer’s collective rights over seeds and agriculture production. There is no doubt that the corporate sector for the past many years has been lobbying for the commercial use of GM crops.”

“Granting of patent rights to mega-transnational corporations springs from the TRIPs (trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights) agreement of the WTO. The PKMT reiterates its demand for a moratorium on genetically modified seeds and foods in the country and immediate stoppage of GM sugar cane promotion.”

The organisation also referred to the petition filed by various civil society organisations against the Amended Seed Act 2015, and demanded an immediate hearing of the petition pertaining to matters to farmers’ collective rights to seeds.

“It’s well known that sugar cane is used for ethanol production. This move will exacerbate the extremely dire situation of environmental catastrophe, not to mention the increasing pauperisation of small and landless farmers. We strongly urge the National Biosafety Committee to disapprove the two varieties,” the organisation stated.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2024

The Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT) and Roots for Equity in collaboration with Asian Peasant Coalition (APC), Pesticide Action Network (PAN AP) are marking the “World Hunger Day’ on October 16, 2023 – a day which is considered to be World Food Day. A peasant gathering (JALSA) has been organized in Ghotki, Sindh.

According to a recent report by UNICEF and the World Bank, about 333 million children (one in every six children) worldwide live in extreme poverty, while 62 million children in South Asia are living in extreme poverty. The World Food Programme estimates that 345 million people worldwide suffer from severe hunger, while according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the number of people suffering from hunger in the world in 2022 was between 691 million and 783 million. According to a recent UN statement, another 745 million people could suffer from severe hunger this year. Apparently, we are in the 21st century, and it seems that high technological advances are also taking place, but the world is facing increasing hunger, with rural women being the most disadvantaged, who are not only suffering from hunger and malnutrition but also deprived of proper employment and ownership of their personal land, especially agricultural land.

Given that Pakistan has been ranked 99th out of 129 nations in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) report, where the level of hunger has been described as serious; food agencies such as World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), believe that more than eight million people are expected to experience “high levels of acute food insecurity.”

The situation has not been created in just a day – it is the consistent promotion of neoliberal policies that have pushed for trade liberalization in food and agriculture that have resulted in such a dire situation.

The intense land concentration, with just 5% feudal families having control over 67% of land is of course also a critical reason behind not only rising hunger but the intense indebtedness of the country. The small number of elite who govern our country has pushed it into an abyss of debt and pauperization; at the moment Pakistan has a debt of $85 billion which has resulted in a severe economic crisis forcing austerity measures on the people. The government has been begging for aid from different sources, and since beggars cannot be choosers agricultural land is being offered for lease to foreign entities. The government has created entities such as the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) that have an extraordinary presence of the armed forces. The SIFC is paying particular attention to privatization and investment, especially in food and agriculture, and will result in massive food exports. In addition, there is now land also being leased for corporate farming, with corporations being given priority over farmers, especially small and landless farmers. This is only going to have further grave consequences for rural communities, the bedrock of our society.

As a result of the IMF conditionalities, the prices of fuel have risen astronomically making it difficult for small farmers to continue food production. The rising debt of the farming community will end in exacerbating landlessness in the country.

The solution lies in not putting the country up for sale but in building self-reliance in food agriculture and national industry. Corporations and foreign direct investment will only leach the country of its resources, while reaping rich profits off our land and labor. It is critical at this juncture that we adopt food sovereignty as the base for our food and agriculture policy, with center space given to small and landless farmers, especially women in policy development and implementing. There is no doubt that by making just and equitable land distribution a priority can help the country to break the shackles of debt and pauperization, and also help in establishing a national industry.

Let us fight for Food Sovereignty, for Climate Justice, for National Sovereignty!

Released by: Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT);

We mark the Rural Women’s Day with grave concern! Though we are now in the 21st Century, and there is high technological development, the world is facing rising hunger, with rural women being at the highest rung of being the most marginalized, suffering from hunger,  hunger wages, and hunger for a piece of land of our own.

Women farmers, though almost all are landless are the backbone of the agriculture economy. Seeds cannot be sown, land cannot be looked after, livestock cannot be cared and bred, harvests cannot be cut without women. In Pakistan, all food crops, especially wheat are harvested by women’s back-breaking labor, almost all cotton is picked by women, and livestock is cared for by women but even after this hard labor, the rural women peasants are the most marginalized in society.

The imperialist world order dictates neoliberalism as a panacea for our misery and enforced poverty, but in fact, it is the base of our pauperization. From colonization to the present day, we the real tillers of land have been forcefully pushed off our lands. Feudal lords retain control of our land, and with the rise of imperialism, more and more corporate hegemony can be seen being imposed on food and agricultural systems.

It is the fossil fuel, profit-greedy production system that has now brought about the climate crisis. But imperialist powers are unwilling to change the unsustainable production and consumption, and we are left to suffer the intense destruction and damage of our land, homes, and livestock. Not only climate crisis, we also suffer the burden of an astronomical national debt which we never took! The austerity measures imposed by the IMF and World Bank are further crippling the food and agricultural production system.

Our government instead of leasing our land for the export of food should stand up to the capitalist nations demanding debt cancellation, ensuring just and equitable land distribution to the peasants, especially women, and ensuring safe and nutrition food for all that is free not only from chemical and genetic pollution but also free from corporate control. In short, we ask for a policy orientation that would fulfill our demands for food sovereignty, climate justice, economic and social justice, and accountability to the people.

Women Demand Food Sovereignty!

Women Demand Just and Equitable Land Distribution!

Women Demand Climate Justice!

Released by: Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT)

The initiative not only provides the most vulnerable some protection from the cold, but also provides women with a livelihood of PKR 7,600 per woman. We have pledged 600 razais for affected families and have been able to generate funds for 300 razais. We are asking for donations to be able to reach our target of at least 600 razais, if not more. Donations can be made at:

Account title: Society for Roots for Equity.
Account no.: 1005 0081 3001 9401
Bank Al Habib Zamzama Branch, Karachi, Pakistan
IBAN No: PK64BAHL1005008130019401
SWIFT Code: BAHLPKKA

Pakistan has been among the top 10 countries most affected by climate crisis for the past several years. This climate crisis is not natural but the result of the fossil-fuel based capitalist production system, a system driven by imperialist imposition of domination. In the past few years, the devastation and suffering of the people due to climate crisis have been increasing intensely: these include floods, droughts and other intense weather patterns occurring almost every year from 2007 to 2022. The devastation of the recent heavy rains in Pakistan is considered to be more destructive than the 2010 floods, in which more than 20 million people were affected and more than 2,000 people had died; it needs to be pointed out that the  floods have as yet to pass through most of the country.

According to NDMA, the National Disaster Management Authority of Pakistan, the number of people affected by the recent heavy rains and floods is increasing day by day across the country. Millions across the country including Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been displaced, with their homes, livestock and crops washed away, and thousands having lost their businesses. There is acute shortage of food leaving thousands to face hunger. The province of Sindh has been particularly affected with nearly all standing crops destroyed including rice, corn, cotton, sugarcane and vegetables. According to the report of PDMA, Sindh many the districts of Sindh province including Dadu, Khairpur, Shaheed Benazir Abad (Nawab Shah), Larkana, Nowshehro Feroze, Shikarpur, Sanghar, Kashmore, Ghotki and Mirpur Khas and others have been severely affected by the recent incessant rains and life has been paralyzed. There have been 402 casualties, 1,055 people suffering from injuries and a loss of more than15,000 livestock. Just in the Sindh province, 3,269,608 acres of agricultural land has damaged and crops were destroyed.

The above figures are issued by the Departments of Government of Sindh and are based on the reports so far, while there is a risk and fear that these figures may increase with time and may not reveal the actual figures right now. The actual assessment and estimate of the damage caused by these rains can be carried out only after the disaster has passed.

Disease is breaking out in humans as well as animals. Thousands of people are stranded in the open, on highways or on roadsides waiting for relief. According to the members Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT), coming from various districts government aid in affected areas is negligible, with the government’s incompetence and unresponsiveness clearly to be seen.

No doubt that the severe devastation through climate change is not only in Pakistan but suffered by many countries, especially countries in the global south. The responsibility of this crisis rests entirely on the capitalist countries of the first world and their corporations as their carbon emissions have not only been historically very high and remain unchecked till now; it should be noted that Pakistan’s share in carbon emissions is less than one percent, The industrial countries refuse to take responsibility for the severe destruction and suffering through climate crisis in our countries and refuse to include payment of loss and damage to climate negotiations. The meagre aid provided does not allow rebuilding of people’s lives and livelihood. The working class of Pakistan, especially the small and landless farmers, are paying a very heavy cost for the carbon emissions of fossil-fuel dependent capitalist production of rich industrial nations.

Pakistan is suffering not only from an environmental crisis but also a severe economic crisis, pursuing false promises of industrial development, increased trade and prosperity; what has prospered is the debt burden of the country with heavy interest payments being made to the IMF and other commercial lenders. It is well understood that there can be no chance of overcoming the debt trap, the escalating prices of basic necessities including basic food items under the present imperialist system leaving peasants and the working class to face hunger, poverty, death and destruction.

The country was already reeling under the stress of an acute economic crisis and has had to now deal with severe destruction caused by climate change. In order to be able to face the current economic and climatic calamity, there is an urgent need for the people to unite and struggle against these profit-making capitalist and feudal institutions and class.

Immediate demands of Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek are:

1. Speedy provision of food, adequate shelter and medical aid facilities should be arranged immediately for the affected people;
2. Accurate assessment of damages caused by rains and floods and proper awareness should be given to the public.
3. Houses and shops etc. should be constructed free of cost. Also, immediate relief should be increased from PKR 25,000 to PKR 100,000, while carrying out proper assessment of losses suffered and compensated accordingly.
4. All loans taken by small farmers should be waived and/or paid by the government. Also, interest-free loans and other facilities should be provided for the future.
5. Proper arrangements should be made for addressing climate emergencies in the coming years by identifying the real drivers of climate crisis, creating public awareness and finding viable solutions.
6. Capitalist countries should fulfill their historical responsibility and provide immediate financial assistance to developing countries like Pakistan to restore the damage and destruction caused by the environmental crisis.

Release by: Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT)