Via Campesina (from Spanish la vĂa campesina, the campesino way, or the Peasants' Way) describes itself as "an international movement which coordinates peasant organizations of small and middle-scale producers, agricultural workers, rural women, and indigenous communities from Asia, Africa, America, and Europe". It is a coalition of over 148 organizations, advocating family-farm-based sustainable agriculture and was the group that first coined the term "food sovereignty".[1] Food sovereignty refers to the right to produce food on one's own territory. Via Campesina has carried out a Global Campaign for Agrarian Reform since 1999, in opposition to market-led agrarian reform.[2]
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Organized worldwide into nine regions, the group has members throughout the world (in 69 countries). It receives support from various charities, foundations and public institutions around the world. Via Campesina represents an estimated 150 million members globally. [3]
The organisation was founded in 1993 by farmers organisations from Europe and Latin America and it had its original headquarters in Belgium. It then moved to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The headquarters office of Via Campesina is now in Jakarta, Indonesia. Henry Saragih is the General Secretary.
Desmarais, Annette AurĂ©lie (2007): La VĂa Campesina, Fernwood Publishing, ISBN 139780745327044