By Carmelo Troccoli, Director General of World Farmers Markets Coalition
When we speak about wars today, we often focus on geopolitics, borders, and military strategies. But what is rarely discussed is how war destroys something much quieter and more fragile: local food systems and the communities built around them.
Farmers markets are among the first victims of conflict, even when they are not directly bombed.
War breaks the connection between farmers and citizens. It interrupts transport routes. It forces producers to abandon their land. It creates fear that keeps people from gathering in public spaces. Markets depend on trust, proximity, and stability and war destroys all three.
In countries affected by conflict, the situation becomes even more dramatic when we remember how small these territories often are. Entire areas can suddenly become inaccessible. Part of the population is displaced. Families are separated. And yet, farmers are still expected to produce food, travel, and continue their work in conditions that are increasingly unsafe.
This is not a theoretical issue for us as a coalition. It is something our members are experiencing every day.
In some places, life is divided between neighborhoods that have been destroyed and others where daily life still appears almost normal. During a market day, a bombardment can happen only a few kilometers away. Windows shake, people check their phones in fear, and for a moment everything stops. And then, incredibly, the market continues. Farmers stay. Customers stay. Communities refuse to disappear.
This is the reality that many farmers market communities have been living with for decades. And this reality is damaging them economically, socially, and emotionally.
War does not only destroy infrastructure. It destroys confidence in the future. Young farmers stop investing. Producers struggle to plan their next season. Small local markets, which depend on continuity and relationships, become extremely vulnerable. What takes years to build can disappear in a few weeks.
And yet, despite all this, we continue to see powerful examples of resistance from within our network. Even in the middle of conflict, new farmers markets are still being opened. Our Lebanese member, the Lebanon Farmers Markets Coalition, recently launched their 5th market, a clear message that community and local food systems will not be silenced by violence.
The same spirit is reflected in the organizations that are joining our coalition today. Among them is Dalia Association, a Palestinian community foundation dedicated to empowering communities to control their own resources and build sustainable development for future generations. Welcoming them as a new member from Palestine demonstrates that farmers markets can unite people across borders, and that inclusion, cooperation, and shared values remain stronger than division.
As the World Farmers Markets Coalition, we are firmly against war and the fragmentation it creates. Farmers markets are spaces where people meet peacefully every week. They connect farmers and citizens, urban and rural communities, cultures and traditions. They represent exactly the opposite of what war creates.
At a time when violence is growing in many parts of the world, supporting farmers markets is not a small action. It is a way to defend local communities, protect small producers, and preserve spaces where people can still meet face to face.
Because when a farmers market survives, a community survives.
