Dialogue on Food Sovereignty at WFLED 2025
On April 2, 2025, within the framework of the 6th World Forum of Local Economic Development (WFLED), ORU Fogar organized a session dedicated to "Territorial Food Sovereignty and Short Supply Chains: Promoting Local Consumption." With the participation of regional leaders from three continents, the event addressed the need to strengthen sustainable food systems at the territorial level by promoting public policies that reduce the distance between producers and consumers.
Rachid El Abdi, President of the Regional Council of Rabat-Salé-Kénitra and President of ORU Fogar, opened the session by highlighting his region’s strategy to move toward food sovereignty in Morocco. He emphasized the structural challenges faced by regions, such as water stress and the impacts of climate change, and stressed that “proximity between producer and consumer is key to a resilient, fair, and ecological agricultural model.”
From Latin America, Percy Godoy Medina, Governor of Apurímac, representing the Andean Community, shared concrete experiences promoting short marketing chains in Peru. He advocated for agroecological production as the foundation for territorial development and emphasized the importance of integrated policies that connect agriculture, infrastructure, markets, and education. Similarly, Segismundo Cruces, Governor of Tumbes, shared his region’s experience—one of the most active in northern Peru in linking small producers to local markets through initiatives that strengthen the rural economy and food sovereignty.
Moderator Rafael Hueso, from the Basque Government and part of the organizing team, stressed that “strengthening a territory’s economy requires a firm commitment to local consumption.” In his presentation, he underscored the conclusions of the 5th Zero Hunger Regional Summit, held in Barcelona in October 2024, where it was reaffirmed that hunger must be tackled at the territorial level through integrated public policies, with long-term vision and multi-stakeholder coordination. “The right to food is not guaranteed by food security alone,” he said, “but by food sovereignty and territorial governance.”
The session also featured a notable contribution from Judith Hitchman, representative of RIPESS, who introduced the innovative concept of "Food Social Security", a collective mechanism that could ensure fair and sustainable access to local food.
Reinaldo Cuba, from the Ministry of Economy and Planning of Cuba, explained how the Sustainable Municipality program is transforming local economies on the island through community empowerment and local production.
The session concluded with broad consensus: advancing toward food sovereignty requires coordination among authorities, producers, civil society, and the private sector. Only then will it be possible to ensure a sustainable future for territories and improve the quality of life for their communities. As reiterated in Barcelona, regions are key actors in the fight against hunger.
