On the occasion of the International Conference of Agriculture Ministers (GFFA), farmers and civil society organisations today handed over a protest note to the Parliamentary State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Home Affairs (BMLEH) Martina Engelhardt-Kopf. The BMLEH is chairing this year's conference, which is focussing on the theme "Water. Harvest. Our future".
The alliance is making key demands of the agriculture ministers: At the UN Water Conference in December, they should campaign for the democratisation of international water governance and, in this context, advocate a mechanism based on the example of the participation of civil society and indigenous peoples in the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS). The organisations criticise the exclusion of international farmers such as the global alliance "La Via Campesina" from the Young Farmers' Forum.
They are calling for the realisation of the right to adequate food and water to be enshrined as key objectives of international and national agricultural and food policy in this year's GFFA final communiqué and to be implemented politically accordingly.
They are also calling on the EU agriculture ministers to link EU agricultural funding to social and ecological services provided by farmers, such as climate and biodiversity-promoting measures, in the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
The background to the campaign is the growing global concern about the use of increasingly scarce water resources. The climate crisis, industrial agriculture and a lack of regulation are exacerbating conflicts of use - in Germany as well as in the Global South. According to the initiators, farmers, pastoralists and fishermen are increasingly losing access to water, while large agricultural companies are profiting from intensive irrigation and privatisation.
"Whether in Brandenburg, Bavaria or the Global South, when water becomes a commodity, we lose our livelihoods," warns Lucia Birkmeir from the Young Farmers' Association (jAbL). "Without clear rules and targeted support programmes, we will lose soils, farms and ultimately our food security."
"Water is a scarce resource and access to clean drinking water is a human right. Water is the basis for peace," emphasises Malih Ole Kaunga from Misereor's partner organisation IMPACT Kenya. "If we protect it as a common good, we create cooperation and food security."
With this action, the alliance wants to increase the pressure on the conference participants and take the debate on water policy out of the conference halls and onto the streets.
Following the rally, the participating associations and farmers will demonstrate with their tractors at the "We've had enough" demonstration in Berlin in favour of sustainable agriculture worldwide.
The Agriculture Ministers' Conference is the central political meeting of the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA). Every year, agriculture ministers from more than 70 countries and representatives of international organisations come together. They discuss current challenges facing global agriculture and food security and adopt joint political guidelines. The topics discussed include sustainable production, trade policy and the protection of natural resources.
Associations involved: Arbeitsgemeinschaft bäuerliche Landwirtschaft (AbL), Bread for the World, FIAN Germany, INKOTA, young AbL, Misereor. Guest: European Milk Board.
Here you can find the protest note to the International Conference of Ministers of Agriculture in German and English as well as a Photo of the handover to Minister of State Martina Engelhardt-Kopf (BMLEH). Malih Ole Kaunga from the Misereor partner organisation IMPACT Kenya addresses an appeal to the Minister of State. Copyright: Misereor
From approx. 11 a.m. you will find here Press photos of the handover of the protest note: Peasant protest 2026
