When food is a weapon of war: Local food resistance and mutual aid

"It’s a deliberate way to wear people down, by starving them into giving up,” shared Ghadeer from our Sudanese counterpart SWRC. 

In a war zone, food is yet another weapon of the powerful. In places like Gaza, Sudan and Burma, armed actors use food to control, punish or displace people. Warring parties block food aid, destroy farms and disrupt local food systems. These deliberate strategies deepen suffering, kill civilians and violate international law.

In Sudan, the war that began in 2023 has triggered the worst hunger crisis in the world. Across the country, both warring parties leverage food to gain control over increasingly starving populations. Combatants have cut entire regions off from food aid, using food access as a bargaining chip to force submission. It’s famine by design. 

As international aid for Sudan crumbles—especially following the sudden halt of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funding—community-led efforts have become even more vital. Inter Pares’ counterpart the Sudanese Organization for Research and Development (SORD) is among those responding, offering emergency food support to people forced to flee their homes, and supporting women farmers with seeds, tools and training to grow food locally. These initiatives offer lifelines amid a collapsing state.

In Burma, decades of armed conflict and military repression have displaced millions of people. The military junta has deliberately restricted food transport to Indigenous areas, worsening hunger and dependency on the junta. But here too, communities resist. 

Our counterparts in Burma bring together farmers and community leaders to share strategies for protecting food systems in the face of war. Together, they develop plans to strengthen local control over food and farming across their regions. In Kachin State, counterparts work with farmers to revive Indigenous seed-saving practices and expand organic farming. Village-led projects are now growing food for local communities to eat, helping them build self-determined food systems and rely less on outside aid.

While food can be weaponized, it can also be a tool of resistance. Our counterparts show that even in the most difficult conditions, people come together to care for each other and assert their right to food. Food sovereignty is not just about agriculture—it’s about power, dignity and community care.