Food Sovereignty

"Food Sovereignty is only possible in South Africa if we have land and water reform. Access to land and water are the most essential means for food production.”

Food sovereignty is the right of people, communities and countries to define their own policies for agriculture, fisheries, consumers, and trade of food as long as these policies are ecological sustainable, contribute to social justice and do not restrict the possibilities for others to do the same. It questions what is produced, how it is produced and who produces it.

The Food Sovereignty Stream is aimed at enhancing both food security and food sovereignty through land and water acquisition for crop and livestock farming, development of climate resilient alternatives and promoting localised food systems. We aim to enhance the agro ecological capacity of small-scale farmers and fishers and strengthen the farmer-to-farmer extension programmes as well as alliances with partners.

Agriculture and our food systems worldwide are increasingly being industrialised and controlled by agri-business multinational corporations (MNCs), turning food into a commodity which millions cannot afford. This violates people’s inherent right to food and has led to unprecedented levels of hunger worldwide. This type of agriculture also poisons our bodies, our environment and makes smallholder farmers consumers of and dependent on agri-business inputs such as seeds, fertilisers and pesticides.

Industrial agriculture, its reliance on fossil fuels and large-scale destruction of forests across the world is also one of the main contributors to climate change. However, all over the world, there are millions of farmers and other people mobilising and organising around agro-ecology as a way of opposing this agri-business control and take over. Who produces food and how food is produced and controlled are key political questions and sites of struggle in the 21st Century.

Vibrant rural communities, linked to strong farmer and producer organisations build sustainable and resilient livelihoods!