Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL October 2022 Newsletter News highlighting FiBL’s research, training and advisory services

As agroecology has increasingly been brought into the international dialogue on the future of food and agriculture, there have been calls for building the evidence base of its performance across the multiple dimensions of sustainability and its capacity to achieve multiple SDGs. In response to this need, FAO coordinated the...

To promote greater sustainability in agriculture, development of agroecology is increasingly being invoked. What are the conditions for establishing agroecological production in tropical regions? Based upon case studies in several tropical areas, we provide here some answers to this question. We review the “pillars” (i.e. principles) and the “implementation levers”...

Citizen science is a somewhat familiar term - but what does it entail in practice, and how can it be applied in the context of agroecological transitions?  The focus of a recent presentation entitled One Million Voices initiative: Introducing Citizen Science for Agroecology – held on 28 February – was to answer that exact...

In areas ravaged by droughts intensified by climate change, women from traditional cattle farming communities in Kenya are expanding their knowledge and skills so that they can get climate smart and adapt to an increasingly arid environment.

The European Farm-to-Fork strategy considers organic farming as a core element for improving agricultural sustainability, due to manifold best practice examples for sustainable farm management. Conversion to organic farming requires comprehensive knowledge about organic production practices, and good understanding of the conversion process itself and the related rules and regulations....

À force de travail acharné, Ousmane Sambou a réussi un pari que beaucoup pensaient impossible : transformer 1,5 hectare de friche stérile en un verger verdoyant et productif. Les limettiers et les orangers sont encore juvéniles, mais ils assureront bientôt un revenu stable pour le jeune homme, son épouse et leur...

Europe needs the vision, engagement and participation of all young people to build a better future that is greener, more inclusive and digital. In the words of the European Commission’s President, Ursula von der Leyen, “Our Union needs a soul and a vision [young people] can connect to”. The EU...

Eleven people give an insight into their joys, their worries and their personal values in the environment of organic cotton production. The series "Faces of Organic Cotton" shows a new portrait every week until mid-December. It was created as part of FiBL Switzerland's SysCom (Farming Systems Comparison in the Tropics)...

Emile Frison is a member of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems. His entire career has been focused on international agricultural research for development. He was Director-General of Bioversity International from 2003 to 2013 and is the lead author of the IPES-Food report From Uniformity to Diversity: a paradigm shift from industrial agriculture...

Despite their important ecological roles for soil health and soil fertility, free-living nematodes (FLN) have received relatively limited research attention. The present study evaluated the community structure and diversity of FLN in a field setting. The experiments were conducted in on-farm and on-station field plots sown to maize (Zea mays) and...

Despite their crucial role in agrifood systems, women are faced with enormous challenges, including exclusion from decision-making, denial of essential productive resources such as land, water, credit, information, and technologies, and disregard for their deep knowledge of local contexts. A key ally in empowering these women to continue working the...

La plateforme partenariale pour la transformation agroécologique vient de publier son premier rapport. Un examen des différentes mesures politiques menées à travers le monde pour soutenir l’agroécologie. Les avancées récentes et les défis restants sont passés aux cribles des expertes et experts de la plateforme.

Face au défi alimentaire et aux instabilités climatiques, l’agriculture du Bénin doit accroître ses performances économiques, sociales et environnementales, en particulier par le développement de l’agroécologie. Le numérique est souvent cité comme un levier majeur de la transition agroécologique, mais les innovations numériques en agriculture au Bénin restent peu visibles....

From May 24th to 26th, 2022, the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) has teamed with partners to host the first trailblazing three-day continental convening on AFRICAN AGROECOLOGICAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND TERRITORIAL MARKETS in Munyonyo, Uganda. Over 130 people in person and 80 virtual participants attended the event, which brought...

Biodiversity constitutes an essential element in our global ecosystems and provides the foundation for agricultural practices and food production. It is essential to our well-being and food security, but it is often threatened by our activities. In some places, however, farmers have learned to work in harmony with the environment...

Organic farming is a farming method that uses natural substances and processes to produce food. This means that organic farming has a low environmental impact. In accordance with the EU regulation for organic production, it is very restrictive on the use of different synthetic products and prohibits the use of...

Since its launch in 2018, the Scaling up Agroecology Initiative seeks to mobilize dialogue, cooperation and investment within and beyond the UN system, to bring agroecology to scale and achieve multiple sustainable development goals through sustainable agriculture and food systems. Different UN Agencies are progressively supporting agroecology across their respective...

To value local culture, and to encourage a healthy lifestyle it is important that schools include topics on farming and traditional food in their curriculum and activities. Weave elements related to agroecology in the school curriculum of all the grades. By organising field visits, children can learn from farmers about...

One of principal changes within the new CAP has been the inclusion of Eco-schemes – voluntary programmes linked to the first pillar which will be available to farmers with the hope to incentivize more ecological and environmentally-friendly farming practices. While agroecology holds an eminent space within this list by being...