17 April | A look back at the 2026 Peasant Struggles

(May 6, 2026) On April 17 and 18, 2026, we commemorated the International Day of Peasant Struggles with a festival of resistance: meetings, protests against the EU-Mercosur agreement, film screenings and discussions, tributes, festive moments, etc. For this occasion, we had the honor of welcoming Batista do Nascimento da Silva from the Landless Workers’ Movement (Brazil), Eglantine Berthet from the Confédération Paysanne Alsace, and Yesha Ramos from a peasant movement in the Philippines. We invite you to relive these two emotionally charged days, as the RéSAP network and international peasant struggles have emerged strengthened and galvanized. And that is precisely what we need to collectively fight against agribusiness, which continues to attack farmers here and elsewhere through free trade agreements. These agreements further threaten access to land worldwide, fair prices, and the dignity of farmers. Friday 17/04 in Brussels Conference: “Let’s change the food system recipe at CNCD-11.11.11 The conference was structured around 2 panels, each with 4 speakers: the first panel celebrating 30 years of International Day of Peasant Struggles and the second aiming to combine 4 ingredients to change the recipe of food systems. After a few introductory words, Batista reminded everyone why they were all gathered on April 17th and what motivates them to mobilize every year. Thirty years earlier, to the day, Batista walked the curve (the central courtyard) of Eldorado dos Carajás in the state of Pará, Brazil, with his family. This state, where particularly abundant wealth is hoarded, is already known for numerous attacks against activists who defend workers’ rights against agribusiness. That day, he saw the tear gas canisters fired by the police, the men fall, blood cover the asphalt, and the panic of the crowd. Batista was reunited with his family several hours after the massacre, and his will to fight was only strengthened by the experience. We have brought together perspectives from Brazil and Europe for a global understanding of food systems: we have great points of convergence as we fight for basic needs against agribusiness which acts to the detriment of farmers around the world. We then gathered 4 battles to change the recipe: those of European agricultural policy; the fight against hunger; agricultural trade; and climate policies. Food insecurity and hunger affect every continent. Pressure on land is accelerating, just as repression is aligning itself with the rise of fascism. We have a common enemy against which a comprehensive, global strategy is necessary. While we must cultivate alliances, one question remains: how do we scare agribusiness? Let’s start by naming it and bringing it out of the shadows! Thanks to the speakers: Batista do Nascimento da Silva (from the Landless Workers’ Movement), Ivan Mammana (representative of the European coordination of La Via Campesina), Églantine Berthet (spokesperson for the Confédération Paysanne d’Alsace), Timothée Pétel (from FUGEA), Juliette Pagnon (Agroecology in Action), François Grenade (Climate Coalition – Humundi), Emilie De Bassompierre (Coalition Against Hunger – FIAN) and Sophie Witgens (Stop EU-Mercosur – CNCD-11.11.11) Demonstration Action: Free Farmers, Stop Free Trade At 3:30 pm, songs were sung in Orban Square to launch the march that exposed the hidden actors and profiteers of the EU-Mercosur agreement. Accompanied by two tractors, members of the Antifafarre movement, and choirs, a procession of 200 farmers, activists, and supportive citizens made several stops and carried out numerous actions in the European Quarter. Croplife, or the “undertaker,” sellers of toxic pesticides and lobbyists to export ever more prohibited substances. Bayer, a major producer of glyphosate and numerous GMOs, is constantly pushing for fewer regulations and less protection. Activists took advantage of this to deliver 50 pesticides banned in Europe but exported to the rest of the world. A perfect example of what goes around comes around! DBI, a large German company comprising no less than 45 lobbyists and a 2024 budget exceeding €3,500,000 to defend the EU-Mercosur agreement and influence policies in favor of agribusiness. European Parliament : the procession ended at Place du Luxembourg. An effigy of this decidedly toxic system was ripped open at the foot of a giant “STOP EU-Mercosur” banner by Brazilian, French and Belgian farmers. A series of large posters were pasted directly onto the building’s facade to expose the lobbies that profit from free trade agreements. A panel of stencils at the entrance demanded accountability for farmers and the environment. At each stop, the microphone was taken to highlight the harms, the stakes, and why we must continue the struggle. Because yes, the EU-Mercosur agreement is neither the only one nor the last, but it still has to go before the Court of Justice of the European Union. Hugues Falys, spokesperson for FUGEA, also added at the microphone that his union “rejects a treaty that puts family farming in Europe and Brazil under the steamroller of agribusiness, but is working to strengthen solidarity with those who are building a fairer and more sustainable agriculture”. Film Screening and Discussion: Dairy Struggles in Belgium As part of the Nourrir Bruxelles (Feed Brussels) initiative, a screening of the film “Il a plu sur le Grand Paysage” (It Rained on the Great Landscape) drew a full house at the Nova cinema. Tracing the story of dairy farmers in the Herve region and their struggles against the increasing liberalization of the sector since 2008, the film resonates with the current situation. Indeed, the European dairy sector is experiencing another major crisis, marked by a collapse in prices (up to -40% in just a few months) to below 35-40 cents per liter, well below production costs. With Jean-Jacques Andrien, director, and Luc Hollands, dairy farmer and a leading figure in the struggles depicted in the documentary, we revisited the daily lives of these farmers, perhaps on the cusp of new mobilizations... Saturday, April 18th in Anderlecht Meeting: Let’s Cultivate Our Struggles, Let’s Reap Victories In Anderlecht, the “Graines de Paysans” agricultural test space hosted a large tent for a warm (and slightly muddy) day. Once again, the microphone was held for Bastista and Eglantine, this time joined by Yesha Ramos, a Filipino activist, and Damien, a member of RéSAP. Each speaker presented a bit of their movement’s history, the importance of building connections, and their successes and challenges. A timeline was gradually drawn up, like a shared journey. In Yesha’s words, “being here is already a clear message of our solidarity”. Damien also wanted to thank his three colleagues for their presence; they usually meet with their movement on April 17th and decided to join us this year. While our stories, journeys, and realities are quite different, our forms of resistance can converge. According to Yesha, they share a common foundation: “Without land, there is no food; without food, there is no freedom”. Batista confirmed that the fight against the EU-Mercosur agreement is a shared struggle against agribusiness. While he keenly recognizes the negative socio-environmental impacts that free trade agreements can have on Brazilian farmers, he also sees common issues and challenges to be addressed through dialogue with organizations in the Global North. Eglantine reminds us that we are fighting for our rights, both to be won and to be preserved, for those already secured yet threatened every day. Finally, before launching into small group discussions, Damien reminds us that food sovereignty means fighting against an economic and political system, and that food is unfortunately not yet a right. Before enjoying a meal prepared by Le Début des Haricots, two workshops were held. The first, organized around several tables and questions, aimed to outline the future of peasant struggles in light of the 30 years reviewed. The second attempted to address how to organize within a context of increasing fascism. After all that brainstorming, the day is far from over. A day of peasant struggle organized by RéSAP wouldn’t be complete without planting potatoes ... A symbolic moment saw the transfer of land from Brazil to a young Brussels farmer. Finally, time for a meal and a celebration! Protests Elsewhere in Belgium April 17 in the Province of Luxembourg This Friday, April 17, 2026, to commemorate the International Peasant Struggle Day, reaffirm their disagreement with Mercosur, and share their fight to defend agroecology, the team at La Petite Foire Paysanne planted potatoes. Using animal traction, they worked alongside farmers of different generations, but with shared realities and a common desire to defend peasant agriculture, both locally and globally! They will eat and share these potatoes at La Petite Foire Paysanne on July 25 and 26. Agroecology is peasant-based and will remain so! Protests Elsewhere in Belgium April 18th in Antwerp against Boerentoren Around a hundred citizens and farmers gathered in front of the Boerentoren (Farmers’ Tower) in Antwerp. On this day of peasant struggles, they denounced rising land prices, the lack of fair prices, and costly technologies in the agricultural sector. As evidence, they pointed out that an average of 1,810 farms disappear in Belgium every year.