By Chuks Oyema-Aziken
The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) has urged governments to protect indigenous seeds, strengthen farmers’ rights and promote agroecology to combat hunger, malnutrition and climate change.
In a statement marking the 2026 World Food Day, the organisation stressed that access to adequate, nutritious and healthy food is a fundamental human right that requires policies supporting local food production and food sovereignty.
HOMEF’s Media/Communications Manager, Kome Odhomor, said millions of people, particularly in Africa, continued to suffer hunger and malnutrition despite the continent’s abundant natural and human resources.
The organisation blamed the food crisis on climate change, economic instability, conflicts, structural inequalities and agricultural systems that prioritise commercial interests over biodiversity and smallholder farmers.
HOMEF Executive Director, Dr Nnimmo Bassey, described World Food Day as an opportunity to address the structural challenges undermining food security, soil health and farmers’ independence.
Bassey criticised monoculture and cash-crop production, warning that they weaken soil health, reduce agricultural diversity and make food supply chains vulnerable to disruptions.
He advocated agroecology and the protection of indigenous seeds, describing them as vital to drought resistance, pest management, climate resilience and improved nutrition.
Bassey also identified food sovereignty as essential to addressing the interconnected food and climate crises, urging Nigerians to support indigenous seeds and biodiversity.
HOMEF’s Director of Programmes, Joyce Brown, said persistent hunger in resource-rich Africa reflected failures in existing political and economic policies.
She stressed that food should be recognised as a foundation of public health, cultural dignity and human rights rather than merely a commodity for profit.
Brown urged governments and international institutions to reform policies that favour industrial exporters over small-scale farmers and local food producers.
She also warned that the Nigerian Plant Variety Protection Law, 2021, could undermine farmers’ rights to save, exchange and replant indigenous seeds.
According to her, protecting traditional seeds is essential to preserving local diets, nutritional security and communities’ control over agricultural resources.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Director of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), Mariann Bassey-Olsson, described seed-saving as an act of cultural preservation, independence and resilience.
She rejected the claim that industrial agriculture was the only way to feed the world, noting that smallholder farmers had sustained communities for generations through traditional farming and seed exchange.
Bassey-Olsson warned that losing control of indigenous seeds could weaken farmers’ independence and increase reliance on foreign corporations.
She described indigenous seeds as a legacy of generations of agricultural knowledge, adapted to local soils and environmental conditions.
The environmental advocates called for greater access to agricultural knowledge and resources for smallholder farmers while promoting regenerative practices that protect soil, biodiversity and local livelihoods.
They also opposed agricultural approaches they consider harmful to biodiversity and farmers’ rights, advocating sustainable alternatives that improve nutrition and ecosystem health.
World Food Day, observed annually on October 16, raises awareness of hunger and promotes access to safe, nutritious and affordable food.
HOMEF urged Nigeria to strengthen local food systems, preserve indigenous knowledge and protect farmers’ rights to build resilient and sustainable food systems.
The organisation concluded that food security must prioritise nutritional quality, environmental protection and communities’ ability to determine how their food is produced.
