Globally, agriculture is highly dependent on prevailing climate and weather conditions as well as natural resources such as soils. Soil is a non-renewable resource, and its unsustainable use leads to erosion, nutrient depletion and degradation. In some cases, the consequences are irreversible destruction of soil ecosystems and, in the case...

Fourteen representatives from five Community Skills Development Centres (CSDCs) participated recently in a hands-on training session organised by Access Agriculture in Zomba, Malawi, as part of an AFC/GOPA consulting group project under the GIZ-Empowering Youth in Agribusiness (EYA) initiative.

In Latin America, hegemonic development strengthens agribusiness, whose model follows the Green Revolution with its technological packages. An alternative arises from the growing convergence of two social movements: agroecology and Solidarity Economy (EcoSol), here called EcoSol-agroecology. Their networks build short circuits, bringing producers and consumers closer together and strengthening their...

Research by the Food and Agriculture Association found women are essential to small-scale agriculture, farm labour and day-to-day family subsistence. Slow Food, a worldwide organisation promoting traditional cooking, is celebrating women who grow food and preserve food cultures in their daily lives. According to the FAO, women produce between 60 and...

Here is some excellent advice on how to write clearly, especially for smallholder farmers. Steven Pinker writes charming books on language and on the mind, where he manages to explain complex ideas clearly. He is so well read that he branched out and wrote an optimistic book on violence, explaining...

This year’s Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC) felt more necessary than ever. Gathering in person for the first time since January 2020, the great and the good of agroecology turned their attention to the pressing matters of the day: the intersectional crises of biodiversity, climate, energy and cost of living....

On 25 April, the Food Policy Coalition (FPC) held its first in person-meeting in Brussels to launch its report “Sustainable Food Systems Law: Policy recommendations for a meaningful transition“. The FPC urged the need for a new legal framework for Sustainable Food Systems that looks at the whole food system: from production to...

From the steppes of Kyrgyzstan to the vast plains around Mount Kenya, the Agroecology Fund is proud to support pastoralist initiatives demonstrating that agroecology is an approach that can be applied to different food systems. An age-old, traditional way of life for Indigenous communities across the world, pastoralism upholds many...

Cocoa production has been one of the main drivers of forest loss in West Africa. In the resulting post-forest landscapes, agroforestry has often been recognised as a solution to reconcile the preservation of trees and agriculture. Thus, a large number of tree plantation programs have been carried out in cocoa...

Sustainable public procurement has countless benefits that make it a strategic lever to trigger a change in the food system. Indeed, increasing the share of organic food products in public procurement makes it more sustainable and can generate a positive impact on kitchen staff training, waste reduction, health, canteen budgets,...

Dans la zone sahélienne au Burkina Faso, les sols sont pauvres, mal protégés par une végétation clairsemée et ont tendance à s’éroder sous l’effet des pluies de mousson. La pression démographique, la diminution du temps de jachère, le surpâturage et les effets des dérèglements climatiques ont conduit, au fil du...

Animal agriculture is a leading driver of ecological destruction. But what if it’s not all bad? 

Mary Wairimu Oloo, who lives in Kenya’s Trans Nzoia County, moved back to her family’s coffee farm after retiring from a government role. Since then she has been diligently improving productivity on the farm, diversifying her income and helping others along the way.  Mary Wairimu Oloo is not just a wife...

In this issue we present our new Board, cover recent political developments (e.g. on the EU Farm to Fork, Organic Regulation, Animal Welfare, GMOs..) and present key upcoming events such as the EU Organic Day, the EU Organic Awards and the European Organic Congress. Read it to discover more!

The Entrepreneurs for Rural Access (known as ERAs) of Access Agriculture (www.accessagriculture.org) have been working with youth in schools and farming communities surrounding the schools as part of a joint project with the Knowledge Centre for Organic Agriculture in Africa (KCOA), a programme funded by BMZ and implemented by GIZ....

L'agroécologie, quel drôle de mot! Probablement le genre de terme qui n'enflamme pas les esprits. Qui ne fait pas forcément chauffer les cellules nerveuses, pour que les synapses se mettent à faire feu par milliers, voire par millions, comme si une session de pyrotechnie était en cours, dont la majorité...

Small-scale farming communities across the world are using agroecology to simultaneously tackle food security soil health, and gender equality.

En ce début d'année 2023, le monde est au bord d'une crise de la dette particulièrement redoutable. Après une décennie de constante augmentation des niveaux d'endettement, les finances publiques des pays à faible revenu se sont trouvées lourdement impactées par la pandémie du COVID-19. Les perturbations économiques qui ont suivi...

During the past 10–15 years, agroecology has grown in prominence in global agricultural discourse based on a belief that it can dramatically transform agrifood systems (Anderson et al., 2021). The concern of proponents of agroecology – that modern agriculture, often referred to as conventional or industrial, has been principally responsible...

Este libro reúne los resultados de investigación de los becarios de la segunda cohorte del Programa de Investigación y Formación en Sistemas Agroecológicos Andinos apoyado por la alianza entre Fundación McKnight y CLACSO. Este proyecto ha permitido que estudiantes de posgrado lleven a cabo investigaciones relevantes para la agricultura de...