An group composed of Friends of the Earth International, Via Campesina, the World March of Women, ROPPA, WFF and WFFP has come together to organise Nyéléni 2007, the World Forum for Food Sovereignty.

500 delegates from the five continents, representing all sectors of society with an interest in agricultural and food issues, met in Mali in February 2007.

This gathering was an opportunity to reaffirm the right to food sovereignty and to clarify its economic, social, ecological and political implications. It also strove to create an international process whose aim will be to achieve recognition of the right to food sovereignty.

The organisers made a deliberate decision to hold this meeting in Africa, where agriculture plays a central role, and where numerous rural and urban families suffer from hunger despite the abundance of natural resources.

Mali was a natural choice. It is a democratic country where civil society organisations, be they trade unions or other types of association, enjoy freedom of action and expression. Mali is one of the first countries in the world to have made food sovereignty a policy priority, with its new agricultural framework law.