La Via Campesina

La Via Campesina is an international movement that brings together millions of peasants, small and medium-scale farmers, landless workers, rural women, pastoralists, fishers, migrant farmworkers, indigenous communities, and peasant youth from around the world. Built on a solid sense of unity and solidarity, the movement advocates for food sovereignty, and the right of people to define their own food and agriculture systems, and emphasises sustainable agricultural practices, social justice, and the protection of local and indigenous knowledge. 

La Via Campesina was founded in 1993 in response to the growing impact of global trade policies on rural communities, agriculture, and food systems. In particular, the liberalisation of agricultural markets favoured large-scale industrial farming and export-oriented agriculture, which had the effect of marginalising small-scale farmers and disrupting local food systems. The movement sought to influence decision-making processes to ensure that the voices of peasants and small-scale farmers are heard in global policy discussions. 

The movement is formed as a global coalition characterised by a decentralised structure with member organisations operating at local, national, and regional levels, representing a wide range of agricultural practices, cultures, and social contexts. La Via Campsina places a strong emphasis on solidarity, serving as a platform for its members to collaborate with other movements, such as environmental and human rights groups, and carry out joint actions, mobilisations, and campaigns in defence of land, water, seeds, and forests. 

Over the last three decades, La Via Campesina has successfully found a seat at the table of global institutions of governance such as the Food and Agricultural Organisation, the UN Decade of Family Farming, the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’ Mechanism (CSM) of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), and more. The United Nations Declaration on Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas, adopted by the General Assembly in 2018, was the result of 17 years of negotiations patiently led by La Via Campesina and its allies. The Declaration is an important international instrument to defend the rights of small-scale food producers and is a crucial tool in the implementation of food sovereignty. Additionally, La Via Campesina has also played a crucial role in advocating for agrarian reform, the protection of biodiversity, and the rights of women and indigenous peoples in rural areas, thereby contributing to more resilient and just food systems worldwide.