The Irish farmers’ organisation, Talamh Beo, represented by Fergal Anderson and Janet Power, has officially been inaugurated into the La Via Campesina (LVC) organisation.
LVC held its eight international conference in Columbia, which saw an attendance of 500 delegates.
“It’s a huge honour for us to be the first Irish organisation to join La Via Campesina, or a country with its own unique experience of colonialism, famine and exploitation,” said Janet Power, who has been running an organic market on a 1ac plot on the border of counties Carlow/Wexford with her partner, Jenny Watkins, for the past seven years.
“It’s important we show that Irish food and farming is not just about exports and industry. It’s also about a tradition of care for the land, about local, diversified food systems and about farming for our communities and planet,” said Janet.
The vision of LVC, Fergal said, is to support a vision of farming based on agroecology, working with natural systems and food sovereignty based on the regulation of agricultural markets.
“Across the world, its member organisations work against the neo-liberal capitalist model that only serves corporate interests to the detriment of communities, food quality and the natural world.
“LVC has been integral in the development of a new human rights instrument, the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Peasants (UNDROP),” said Fergal, who runs a market garden with his partner, Emanuela Russo, in Loughrea, Co. Galway.
Talamh Beo
Talamh Beo, the only Irish member of LVC, was delighted to join the organisation and celebrate its 30-year anniversary in Bogota, Colombia, Fergal said.
It had grown from humble beginnings in Managua in 1993, to a movement of more than 200 million peasants, farmers and land workers today.
At the Colombia conference, the future plans of the organisation, both at a global and regional level, including the ratification of UNDROP, were discussed.
“Beyond focusing on the final declaration and work plan for the next four years, the conference holds a much broader purpose, reaffirming and building global solidarity in the peasant struggle,” Fergal added.
One remarkable and unique aspect of the event, Janet said, is that of the daily mistica: “The mistica affords each of the 10 regions of LCV the opportunity to express their unique experiences, struggles and hopes in the form of dramatic representation, including music, theatre and other symbolic acts.
The eight international conference will be remembered as holding the first assembly for diversity, acknowledging that diversity in humans (LGBTQ+) is simply a reflection of the inherent diversity found in nature, Janet said.
The conference in Colombia, was a signal for hope and inspiration in a troubled world, according to Fergal:
“Running concurrently with COP28, where global leaders grappled with achieving consensus amid the influence of multinational forces, the peasants of LVC solidified their aims through collective energy and understanding.”
“Talamh Beo has about 250 members now. This year, we are planning to launch a campaign on local food systems which ensure everyone on the island has access to high-quality, nutritious and varied food produced by farmers earning a fair wage from their work.
“We also want to attract more farmers and citizens to our movement for better food and farming systems for people and the planet, something we all need to be a part of,” Fergal said.