Greenpeace India joined hands with the communities near Odisha’s Kaliakan River Block to send out a positive message. With a floating banner that read “Towards Better”, they demanded better policies to ensure a safe and sustainable future for all.
Greenpeace India made visibility in the state of Odisha, with the Towards Better initiative. We joined hands with the local fisher and farmer communities from Odisha’s Kaliakan block in Puri. Together we performed an outreach event on the Devi River to make our voices heard and demand better agricultural policies.
Amidst flooding and relentless rainfall, two Greenpeace India activists and several locals set out on the Devi River, armed with a massive floating banner that read “Towards Better”. We called on policy-makers to focus on a post-COVID recovery plan that will make our food system more resilient, ecologically sustainable, socially just and accessible to all.
In the past few decades, climate change induced extreme weather events such as erratic precipitation, hailstorms, cyclones and atmospheric and sea heating have hugely impacted lives and livelihoods of people, especially the farmers and fisherfolk. That’s why thousands of farmers have shown incredible solidarity and expressed their support for better policies that will not only improve productivity but also maintain a sustainable relationship with the environment.
With respect to post-COVID-19 recovery plans, we believe the government must ensure that all future plannings are in sync with mitigating and addressing climate change issues. We can never forget that the health of the soil, plants, biodiversity, ground and surface water bodies, animals and environment is deeply interconnected with our health.
“If climate change is not addressed adequately, it could seriously hinder sustainable livelihood development and poverty eradication efforts in Odisha,” said Banshidhar Behera, Odisha farmer.
Our policies should envisage programs to create an enabling environment for small and marginal farmers to steadily move towards natural and ecological farming practices. We will also have to ensure that our food system is capable of ensuring food security and safe and nutritious food for all, and is not extractive for the environment.
The farming community is India’s backbone, hence every citizen is obligated to support and strengthen those who feed our country. The choices we make today will set the stage for tomorrow, so let’s choose to move Towards Better.
The COVID19 crisis has revealed the vulnerability of our food, economic, healthcare, and welfare systems. We have the power to move humanity towards a better future.