Countries can contribute by establishing legal and institutional frameworks that protect the rights of farmers and agri-food system workers to organize, negotiate, and engage in collective bargaining. They can support the formation of cooperatives, unions, and producer associations, providing technical assistance and capacity-building to strengthen their negotiating power. Policies that ensure fair labor standards and equitable market access help create a more inclusive, resilient, and just food system.

Promote the development of associations and cooperatives among family farmers and small-scale producers to cope with market imbalances. Encourage legislative reforms that protect land rights, ensure transparency in contract farming, and cap market concentration by dominant agrifood actors. 

This includes supporting civil society and enabling social audits to hold actors accountable. Countries can enact policies that strengthen civil society organizations and protect their ability to monitor and advocate for accountability in food systems. They can institutionalize mechanisms like social audits, public reporting, and participatory monitoring to ensure transparency and hold actors responsible for their impacts. 

 To promote a just food system, mechanisms must be in place to include underrepresented groups in recognised decision making positions, including within government. Promoting gender equity by increasing women’s representation in leadership and decision-making roles ensures more inclusive and representative governance.

Brazil’s Ecoforte Program, led by the Ministry of Agrarian Development, strengthens cooperatives and associations of family farmers engaged in agroecology and sociobiodiversity value chains. Through funding, technical assistance, and capacity-building, it enhances organizational, commercial, and environmental performance, reinforces producer cooperation, and promotes sustainable practices, increased income, and expanded market access for family farmers and traditional communities.

Ecuador’s Circuitos Alternativos de Comercialización (CIALCO) connects family farmers and peasants directly with consumers, bypassing intermediaries. This initiative improves farmers’ income, strengthens local food systems, and increases access to fresh, diverse, and affordable produce for communities. By fostering short supply chains and promoting participatory market structures, CIALCO supports sustainable livelihoods, food security, and resilient rural economies.

In Kenya and Senegal, community scorecards and participatory budgeting have been used to improve local food system governance—ensuring women’s groups can influence decisions on markets, food safety, and nutrition budgets. Furthermore, the Right to Food can be built into national constitutions as has been legislated in Kenya, and Mexico.