Sri Lanka will host the Nyéléni Food Sovereignty Forum this September in Kandy, a global gathering of farmers, fisherfolk, workers, activists, and policymakers seeking alternatives to the neoliberal food system. First held in Mali in 2007, the forum has grown into the world’s most important platform on food sovereignty, placing land, water, seeds, and markets back in the hands of communities rather than corporations.

In an interview with The Sunday Observer, moderator of the Movement for Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR), Chinthaka Rajapakse outlines why Sri Lanka was chosen, what the forum represents, and how it could reshape the country’s food future.

Q: What is food sovereignty and why is the Nyéléni Food Sovereignty Forum important to countries in the Global South?

A: The concept of food sovereignty was first defined by La Vía Campesina, an international farmers organisation founded in 1993 in Mons, Belgium, at its second international conference in Tlaxcala, Mexico, in April 1996. It emerged as a global response to neoliberal policies that were stripping communities of their rights to land, water, seeds, and small-scale food production. MONLAR is affiliated with La Vía Campesina.

Food sovereignty goes beyond the idea of “food security.” According to La Vía Campesina, it prioritises local food production and consumption, protects producers from unfair imports, and ensures that the means of production, land, water, seeds, livestock, and biodiversity, remain in the hands of those who grow food rather than corporations.

Over the years, this idea has grown into a worldwide Movement that brings together peasants, fisherfolk, family farmers, Indigenous Peoples, workers, women, youth, consumers, academics, scientists, and civil society actors. It has shaped struggles against the World Trade Organization, free trade agreements, transnational corporations, and institutions such as the IMF and World Bank.

The first Global Nyéléni Food Sovereignty Forum was held in 2007 in Mali, named after Nyéléni, a legendary Malian peasant woman who embodied food sovereignty through her hard work and innovation. That gathering defined six core principles of food sovereignty: focus on food for people, value food providers, localise food systems, put control at the local level, build knowledge and skills, and work with nature

Since then, regional forums have been held in Europe and elsewhere. Sri Lanka will host the third Nyéléni Global Forum next month at the National Institute for Cooperative Development in Polgolla, Kandy. It will bring together one of the most diverse representations of the world’s working classes, expanding beyond small-scale food producers to include discussions on climate justice, workers’ rights, and alternative economic systems. Over 500 delegates from 96 countries will attend the forum.

Q: Which Sri Lankan groups are part of this global network and what will the focus of the sessions be?

A: Several Sri Lankan Movements play key roles. La Vía Campesina is represented by MONLAR, the largest peasant Movement in the country. The National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO) represents the World Forum of Fisher Peoples. The Centre for Environmental Justice is part of Friends of Earth International, and the People’s Health Movement also contributes.

Through these links, Sri Lanka is part of the Asia-Pacific network of organisations. At the forum, we will be addressing global crises, wars, intensifying geopolitical rivalries, ecological destruction, and exploring how food sovereignty offers systemic alternatives. We will examine solidarity economies, cooperative models, climate justice, labour conditions in food production, and the failures of current food marketing systems that disadvantage both producers and consumers.

We cannot ignore urgent struggles such as Palestine, nor the voices of Indigenous Peoples. Ultimately, this forum is about challenging the neoliberal consensus and re-imagining how societies organise food and agriculture.

Q: Why was Sri Lanka chosen to host this year’s Global Forum?

A: When deciding on a host country, the steering committee looks at recent struggles led by peasants and farmers. Initially, the Forum was planned for Karnataka, India, in recognition of the Farmers’ Movement there. But challenges, including Government restrictions on farmers’ participation and visa barriers for delegates, forced the committee to look elsewhere.

Sri Lanka was chosen for several reasons. Since 2020, Sri Lankan farmers have demonstrated remarkable resilience in Movements against agrochemical bans and predatory microfinance. The 2022 Aragalaya (People’s uprising,) which demanded systemic change, and the eventual victory of the leftist National People’s Power (NPP) Government in 2024, convinced the global committee that Sri Lanka represented a model of positive transformation.

Many progressives worldwide see the NPP’s victory as an important development, even if it is not always acknowledged within local Leftist discourse. Considereing the above, MONLAR was asked to take the lead in organising the Forum, and after discussions with the Government, which expressed strong support, we agreed to host it.

Q: What can Sri Lanka gain from hosting the Nyéléni Forum?

A: I think there are a lot of lessons the Government can learn from this forum. The NPP Government does not want to continue business as usual. They have shown they are interested in changing the food production system. They have taken steps to create 1,000 producers cooperatives and promoted farmer lead initiatives. All the organisations at the summit have been involved in developing alternative systems and I believe the Government can draw some inspiration from successful models from other parts of the world.

The Forum will give the Government access to successful cooperative and solidarity economy models from around the world. It will also strengthen links between Sri Lankan struggles and Global Movements, while highlighting the country’s own experience of grassroots mobilisation and system change.

For the Sri Lankan society, this is an opportunity to rethink food, land, and agriculture not just as sectors of the economy, but as pillars of justice, sovereignty, and democracy. The chief guest, Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development, Wasantha Samarasinghe, along with Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, Samantha Vidyarathna will participate.

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