Agroecological approaches are highly location specific as they connect the links between the food needs, livelihoods, local culture, environment and the economics. Education on agroecology is therefore a holistic approach connecting these links, where farmers are in the centre of the entire process. With the realisation of the ill effects of...

The centrality of any education system is knowledge. This article highlights how farmer’s traditional knowledge on millets was explored, revived and documented; how ‘farmer centric research process’ was carried out through participatory varietal trials; and, how the community based knowledge centre for testing, access and spread of knowledge was created. Agro-ecology...

Agroecology is not new. It is based on traditional ecological knowledge and can be found in family farmers’ practices, in grassroots social movements for sustainability and the public policies of various countries around the world. However, the education on agroecology has been largely in an informal manner. Given the challenges...

Many passionate farmers are giving back to the society by sharing their knowledge and experience on growing food in an eco-friendly manner. This is how knowledge got passed from generation to generation, traditionally. But, present day farmers are moving a step ahead by integrating the modern technology and social media,...

Traditional mountain landscapes governed by Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) conserve unique wildlife and agrobiodiversity, and strongly support climate change adaptation and mitigation by protecting ecosystem services, including grasslands that store almost 50% more carbon than forests. But mountain biodiversity and the Indigenous and traditional peoples that sustain it are...

Dans les campagnes de l’Andhra Pradesh, cet Etat agricole du sud-est qui a lancé depuis 2018 le plus grand programme d’agroécologie au monde. Près d’un million de paysans y sont déjà passés au "natural farming", délaissant OGM, pesticides, fongicides, et engrais chimiques.   

Urban home gardening, limited to private residential spaces, has a potential to address the urban food supply chain, when expanded. In Kerala, urban home gardening, supported by governmental intervention and people’s social media-based initiative has become a wider societal movement. Light weight designed grow bags are used for rooftop garden Kerala, a...

Peri-urban areas are not ‘waiting rooms’ for entry into urban areas. A fundamental change in mindsets is needed, to prevent further land-use changes and unregulated construction activities. The situation can be better managed by promoting and maintaining multifunctional green spaces and also peri-urban agriculture. The initiative of co creation of...

Rapid urbanization, industrialization, land ceiling, construction of multi-storeyed buildings, wide roads, offices, markets have resulted in the non-availability of land for gardening work in big cities and towns. Ever-increasing population in cities and increasing vehicles have resulted in an alarming increase in pollution. There is a great need to break...

  Dans les campagnes de l’Andhra Pradesh, cet Etat agricole du sud-est qui a lancé depuis 2018 le plus grand programme d’agroécologie au monde. Près d’un million de paysans y sont déjà passés au "natural farming", délaissant OGM, pesticides, fongicides, et engrais chimiques. Cette ”agriculture naturelle” veut réparer la terre et relever les...

Cet article met en perspective les résultats de deux projets. L’analyse montre que l’intensification du riz dans la vallée du fleuve Sénégal et celles de la révolution verte en Inde font non seulement décliner la biodiversité agricole des céréales locales, mais endommagent les capacités d’adaptation et la qualité nutritionnelle des...

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)...

Conflicts over fishing gear have again erupted along the Coromandel Coast of India, pointing to the urgent need for effective management. In August, 2021 tensions escalated in the state of Tamil Nadu along India’s southeastern coast when an altercation between fishers at sea led one to be hospitalized with serious injuries....

The future of sustainable fisheries around the world does not lie merely in the scale of operations but in the artisanal attitude and its attendant culture. This is the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022). From a quick survey of the website of the Food and Agriculture Organization...

This blog, in the backdrop of World Radio Day, highlights the instrumental role Community Radio Alfaz-e-Mewat FM 107.8 played during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a country as vast and diverse as India, inclusion can only be achieved by strengthening communication that serves the people at the bottom of the pyramid,...

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...

Every year in September, during ‘India Nutrition Week,’ nutritionists, health gurus, development professionals, chefs, and other food and nutrition experts converge across the subcontinent to discuss and promote the benefits of a balanced diet for a healthy lifestyle. While malnutrition rates have dropped significantly in India over the past decades,...

The documentary film Unseen Faces, Unheard Voices showcase the impacts of the boom in aquaculture on women in the floodplain regions of the Indian coastal state of West Bengal. Shot in the remote villages of Purba Medinipur, the film makes a pitch to policy makers, researchers and institutions to adopt...

The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) Trust organized a national workshop on the SSF Guidelines and Women in Fisheries, India at Asha Nivas Social Service Centre, Chennai, India, on April 8-10, 2022. There were sixtyone participants from five coastal states of Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West...

India’s rural economy, largely dependent on rainfed agriculture, is increasingly vulnerable to climate change. More frequent, intense heatwaves and unpredictable rains undermine farmers’ efforts to protect crops and sustain their families. In 2021, to support communities to cope with crises, ‘CRISP-M’ was launched: an accessible online tool that helps communities...