Food sovereignty, capitalism and migrant workers

Migrant workers have long played a central role in the global food system, yet they often remain marginal in food sovereignty discourse and practice. In this paper, we discuss why and how migrant labour is overlooked and explore ways to more effectively integrate migrant workers into food sovereignty frameworks, including debates, discourse, mobilisations, and practices. Increasing numbers of ‘working people’ migrate in search of livelihoods, which raises questions about the role of migrant labour in food sovereignty, its connections to changing forms of social reproduction across different spaces, and its relevance for advancing agrarian justice in the present neoliberal era. Evidence suggests that migrant workers produce food for both self-consumption and market sale in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas. However, the emphasis on localisation within food sovereignty has often prioritized peasant agriculture, overlooking contemporary trends towards semi-proletarianisation within both small peasant and worker households that combine subsistence farming with wage labour. A more inclusive food sovereignty agenda must address the lived realities of working people, particularly regarding their access to land. Urban and peri-urban food production by low-paid and informal workers illustrates the need to expand the concept of food sovereignty beyond rural peasants to encompass diverse labouring populations.