2025 | February Newswrap: Updates from LVC members worldwide
In February, La Via Campesina member organizations mobilized worldwide against systemic injustices and the deepening crises affecting rural communities. From land grabbing and corporate exploitation to environmental destruction and repression, peasants and food producers continue to resist and mobilize against the increasing control of multinational corporations over agriculture and food systems. These mobilizations denounced the rise of right-wing policies, demanded food sovereignty, and called for the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants (UNDROP) as a tool to ensure justice and dignity for those who feed the world.
As we approach international Day of Working Women’s Struggle On March 8, La Via Campesina calls on all its members and allies to unite in Antifascist Action under the slogan: “Defending our rights and Food Sovereignty, united against fascism, violence, and hunger!”. We invite you to join and support the global actions of peasant women in the framework of 8M25 and discover actions worldwide on the Padlet. Together, we continue the struggle for justice and the rights of those who feed the world.
Here are the highlights from our regions:
Asia:
In Pakistan, thousands of farmers gathered in Bhit Shah, Sindh, to protest against corporate farming initiatives and proposed canal projects on the Indus River. The Pakistan Kisan Rabita Committee (PKRC) reports that the “Green Pakistan” initiative is a cover for the corporatization of agriculture and its anti-farmer initiative. They demand land redistribution, oppose agricultural taxes, and advocate taxing the wealthy instead. Leaders also accused the government of bowing to IMF demands, selling national resources, and handing land to foreign investors or militarization projects.
In Sri Lanka, MONLAR has been campaigning to highlight the rising rural debt and the questionable roles played by microfinance firms—both regulated and unregulated—that are lending at exorbitant rates, trapping households, particularly women, in a cycle of debt. The movement has also been drawing attention to the harassment women face from private lenders and their recovery agents. This February, they marked the third anniversary of the Chandanapolkuna Rural Women’s Collective, an initiative aimed at setting up a solidarity-based economic assistance model that promotes savings, traditional farming practices, animal husbandry, home industries, and environmental farming.
In South Korea, peasant unions are raising alarms about attempts to crackdown on peasant protestors and students who participated in the rally against martial law, which generated significant public pressure and led to the arrest of the former president. The Korean Peasant League (KPL) held a press conference on February 19 to highlight the criminalization of those involved in the Namtaeryeong protest (for more on that, see our report from December 2024) – KPL reports that police deem the Namtaeryeong protest illegal, citing violations of assembly laws, obstruction, and property damage. They warn of rising right-wing influence, noting that 38% believe in election fraud, 41% support the government’s re-election, and opposition to impeachment is growing.
AFRICA:
In Kenya, the High Court lifted last year the ban on GMOs. Following this High Court ruling, the Kenya Peasant League approached the Kenyan Court of Appeal to uphold the GMO Ban. The court is expected to make a ruling on the 7th of March on whether the KPL will be granted an injunction against the roll out of GM foods and animal feeds in the country. The KPL continues to mobilise against the GMOs and to promote local saved seeds in the country.
ESAFF Uganda is mobilizing its members to contact local members of parliament to support and push for the domestication of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) in Uganda. The organization believes that the declaration is a strategic instrument for justice which requires that the government respects, preserves, and fulfills the peasant rights and regulates transnational corporations to prevent harm. The UNDROP facilitates a just and sustainable food system that promotes biodiversity and highlights key human rights that should be observed by states.
In Mali, from February 5 to 7, the CNOP is training its Women’s College on agrarian policies, legal frameworks, and advocacy actions to promote an agroecological policy. This training is part of the mobilization of peasant and social movements, particularly in Mali, where the Malian Convergence Against Land Grabbing (CMAT), composed of five organizations (AOPP, CAD-Mali, CNOP-Mali, LJDH, UACDDDD), has mobilized to uphold and secure communities’ customary land rights.
In Senegal, the CNCR has provided a concrete solution to the challenges faced by the women of Kabiline 2, in the Bignona department, by installing a complete solar system, including solar panels, a water pump, a reservoir, and a basin. Less than two years ago, these women struggled with water scarcity, making their market gardening activities extremely difficult. Today, through this initiative, they have sustainable access to water, strengthening their resilience and autonomy in vegetable production.
Meanwhile in the Arab region and North Africa ARNA, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) in Palestine, as part of its commitment to supporting fishers’ rights, strengthening their resilience, and ensuring their return to fishing activities, conducted a field visit to Gaza’s port to assess the severe damage and losses suffered by the fishing sector and to implement effective support mechanisms in response to challenges ranging from the destruction of boats and equipment to restrictions on access to the sea. UAWC team also identified the urgent needs for rehabilitating the marine sector, which serves as a livelihood for many families.
For Tunisia, In response to escalating global crises fueled by the capitalist system and their local and regional impacts, the Association Million Rural Women and the Landless held a Strategic Planning Workshop in the capital Tunis . The workshop aimed to reinforce collective resistance and outline a three-year action plan. Prioritizing Food Sovereignty, Agroecology, and Climate Justice, the association seeks to defend rural communities and promote social, economic, and environmental justice. Concrete strategies rooted in the realities of peasants were also established for immediate implementation.
EUROPE
February witnessed an intensified agitation by European peasants , who have seen their right to seeds further endangered. The European Parliament is in the final round of debate on a proposal that would deregulate the entry of new GMOs into EU member countries. Despite their relentless denunciations, the ECVC and allied social organizations have continued to highlight the countless losses and impacts this would have on Europe’s Food Sovereignty, as well as the pressure that farmers would face from the transnational corporations that control the global seed market.
The National Agrarian Coordinator (CNA) of Portugal celebrated its 47th anniversary by bringing together European peasant leaders and activists to emphasize the importance of peasant rights for Food Sovereignty and Family Agriculture across the continent. Through this event, the Portuguese organization, which represents small and medium-sized family farmers, contributed to the mobilizations leading up to the upcoming Nyéléni Global Forum, fostering interest in advancing the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas.
The Americas:
During February’s second and third weeks, Puerto Rico’s Organización Boricuá de Agricultura Ecológica hosted an exchange with the Black Dirt Farm Collective from North America’s Mid-Atlantic region. Connected through La Vía Campesina for over 12 years, these organizations have built strong ties of solidarity. They have led International Climate Justice Brigades, rebuilding homes, agricultural infrastructure, and replanting in Borikén and other Caribbean islands after hurricanes like Irma and María. This time, the exchange included activities for all ages, culminating at Finca Pueblo Nuevo, part of Organización Boricuá’s agroecological network, where knowledge-sharing and farm-prepared meals brought the community together.
In the Dominican Republic, the Instituto Agroecológico Latinoamericano Florinda Soriano Muñoz held a practical exchange using the “Peasant-to-Peasant” methodology as part of the graduation process for its first cohort, which began in 2022. Students, facilitators, community producers, and a specialist from the Faculty of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences participated. The exchange focused on sharing experiences from agroecological farms and engaging with allies on livestock management, as well as agricultural research and experimentation.
In Guatemala, February 26 marked 26 years since the Historical Clarification Commission’s report on genocide, torture, and displacement. CONAVIGUA condemned the government’s focus on ex-military demands over victims’ rights, rising violence, and impunity for human rights violations. They urged the Ministry of Education to include the report in the national curriculum.
In El Salvador, the Federation of Cooperatives for Agrarian Reform of the Central Region (FECORACEN) conducted a training program with peasant youth focused on defending the environment, water, and territory. Through territorial circles with representatives from 14 youth collectives in La Libertad, these spaces enabled young people to identify their needs, organizational challenges, and plan future activities.
In Colombia, peasant organizations, along with indigenous, Black, Afro-descendant, raizal, and palenquero communities, established the Pact for Land, Water, Territory, Environment, and Life. This historic agreement aims to lay the groundwork for the Ten-Year Agrarian Reform Plan, promoting equitable land distribution, social justice, and peace in rural areas. The pact includes 12 key points, ranging from land redistribution to water protection and the reorganization of agrarian institutions. Approximately 2,800 leaders from various organizations participated in 25 working groups, sharing their knowledge to enhance rural efforts and improve the living standards of their families.
In Ecuador, the National Peasant Coordinator “Eloy Alfaro” criticized Daniel Noboa’s misgovernment, which has deepened the economic, social, and security crisis. They resolved to support a progressive candidate in the electoral runoff, focusing on Food Sovereignty and Peasant Rights. The organization highlighted the violence in rural areas from groups linked to agribusiness and criminal economies, which use extortion and coercive purchases to concentrate land and water, undermining food production and sovereignty.
In the United States, the Family Farm Coalition convened on February 26 and 27, bringing together representatives from its coalition of 30 farmer-led organizations to meet with more than 40 legislators and legislative staff. They demanded urgent action on policies that prioritize people over profits, urging lawmakers to support Main Street over Wall Street and to strengthen rural communities. At the same time, they called for greater support for independent food producers.
In Canada, The National Farmers Union warned that U.S. policy changes are disrupting trade and threatening Canadian farmers and workers. They urged Canada to develop a long-term food and agriculture strategy to reduce reliance on the U.S., stating that Trump’s approach makes trade agreements unreliable. Strengthening food sovereignty, they argued, would protect against supply chain disruptions, income losses, and food shortages.
We wrap up this months edition here. For more updates from February 2024, visit the website. If there are any important updates we have missed, please send the links to communications@viacampesina.org so that we can include them in the next edition. We only include updates from La Via Campesina members. Previous editions of our news wrap are also available on our website, and condensed versions are accessible as a podcast on Spotify.
