Results of the Webinar “Agroecology in the Community of Portuguese language countries - State of the Art and Perspectives”

This special edition of the newsletter of the Training Center for Sustainable Family Agriculture of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CCAFS) presents the summary of two webinars carried out by the Center with the objective of portraying in an exploratory way the situation of agroecology in the Community. 

The webinar “Agroecology in the CPLP: State of the Art and Perspectives” was held on June 16th and 23rd, 2021, to ensure a space for sharing and building knowledge that portrays in an exploratory way the current situation of agroecology in CPLP and also aiming to establish common goals for the development of agroecology in the Community.

The online event brought together the multi-stakeholder community with members of civil society organizations, governments, academia, and CPLP international organizations to exchange experiences on the reality of agroecology in the Community. During this event, participants discussed public policies, relevant legislation, and local initiatives, such as actions to enhance the work done by women in agroecology, to promote rural youth, as well as initiatives to mitigate and adapt to the challenges of climate change, and to promote sustainable agricultural practices and good governance.

Each participating country was represented by trainees from the Training for Trainers in Agroecology recently promoted by the Training Centre for Sustainable Family Farming (CCAFS). These professionals in agroecology brought relevant information about their perspectives and a more comprehensive view of the strengths and weaknesses for the development of agroecology in Angola, Brazil, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe, and East Timor.

This initiative seeks to strengthen the CPLP Agroecology Network, a multi-stakeholder community for shared learning and capacity building in agroecology, aiming to promote sustainable family farming to enhance food security in CPLP countries.

In general, participants identified some common characteristics among the Community countries. Family farm production showed to be crucial to food sovereignty and countries' internal markets. This type of production generally uses techniques as crop rotation, mixed cropping, plants that improve soil, minimum tilling systems, composting, mulching, agroforestry, silvopastoral systems and no use of synthetic chemicals, but despite this reality, the term "agroecology" is not widely recognised in most CPLP countries. However, they recognise the strength of traditional knowledge and the importance of valuing them.

Participants identified different approaches needed for the development of agroecology in the Community. Among them is the importance of implementing farmer field schools (FFSs) to promote training for the sustainable production of high-quality food and with methodologies suitable to the principles of agroecology. There is also the need to value production for domestic consumption, which needs to be reinforced by government support. This support is currently strongly directed towards exports and imports. Throughout the dialogue, participants concluded on some priority themes:

• Climate change: participants recognised the fundamental role of agroecology in the implementation of practices for mitigating and adapting food production systems to climate change.
• The situation of women in farming: women have been continuously working to build sustainable food systems in CPLP through diverse production of foods to feed their families and communities. Despite this, there is low recognition of their work, and they suffer constant violations of their rights. Participants acknowledge the need to transform gender relations in the countryside, making them more collective and horizontal. Production can't be agroecological without recognising women's rights and enabling their participation in decision-making processes.
• The rural exodus is a concern, with the constant abandonment of rural youth to the city. Although Portuguese Speaking African Countries (PALOP) and East Timor still have many young people in the countryside, they tend to abandon it due to the lack of opportunities and the devaluation of family farming. Among other actions, there is the need to promote good living conditions for young people to return or remain in the countryside.
• Environmental education: participants mentioned the need for more environmental education actions to raise awareness among food producers and the community.
• Accessible and participatory certification: there is a need for accessible and participatory certification of agroecological foods as biological/organic.
• Conservation and improvement of native seeds: countries must acknowledge native seeds as central to food sovereignty.

Throughout its first year of activities, CCAFS has continuously brought up the discussion among different actors about the situation of agroecology in the CPLP. In November 2021, CCAFS will release the study "State of the Art of Agroecology in the CPLP" carried out with the support of focal points in the community countries. The study will present the results which focus on deepening the discussion and portraying the situation of public policies and projects aimed at developing agroecology in the CPLP.

 To receive the results of the study, please leave your contact here.