The Third General Assembly of the World Farmers Market Coalition in Rome
Written By Caro Mages
October 30th, 2025
From the 10th – 12th of October 2025, Grønt Marked participated in the Third General Assembly of the World Farmers Market Coalition (WorldFMC) in Rome. With more than 100 participants from more than 60 countries the General Assembly was the biggest one so far, with many new and “old” members getting the chance to meet and get to know each other.
The General Assembly coincided with the 80s Birthday celebrations of the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), who generously invited us into their premises and hosted many fruitful and interesting panels and presentations with members of WFMC, FAO and many other organisations working towards a more sustainable food system in the world.
What is the WorldFMC and why is Grønt Marked a part of it?
The WorldFMC is a global association that connects farmers, farmers market’s associations and organisers from around the world. The aim is to connect, and through exchange, advocacy and peer to peer learning, contribute to stronger local food systems worldwide – with farmers and communities at theirs center.
Grønt Marked is one of the founding members of the WorldFMC, together with farmers markets from Canada, Ghana, Italy, Norway, and the USA.
During the General Assembly, the program was full of presentations on the state of the farmers markets in the different regions of the world, past and new projects, partner meetings and co-labs, as well as the participation in a global Biodiversity Exhibition, showcasing products from all participating members, as well as potential new ones.
What were the main outcomes of the WFMCs General Assembly?
- “Food should never be a Weapon” – the WorldFMC unifies to see and use farmers markets as a tool for inclusion and peace
- Launch of the Youth Manifesto, launching an alliance for food for the younger generations over food justice and food democracy
- New Projects to be launched in the Central and South America Region
- Physical meeting of market organizers from all over the world, creating a wonderful place of learning and connection
- And last but not least: The agreement on a position paper and a unified definition on “Farmers Markets” – to protect them from greenwashing and cooptation.
This is an extremely important achievement, strengthening the position of Farmers Markets both on a local and global level.
The WFMC definition of a farmers market is:
“A farmers market is a recurring and organized gathering where local farmers or their staff sell their fresh, locally grown and processed agricultural products directly to the consuming public. These markets provide vibrant spaces for communities to connect with their food sources, foster relationships between consumers and farmers, while supporting local economies and sustainable practices.”
The WorldFMC also presented the importance of farmers markets as a tool for inclusion and peace, making an important stand against the use of food as a weapon, while the world is facing more and more challenges due to climate change, wars, conflicts and problems in governance.
We give massive thanks to the World Farmers Market Coalition, Campagna Amica, Coldiretti and FAO – as well as the other organisations contributing to making this assembly happening.
We furthermore want to specifically thank the planning team, making the weekend full off learnings and offering the rare possibility to meet so many people working on a similar cause around the world.
We go home, very inspired and with new energy to make our markets in Denmark thrive and are looking forward until we can meet everyone again.
If you have further questions on how a global alliance for Farmers Markets works – please reach out to us on hello@groentmarked.dk 
we are happy to share more information. Otherwise please visit the World Farmers Market Coalition website or follow them on social media. Here you will be able to follow different projects and campaigns.