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...

This document contains the local and ethnic knowledge of the Hmong people of Long Lan village, Luang Prabang district, Luang Prabang province, Lao PDR. It relates to community institutions in the management of natural resources, agricultural practices, and animal husbandry, as well as the behavior of the people towards natural...

This website from the Oakland Insitute collects thirty-three case studies on the success of agroecological agriculture in Africa. They demonstrate with facts and figures how an agricultural transformation respectful of the farmers and their environment can yield economic, social and food securit benefits while also fighting climate change and restoring soils...

Resisting Corporate Seed Laws in South Africa - the fourth in a series of six videos covering discussions from the ACB hosted event, National Seed Dialogue and Celebration On 22nd May 2018, South Africa’s draconian corporate seed Bills were approved by the Parliamentary Select Committee, after a lengthy review process....

IFPRI's flagship report reviews the major food policy issues, developments, and decisions of 2017, and highlights challenges and opportunities for 2018 at the global and regional levels. This year's report looks at the impacts of greater global integration—including the movement of goods, investment, people, and knowledge—and the threat of current...

La nouvelle édition annuelle de Défis Sud propose un regard sur les agricultures, avec des faits, des chiffres et des prévisions. Face à l’augmentation de la population, au réchauffement climatique et à la perte de ressources naturelles, les solutions proposées pour répondre au défi de la sécurité alimentaire mondiale devraient davantage...

Factors that further or limit the development of agro-ecological practices. Evaluation of the socio-economic and agro-environmental effects This is a summary note on the CALAO (Capitalization of stakeholder experience for the development of resilient agro-ecological techniques in West Africa) Project. CALAO's goail is to make the following available for practitioners, political bodies,...

Video: Value of Household and Community Seed Banks – the fifth video release in a series of six videos from the ACB Availability of and access to diverse, quality seed is a key element in successful crop production. Commercial seed systems focus only on seeds where profits can be made. Over...

As part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, achieving a world without hunger and malnutrition calls for urgent action to make agriculture more sustainable, productive and resilient. The impacts of climate change are further increasing uncertainties and vulnerabilities facing farmers and communities. Integrated, cross sectoral approaches like agroecology are an...

Biodiversity is an important characteristic to keep ecosystems stable and to make efficient use of environmental resources. These trends of simplification of agro-ecosystems, loss of biodiversity, and degradation of ecosystem services need to be averted. Agroecology is a promising approach to restore biodiversity and ecosystem services to agro-ecosystems, and transition...

This paper situates the competing visions for the future of agriculture and food systems in the context of key social, economic and environmental challenges. Drawing on both the growing literature on these issues and Trócaire’s experience the paper presents Trócaire’s vision for agriculture and food. It is an introduction to...

The Proceedings book includes the contributions from agreocology experts and practitioners that took part as speakers in the International Symposium on Agroecology for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems in China held Kunming, Yunnan, China from 29-31 August 2016. The volume has been prepared in order to collect and disseminate further...

Con una masiva asistencia se llevó a cabo el Seminario Internacional ‘Polinización natural del Chirimoyo: fundamentos para su implementación como estrategia sostenible de producción’. La iniciativa, liderada por el director de centro Ceres, Eduardo Gratacós, dio cuenta sobre el trabajo realizado durante los dos últimos años de investigación, buscando transferir...

Comment nourrir 9,7 milliards d’êtres humains en 2050 ? Cette question légitime reprise en choeur par les institutions internationales entraîne surtout des considérations liées à l’amélioration des rendements de l’agriculture industrielle. C’est pourtant en soutenant les agricultures familiales que l’on arrivera à rendre la nourriture disponible tout en luttant contre la pauvreté...

Agroecology is best practice: Biowatch's work with smallholder farmers explores the workings of eight homestead farms in northern KwaZulu-Natal, illustrating agroecology best practices through the personal experiences of each of the smallholder farmers. These farmers have shown that the land can take care of its people - if its people take...

Local and solidarity-based partnerships for agroecology did not wait for a supportive CAP to develop sustainable food systems. For more than a decade, Community Supported Agriculture has been contributing to creating new jobs that cannot be relocated and to the revitalisation and diversification of the agricultural sector especially in peri-urban areas. The...

Eip Agri August Newsletter on Agriculture & Innovation 

Smallholder Farmer Autonomy Over Seed Production – the final release in a series of six videos from the ACB hosted event, National Seed Dialogue and Celebration, held in December 2017 at Constitution Hill. Smallholder farmers feed the world, providing up to 70% of food consumed globally. The seed is...