The rights to food and water in Bolivia

Civil Society Organizations empowered and articulated around agroecology in the Southern Cono region, the Metropolitan region of Cochabamba and at the National level, demand and exercise their rights to healthy food and safe water with success. In the Southern Cono region and the Metropolitan region of Cochabamba the peasant organizations of men and women (PO) of five municipalities will enhance their agro-ecological (AE) production, working their soils in a sustainable way. They will sell their produce on ecological markts directly to the consumers, interested in healthy food (short chain). As a result of climate changes and the lack of water management, shortage of water is the main bottleneck for the farmers. Water recharge zones, where rainwater filtrates into the ground, are protected by these peasant organizations, so that the quantity and quality of drinking and irrigation water are assured. Based on these experiences the PO, strenghtened in their tecnical and organizational capacities, will advocate for their rights to healthy food and safe water, presenting proposals for public policies to their governments, garanteeing the active and effective participation of women. Organized and empowered young people in the rural and urban regions of Cochabamba, actively support this advocacy work and contribute to public debates. Adolescents and their colleges are trained on environmental issues like climate change, water protection and the importance of healthy food. On a national level the Bolivian Agroecological Movement, a national platform founded in 2020 during the 2017-2021 program, is consolidated as a referent for civil society organizations and governmental institutions. This movement will advocate for an enabling environment and better application of actual policies regarding agroecology. Local partners of Solidagro are complementary thematically and geografically, will strengten each other and the program as a whole. A joint communication strategy will be developped to support advocacy processes. A multiple-actor approach will help to upscale the impact of the program. Synergy is also foreseen with local and Belgian Universities, to strengthen the scientific basis of the program.