Farmers in the Philippines, together with farmers in Asia, Latin America, and Africa, marked the 10th Day of the Landless (DOTL) on March 29. The Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) initiated this day to highlight the struggles of agrarian communities for safe access to land. This day also underscores the importance of land rights and the challenges faced by farmers worldwide, including issues related to imperialism, land grabbing, and environmental destruction.

On this occasion, KMP announced its year-long campaign for genuine land reform, which also links to its celebration of the organization’s 40th anniversary. Activities include the recently concluded protest camp-out by farmers from Central Luzon against the conversion of agricultural lands and fascism against farmers. The organization was established in July 1985 under Ferdinand Marcos Sr’s fascist dictatorship.

Despite decades of the reactionary state’s hyped land reform, landlessness continues to worsen in the Philippines. Its own data showed that the number of parcels fully owned by farmers has decreased, and a large majority of them remain landless.

Ibon Foundation data showed that 7 out of 10 farm parcels or 6.1 million are not fully owned by those who till them, and only 2.4 million farmers fully own their farms. From 3.6 million in 2012, the number of farmers who fully own their land has dropped to 1.5 to 1.6 million today. About 78.2% of agricultural families are landless, and only 4.3 million have definite ownership or rights over the land they till.

On this day, farmers reaffirmed their anti-imperialist position and recognized the importance of farmers’ struggles for land, food, and justice. They clearly see that imperialist onslaught on poor countries “has caused immense poverty, displaced millions of rural poor from their homes and communities, and has impeded their development as nations.”

Farmer organizations from India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Canada, Thailand, Belgium, Indonesia, Palestine, Zambia, Cameroon, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, USA, Mozambique, South Africa, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tunisia, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, Australia, the Netherlands, Cambodia, Malawi, Kenya, and Mongolia signed a statement.

“We register our collective objection and resistance to US-led wars and militarism; its expanding corporate and private capture of the world’s resources such as lands and waters, and; the co-optation of climate-recovery solutions,” the signed statement by farmers stated.

They opposed the US-backed Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the US “pivot” to Asia which they said is priming the region for a war against China. They condemned their respective states’ neoliberal policies that subject their communities to militarization and land grabbing under the guise of so-called green projects or ecological initiatives, critical mineral mining, and the corporate capture of food systems.

Meanwhile, the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) marked DOTL this year by focusing on ongoing landlessness and land grabbing in Latin America.