Seeds, Stories & Solidarity (Fall 2025) - Magazine - Page 30
In addition to their infectious energy, peasant youths
bring complexity, diversity, and new perspectives to the
movement. For example, they are carving out previously
nonexistent spaces and visibility for queer, trans, and
nonbinary peasant farmers, which they call “diversities.” In
some countries, being queer is dangerous.
In 2023, they were able to hold the first-ever official La Vía
Camesina convening of diversity delegates, where young
peasants from Sri Lanka, Mozambique, Denmark, Korea,
and beyond spoke about how isolating it can be to be both
queer and a farmer. They said that for the first time, in that
room, they felt seen, safe, and whole.
The conversation turned to agroecology’s central tenet of
diversity, with recognition that while biodiversity is central
to nature, human diversity must also be centered in our
movements. Queer and gender-diverse people are part of
ecological resistance and essential to food sovereignty.
LISTEN | IFAD PODCAST: FARMING WITH PRIDE FOR
INCLUSIVE AGRICULTURE
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