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Apply for Grow Summer School

30.04.2019

Registration for Grow Summer School, “Agrobiodiversity in a Changing Climate” is now open. The summer school will take place from 18 - 26 September 2019 in Rome, Italy.

Sustainable production practices and the protection of agrobiodiversity can serve as avenues to improve dietary diversity and quality, generate income for sustainable smallholder farmers, and support the restoration and preservation of ecosystems.

This topic is particularly relevant to mountain areas where farmers are preserving many of the rarest varieties of cultivars in functioning biodiverse agro-ecosystems. However, the harshness of the environment as well as the effects of climate change increasingly pressures the mountain communities to modify their traditional approaches to agriculture.

Taking into account agrobiodiversity in food systems means bringing together various sectors of science, agriculture and economy to propose new strategies of food production. These strategies can be implemented in a changing environment, proposing diversified crops and practices as a resource and increased variety as a strength in agro-ecosystems. In addition to agricultural and genetic aspects, the agrobiodiversity discussion focuses on economic and social issues such as identifying markets for biological products, developing adequate value chains and marketing strategies, and preserving local crops.

The two-week course focuses on the importance of biodiversity in agriculture, with particular attention to its role in enhancing resilience and adaptability of cropping and farming systems to climate change. The lectures illustrate principles and practices for gathering agro-biodiversity data through either participatory diagnostic and empirical approaches, and for their utilization to develop management approaches that improve resilience and adaptability.

The aim of the course is to equip the participants with the necessary tools, knowledge and understanding on how enhance productivity and improve marketing strategies in sustainable and resilient agricultural systems.

The training will include a field trip to a farm, which will provide hands-on experience on relevant practices.

The Summer School is organized by the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, in collaboration with the Sapienza University of Rome and Bioversity International. As well as technical support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Sponsors and partners of the summer school include: the Italian Development Cooperation, NaturaSì, Slow Food and IFOAM-Organics International and Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research (PAR). 

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Photo by Pradeep Mehta