The acknowledgment of changes in migratory flows of people working in agriculture, the increasing violations of these people’s rights in the production areas where there are sometimes tens of thousands of workers, and the emergence of mobilizations of different kinds (legal actions, strikes…) calls for the establishment of a union and associations’ work coordinated at the European level.

The seasonal nature of this activity, the “invisibility” of these workers, and the purposefully organized competition between workers make this job difficult. For Confédération paysanne and the members of Via Campesina, it is obvious that the struggle for the right to an income for farmers is synonymous with the struggle for the rights of all the workers of the land.

We refuse to base the prices of agricultural products on crushed wages, on deterioration of working conditions and on the promotion of servitude in agriculture.

That is why we set up, in partnership, an international work program based on exchanges, meetings and training of farmers and seasonal workers in agriculture.

Since 2006, dozens of volunteers went to meet women and men, peasants and workers from Germany, Spain, Italy , Morocco, Poland, Palestine and Romania.

This program is based on collaborations between Confédération paysanne (member of Via Campesina), Echanges & Partenariats, and host organizations involved in the missions.

Confédération paysanne is an agricultural union advocating for peasant agriculture and defense of agricultural workers. It is a founding member of the international network of Via Campesina.

Echanges & Partenariats (Exhanges & Partnerships) is an organization that advocates for the respect of rights for all and works with actors of the civil society to strengthen and develop partnerships on issues of international solidarity. E&P offers new forms of engagement to individuals already involved or wishing to get involved in struggles and mobilizations. It is this combination that allows sending volunteers.

La Via Campesina is an international movement which brings together millions of farmers and peasants, small and medium-sized producers, landless farmers, women and rural youth, indigenous people, migrants and agricultural workers… It defends sustainable small-scale farming as a means of promoting social justice and dignity. It clearly opposes industrial agriculture and multinational companies that destroy people and the environment.

Via Campesina has about 150 local and national organizations in 70 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. In all, it is about 200 million farmers and peasants, women and men. It is an autonomous, pluralist and multicultural movement, without political, economic or other affiliation.