The SWOT analysis accompanying the CAP Strategic Plan in Bulgaria identified this country as one of the Member States with the highest loss of HNV farmland in the EU. Unfortunately, it digs no further to analyse the reasons behind the loss, the types of HNV farmland that suffers most, or...

The Greater Mahale Ecosystem (GME) with its stunning views and fascinating wildlife along the shores of Lake Tanganyika – the world's longest freshwater lake – must be an exciting region to visit in western Tanzania.

By putting farmers at the heart of the learning and innovation process, FAO’s Farmer Field Schools (FFS) empower people, households and communities and help restore ecosystems. The discovery-learning process in FFS is ideal to support farmers’ learning and innovation on agroecology.

FAO Agroecology Newsletter #48 June 2021

12 European partners join forces in a coordination and support action to develop a framework for a European network of agroecological living labs, research infrastructure and learning spaces for farmers, research and civil society actors. European agriculture and food systems are strongly impacted by a large number of challenges such...

The initiative is located in the valley of Asni, at the foot of the High Atlas Mountains. In 2010, the family farms of the Tifawine cooperative decided to change their practices to improve the value of their orchards. Since this transition to agroecology, yields have increased by 27% and so...

A field robot autonomously hoed sugar beet for the first time in the canton of Thurgau. And FiBL filmmaker Thomas Alföldi was right there with his video camera. First he filmed the robot from all angles, sent up his drone and then interviewed the farmer about his the material into a...

The Organic Farm Knowledge Platform provides practical information for organic farmers and advisors. Initially, the platform was set up to cover tools and information on organic arable farming, addressing current bottlenecks. In the past two years, materials on the feeding of monogastrics and seeds/breeding were added. Now the platform has...

The initiative is taking place in the Rabat region. The Zirâa Al Hayate "Seed of Life" cooperative in the Rabat region distributes plant products from 10 farms with agroecology practices. The cooperative's farms started their activities with agroecology techniques in 2017.  The 10 participating farms of the cooperative are labeled Participatory...

Over the past decades, agriculture has become increasingly dependent on the use of herbicides and of pesticides. While they have contributed to boosting yields, herbicides can have negative effects on the environment, on biodiversity and also on human health. Therefore, the EU has more recently created policies which seek non-chemical...

The region of Europe and Central Asia is an economic and agricultural powerhouse that boasts diverse cultures, agri-food systems and climatic zones, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said today. This diversity, he added, provides opportunities to share experience and good practices within the region and beyond, but to tap this potential...

Food is essential for our bodies, our economies and our communities—but the way we produce food right now isn’t always good for the planet. Feeding people doesn’t have to come at nature’s expense, though. Regenerative food systems actively restore nature while also ensuring we’re able to feed many generations to...

Back on Chiara Garini’s forest farm at the foot of the Italian Alps. Three years in, her mushroom farm and forest garden is at a crossroads: should she expand or diversify? In any case Chiara is determined to bring utopia into her business plan, and tells us about an exciting...

Whether it is in Anna Regina, Georgetown or Corriverton, Guyana’s markets are traditionally dominated by female vendors. Be it fresh fruits and vegetables or agro-processed products, their stalls display abundance and variety. The vendors’ melodious chants soar above the usual market hustle and bustle: A“What are you getting today, love?” floats...

The Focus Group (FG) on sustainable beef production was launched in 2020 as part of the activities carried out under the European Innovation Partnership 'Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability' (EIP-AGRI). The main question for this Focus Group was “How can grass-based* beef production systems, based on agroecology principles, remain sustainable?”. Beef...

In Estonia, organic production has recently developed rapidly and the share of organic land in the total agricultural area is approximately 23%. However, organic milk production has not increased, and many current farmers were also the pioneers from the start. Reasons for the relatively low proportion of organic dairy herds...

Technology Platform of Organic Agriculture Extremadura (PTAEEx), an Operational Group belonging to the European Innovation Partnership on Agricultural Productivity & Sustainability (EIP-AGRI), elaborated a Research & Innovation Agenda which identifies the main priorities and challenges of the sector with the objective of reaching a sustainable organic sector and its optimal development in...

Yapuchiris are expert farmer-researcher-extensionists on the semi-arid, high plains of Bolivia. At 4000 meters above sea level (over 13,000 feet), seasoned farmers know how to observe plants and animals, clouds and stars, to predict the weather, especially to answer the Big Question on their minds: when will the rains start,...

Elever en masse les insectes responsables de pertes agricoles pour mieux les contrôler : tel est l’étonnant principe de la technique de l’insecte stérile, communément appelée TIS. INRAE développe aujourd’hui cette méthode de biocontrôle en France pour protéger les cultures de la drosophile à ailes tachetées (Drosophila suzukii) et de...

This book is about the invisible or subtle nature of food and farming, and also about the nature of existence. Everything that we know (and do not know) about the physical world has a subtle counterpart which has been scarcely considered in modernist farming practice and research. If you think...