Background for the media
There is a broad consensus that agroecology can be instrumental in achieving a wide range of policy, environmental and food security targets, from sustainability related goals to the reduction of rural poverty.
Building on the 1st International Symposium on Agroecology for Food Security and Nutrition, held in Rome in 2014, and the subsequent regional seminars organized in 2015, 2016 and 2017, in April 2018 FAO will host the 2nd International Symposium on Agroecology: Scaling-up Agroecology to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The 2nd International Symposium on Agroecology aims at moving agroecology from dialogue to action at the regional and country level by providing an opportunity for sharing ideas and experiences, while discussing policies and actions that can support agroecology in achieving the SDGs and accompany the decade of Family Farming.
The Symposium will take a multi-stakeholder, multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary approach. About 400 participants will attend, from policy-makers and governments, agroecology practitioners and civil society representatives, to members from academia and research, the private sector and representatives from the regional meetings.
A new forward-looking and action-oriented “Scaling-up Agroecology Initiative” will be launched in the closing session of the event by the FAO Director-General in cooperation with major partners, including IFAD and others and with the participation of around 10 Ministers from various regions.