Agroecology and the Struggle for Food Sovereignty ... - Yale University

urban/rural and producer/consumer relations and food systems
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Out of a shared acknowledgement that small-scale agriculture is strongly
influenced not just by local action and markets but by policy, the session also
addressed the role of farmer organizations in strengthening local producer-consumer
networks while also achieving lasting political change. Many expressed
disillusionment with the role of large agricultural conglomerates in national and
international economies. Gómez pointed out that more than half of the world’s
largest economies are not sovereign nations, but rather corporations – an important
fact to remember when examining these actors’ influences on national governments’
policies.
In this context, Gómez defined the mission of farmer networks as fighting for the
interests of their members, but fighting without becoming beholden to the same
political machine that is at the root of current problems.
The tension inherent in the balance between advocating political change and
maintaining independence from the political machine was also discussed by Lopes.
He discussed his experience as a member of the Worker’s Party (PT), which now
controls the government of the state of Acre and the presidency of Brazil. Attaining
positions of power has brought its own problems: the dilemma of how to separate the
government from the movement, and the challenge of turning the movement’s values
and ideals into practicable policies. While Lopes expressed hope that larger
organizations and institutions might one day take on the progressive ideals of his
movement, his acknowledgement of the tension between the counter-current and the
mainstream raised a salient point about the challenge of achieving and maintaining
political power to protect small-scale agriculture through farmer network
movements.
yale school of forestry & environmental studies