“Without women there is no food sovereignty”, said Sanchez. He also reclaimed the need for young people to participate in food production and that public policies should promote this. There should be a production model based on agroecology and a commercialization model that promotes local markets and direct food sales and that is based on people’s right to food. The European leader demanded that young people have access to land, water, seeds and loans.

Meanwhile, Sanchez assessed the 20 years of La Via Campesina as a “historical moment that represents how the movement was created to give voice to millions of peasants and now it is a global leading movement in the struggle for food sovereignty”.

Photo: Vía Campesina.