At the National Peasant Congress, President Nicolás Maduro launched a historic strategy to make Venezuela a world leader in food sovereignty based on agroecology. The mandatary banned GMOs and announced the rescue of the «conuco» (small farm) as an ancestral production model.
The President categorically rejected GMOs, alerting on their health risks, saying: “Science links these foods with Alzheimer’s, cancer, and allergies. Health enters through the mouth: our people deserve clean nutrition.”
He also announced that the new National Peasant School will train leaders in sustainable production, prioritizing methods that regenerate the land.
The President’s plan revives the indigenous model of the conuco on three levels:
1. Family: Urban and rural gardens
2. Community: Agroecological cooperatives
3. Regional: Biodiversity corridors
“Scientifically proven: the conuco regenerates soils, protects native seeds, and defeats the predatory capitalist model,” as emphasized the president.
The Ezequiel Zamora National Peasant Union will execute this transformation through:
• Promotion of bio-supplies: Complete replacement of agrochemicals by 2028
• Agroecological certification: National seal for clean products
• Rescue of ancestral seeds: Gene banks in 23 states
«Agroecology will be the general rule: we will produce healthy food for Venezuela and the world,» declared Maduro, setting goals such as:
– 2026: 70% of national production free of GMOs
– 2030: 100% agroecological food sovereignty
The model will combine ancestral knowledge with precision technology in order to create the first regenerative system of food in Latin America.