Food sovereignty is about the right of producers to define their own food, agriculture, livestock and fisheries systems - as opposed to having them defined by international market forces. For small-scale farmers this means having the right to land and resources, and being able to participate in decision-making about resources in their countries - to ensure that their families and communities have enough food, before their produce enters long-distance trade.
Food sovereignty is a relatively new concept, introduced by La Vía Campesina in 1996. It is a  response to the dominant thinking in development that farmers need to be modernised, by stimulating them to enter into commercial globalised trade.

What does food sovereignty mean in the day-to-day lives of small-scale farm families? And more particularly, what does it mean for women - being the main providers of food? We are interested to learn about how they perceive the global changes in agriculture, and how they respond to them. How do these changes affect their roles as food producers, as mothers and feeders of the family? Do they have the rights of access to land, water, and forest products essential for securing nutritious food? How do women and their families balance between production for the market and for home consumption, between the need for money and the need for food?

At a time when a global economic crisis is unfolding, what is the scope for food self-sufficiency - at household, local and national level? What innovative strategies have farmers and their organisations developed towards gaining food sovereignty? What initiatives are being undertaken to support women and men farmers in achieving this goal? Many farmers are still a long way from true food sovereignty - what are the bigger challenges yet to be addressed?
Dear readers, we look forward to your contributions to this extremely important theme!

Please send your articles to Jorge Chavez-Tafur, at j.chavez-tafur(at)ileia.nl by 1st June 2009.