(April 17, 2014 – Heidelberg, Germany)  In a context of increasing land concentration, Agrarian Reform continues being one crucial measure to address the unequal distribution of natural resources and the lack of access to land and other natural resources for millions of peasants and agricultural workers worldwide, states FIAN International on this year’s global day of action and mobilization in defense of the struggles of farmers and peasants on April 17.

Since 1996, April 17 has been declared the International Day of Farmer and Peasant Struggles by La Via Campesina in memory of the 19 Brazilian landless peasants organized in the Movement of Landless Rural Workers (MST) who were massacred by the state police. Joining this international call to highlight the struggles of peasants taking place in different parts of the world, FIAN International emphasizes today the role of agrarian reform in this process.

Agrarian Reform has been employed in countries with an unequal distribution of land as a state-led instrument to systematically re-distribute agrarian land for the realization of people’s right to adequate food. Nevertheless, in many countries land redistribution policies have been abandoned or have been replaced by market-led land distribution schemes.

In Philippines, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Programme (CARP – later termed as CARPER) will end in June this year after almost two decades of implementation. Landless farmers and farm workers, as well as civil society organizations throughout this country, are mobilizing their efforts to call for the extension of the CARP/CARPER as targets for land distribution were not met. Remaining landholdings will only be distributed if notice for distribution for these landholdings is issued to beneficiaries prior to June.

Access to land is at the heart of agrarian reform, which is indispensible for landless peasants and farm workers to ensure their human right to adequate food. Today on the International Day of Peasants’ Struggles, FIAN calls upon the government of the Philippines to fully implement the CARP/CARPER and fulfill the right to adequate food of the farmers of Hacienda Luisita and Hacienda Matias, as well as all the affected landless peasants and farm workers in the Philippines whose right to food and land is still being threatened.

The campaign on the case of Hacienda Luisita in the Philippines comes to an end on April 17. Sign now!

FIAN launches another campaign on the case of Hacienda Matias to raise awareness about the ongoing struggle that farmers in this country are facing. Through this Urgent Action on Hacienda Matias, FIAN invites supporters to request the government of the Philippines to fast-track the redistribution process that can guarantee the right to food of the affected tenant-farmers and their families and to put an end to the harassment of the tenants.

Join the movement: speak up for the right of peasants! Sign the Urgent Action on Hacienda Matias.

For a comprehensive summary about the Agrarian Reform process in Philippines, please visit here.