Featuring cases in different sectors and countries around the world, this publication introduces the agroecology approach to linking food, livelihoods and natural resources, presents 10 Elements of Agroecology, and looks at ways of scaling up the people-centred approach to ensure its potential impact is fully realized, promising a brighter future...

Agroecological symbiosis (AES) is a new, transformative model for adaptive and resilient localized food production and consumption. An AES is formed by farms, small and medium-scale food processors, and bioenergy producers working as one system, in close proximity to each other. The physical proximity is dictated by the ecological necessity...

The seed, like the big bang, or evolution, or the atom … bears the mystifying tale of a beginning. We fill our bellies on the seed, heal our wounds, build our homes. Upon sight, or smell, or taste, perhaps we let our minds drift to the smallscale farmer who prepares...

Sagain, Myanmar – Chan Law is a Naga ethnic form Sagain Division, Lay Shi Township, Panset Village, Myanmar. Currently, he lives in Naw Phu village. Law comes from a family of farmers. Since he was a child, he had been helping farm his parents’ land. In 2010, He graduated with...

As our land remains under water during the rainy season, our ancestors were already thinking of ways to produce crops in order to survive. They invented the floating garden by using crop residues. We do not need any chemical fertilizers or pesticides, because the floating bed is fertile by nature....

With a population expected to double by 2050 from 1.2 billion to around 2.5 billion predominantly young people, the African continent will need to foster job creation and economic growth through sustainable development. The agricultural sector can play a key role in this, having the capacity to provide jobs and growth...

Agro-ecology: evaluation methods for its effects and conditions for developmentProceedings of the exchange and methodological construction workshop on the 14th and 15th of december 2017   This document presents the work of the exchange workshop organized on December 14 and 15 2017 by the Working Group on Agroecological Transitions (GTAE in french - created by...

Participatory Plant Breeding and Smallholder Farmers video – the third in a series of six videos from ACB’s National Seed Dialogue and Celebration At the National Seed Dialogue and Celebration, hosted by the African Centre for Biodiversity at Constitution Hill in December 2017, this session on Participatory Plant Breeding and...

Climate change is projected to have severe implications for smallholder agriculture in Africa, with increased temperatures, increased drought and flooding occurrence, and increased rainfall variability. Given these projections, there is a need to identify effective strategies to help rural communities adapt to climatic risks. Yet, relatively little research has examined...

This document presents the work of the exchange workshop organized on December 14 and 15 2017 by the Working Group on Agroecological Transitions (GTAE in french - created by the french NGOs AVSF, Agrisud, CARI and Gret) and dedicated to methods to evaluate the performance of agroecology and development conditions. The work of...

Los continuos cambios que se produjeron desde la década del 80' con el avance de la sojización en la pampa húmeda argentina, han condicionado la permanencia de ciertos sistemas de producción que compiten con este cultivo en especial por el recurso suelo. Este proceso de transformación social provocó importantes consecuencias...

This info sheet presents the key concepts related to Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS), where they are found, why they are suitable for smallholder farmers and the benefits. This info sheet was prepared under the FAO Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP/RAS/3510) on “Small-Scale Farmer Inclusion in Organic Agriculture Development through Participatory Guarantee...

Niman Ranch Farmers John W. and Beverly Gilbert of Iowa Falls, IA have a profound message: “Farming—properly structured and informed—has the potential to mediate climate change, rebuild rural America, address nutritional injustice, help with income inequality and general divisiveness, give meaning and structure to our lives, and provide a means for family members...

Today, a number actors in Montenegro’s fruit and vegetable value chains – including producers, retailers, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development – came together at a workshop in Podgorica, Montenegro, to discuss the benefits of agricultural cooperatives. The workshop was organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the...

This closing chapter first briefly identifies key moments at which previously excluded farmers and citizens can intervene in the politics of knowledge to decide what knowledge is produced, and for whose benefit. Next, the chapter critically explores two complementary approaches for democratizing the construction of knowledge(s) for food sovereignty, agroecology...

This report unpacks and explores farmer-managed seed systems and their contribution to food and seed sovereignty, including the benefits they provide to farming communities as a part of their sociocultural, economic, spiritual and ecological livelihoods. The report highlights, exposes and explores how these systems work. It builds on reports of...

Formed in 2007, Food Plant Solutions Rotary Action Group (FPS) creates science-based educational materials, which: identify highly nutritious local food plants, explain how to grow them in a sustainable, agroecological way, detail the nutritional value of the plants and describe why human bodies require those nutrients. The resources created by FPS allows people to better...

European agriculture faces increasing restrictions on the use of external production inputs, such as artificial fertilisers, pesticides and antibiotics. Organic farmers have experience in dealing with these issues, which is why organic farming may open new avenues for soil management strategies, weed and pest control, and livestock health and wellbeing,...

In this document, ‘farmers’ includes those who produce and/or use seeds in both industrial and cultural seed systems in line with Article 9 on Farmers’ Rights in the Seed Treaty. The custodians of cultural seed systems are referred to as ‘indigenous peoples and peasants’, and more broadly also include smallholders,...

There are a number of innovative projects looking into techniques which can improve production whilst reducing inputs and impact on the environment. These are techniques which can be useful in both organic and ‘conventional’ agriculture. The Operational Group (OG) ‘Special area Altes Land’ in Germany is working on plant protection...