Title of document:  Proceedings of the National Workshop on Agroecological Transition 30th and 31st March 2016, Phnom Penh, Cambodia Authors: Lucie Reynaud, Pierre Ferrand and Dr. Saythong Vilayvong Journal’s name if any:  Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation:  AFC, GRET/ALiSEA, CIRAD, ACTAE Year of publication: 2016 Geographic focus: Cambodia Main issues / topics addressed (for example: Day1: Setting the stage, Day 2: Working groups and brainstorming about agriculture challenges and a future governance for ALiSEA ……) School of agroecology (if any): Web address to original document (if any): Summary: The 1st national multi-stakeholder workshop addressing Agroecological Transition in the Mekong Region, and more especially in Cambodia, was held on the 30th and 31st of March 2016 in Phnom Penh. It was organized by CIRAD and GRET as part of the inception phase of ACTAE project, funded by the French Agency for Development (AFD). It brought together 66 specialists and practitioners from national and international NGOs, research, farmers’ and consumers’ associations, government agencies, development partners and private sector actively working on sustainable agriculture sector in Cambodia It aimed at sharing knowledge, information and experiences between agricultural development stakeholders   Read More

Title of document: Proceedings of the National Workshop on Agroecology Transition 2nd and 3rd June 2016, Vientiane, Lao PDR Authors: Pierre Ferrand and Dr. Saythong Vilayvong Journal’s name if any: Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: AFC, GRET/ALiSEA, CIRAD, ACTAE Year of publication: 2016 Geographic focus: Lao PDR Main issues / topics addressed (for example: Day1: Setting the stage, Day 2: Working groups and brainstorming about agriculture challenges and a future governance for ALiSEA……) School of agroecology (if any): Web address to original document (if any): Summary: The 1st national multi-stakeholder workshop addressing Agroecological Transition in the Mekong Region, and more especially in Laos, was held on the 2nd and 3rd of June 2016 in Vientiane capital, Lao PDR. It was organized by CIRAD and GRET as part of the inception phase of ACTAE project, funded by the French Agency for Development (AFD). It brought together 62 specialists and practitioners from national and international NGOs, research and universities, farmers’ and government agencies, development partners and private sector actively working on sustainable agriculture sector in Laos It aimed at sharing knowledge, information and experiences between agricultural development stakeholder   Read More

Title of document: ‘Hands & Minds’ Authors: Adrian Bolliger Journal’s name if any: Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: BMZ, CIAT, CGIAR Year of publication:2016 Geographic focus: Mekong Region Main issues / topics addressed (for example: Regional agricultural sector in transition, main approaches and methodologies, Analysis of eco-efficiency of farm systems……) School of agroecology (if any): Web address to original document (if any): Summary: This presentation talking about Regional agricultural sector in transition. At ACTAE Workshop 2nd June 2016, Vientine, Laos   Read More

  Title of document: Social Dimensions of agroecology in Laos Authors: Andrew Bartlett Journal’s name if any: Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: LURAS Year of publication: 2016 Geographic focus: Lao PDR Main issues / topics addressed (for example: Agroecological techniques, Social dimensions, toxic landscape ……) School of agroecology (if any): Web address to original document (if any): Summary: Agroecology is often seen as set of techniques or practices, but to understand why these practices are relevant and how they may be applied requires an understanding of the underlying social context in which farming takes place. In particular, we need to appreciate the political and economic conditions that have given rise to the unsustainable farming practices that agroecology aims to replace. This presentation talking about Social Dimensions of agroecology in Laos. At 1st National Multi-Stakeholder Workshop on Agroecological Transition in the Mekong Region,  Vientiane, 2-3 June 2016   Read More

Title of document: Transformative approaches to agroecology at the landscape level Authors: Jean-Christophe Castella, Pascal Lienhard, Sisavath Phimmasone, Soulikone Chaivanhna, Guillaume Lestrelin, Chanthasone Khamxaykhay Journal’s name if any: Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: CIRAD, DALaM, NUDP, EU, AFD Year of publication: 2016 Geographic focus: Lao PDR Main issues / topics addressed (for example: Challenges of AE adoption/dissemination, Agrarian changes in the northern uplands ……) School of agroecology (if any): Web address to original document (if any): Summary: This presentation talking about Agrarian changes in the northern uplands. at 1st National multi-stakeholder workshop on Agroecological Transition in Lao, 2-3 June 2016, Vientiane   Read More

Title of document: Agroecology as a Transdisciplinary, Participatory, and Action-Oriented Approach. Authors: V. Ernesto Méndez , Christopher M. Bacon & Roseann Cohen (2013) Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: Agroecology and Rural Livelihoods Group (ARLG), Department of Plant and Soil Science & Environmental Program, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA; Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, USA; Community Agroecology Network, Santa Cruz, California, USA Year of publication: 2012 Geographic focus: Global level Summary: This article traces multiple directions in the evolution of agroecology, from its early emphasis on ecological processes in agricultural systems, to its emergence as a multidimensional approach focusing on broader agro-food systems. This review is timely, as agroecology is being increasingly applied within a diversity of scientific-, policy-, and farmer-based initiatives. We contrast different agroecological perspectives or “agroecologies” and discuss the characteristics of an agroecology characterized by a transdisciplinary, participatory and action-oriented approach. Our final discussion describes the contents of the special issue, and states our goal for this compilation, which is to encourage future work that embraces an agroecological approach grounded in transdisciplinarity, participation, and transformative action. Hence, the specific objectives of this introductory article and of this inaugural issue of Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems were to: 1) discuss the implications of the increasing use and adoption of agroecology in unprecedented scientific, social and political spaces; 2) examine the evolution of the field of agroecology into distinct perspectives, or agroecologies; and 3) present conceptual and applied contributions of an agroecological perspective grounded in transdisciplinary, participatory, and action-oriented approaches. We finalize this article with a description of how the other contributions to the special issue complement each other to form a coherent and integrated agroecological approach.   Read More

Title of document: Farming Matters - Revaluing traditional plants Support: Magazine Issue: N° 32.2 Publisher: Farming Matters is published by ILEIA, the centre for learning on sustainable agriculture. ILEIA is a member of the AgriCultures Network, a global network of organisations that shares knowledge on agroecology and family farming. www.farmingmatters.org Date of publication: June 2016 Geographic focus: World wide Summary: This issue of Farming Matters looks at the growing number of initiatives worldwide that aim to harness the potential of traditional plants. Cultivating traditional plants builds resilience and nutrition, strengthens cultural practices and enhances food sovereignty. From the experiences presented here we learn that for the successful revival of traditional plants, farmers’ knowledge on agricultural biodiversity, nutrition and culture must also be valued and protected. And this works best through a holistic approach – from field to fork to politics.   Read More

Title of document: Biodiversity Conservation in Rice Paddies in China: Toward Ecological Sustainability Authors: Yufeng Luo, Haolong Fu and Seydou Traore Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China Year of publication: 2014 Geographic focus: China Url original document: http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/6/9/6107 Summary: This paper describes the current situation of rice paddy biodiversity in China and analyzes the community characteristics of arthropods and weedy plants. Meanwhile, we discuss how biodiversity was affected by modern agriculture changes, which have brought about a mounting crisis threatening to animals and plants once common in rice paddies. Measures should be focused to firstly preventing further deterioration and, then, also, promoting restoration processes. Ecological sustainability can be achieved by restoring paddy field biodiversity through protecting the ecological environment surrounding the paddy fields, improving paddy cropping patterns, growing rice with less agricultural chemicals and chemical fertilizers, constructing paddy systems with animals and plants and promoting ecological education and public awareness.   Read More

Title of document: Innovative Markets for Sustainable Agriculture. How innovations in market institutions encourage sustainable agriculture in developing countries Authors: Loconto, A.; Poisot, A.S.; Santacoloma, P. Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: FAO Year of publication: 2016 Geographic focus: Developing countries Url original document: http://www.fao.org/publications/card/en/c/53d39282-ddd7-460c-a27f-3d5015eea7ca/ Summary: Between 2013 and 2015, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) undertook a survey of innovative approaches that enable markets to act as incentives in the transition towards sustainable agriculture in developing countries. Through a competitive selection process, 15 cases from around the world provide insights into how small-scale initiatives that use sustainable production practices are supported by market demand, and create innovations in the institutions that govern sustainable practices and market exchanges. The results are: (i) system innovations that allow new rules for marketing and assuring the sustainable qualities of products; (ii) new forms of organization that permit actors to play multiple roles in the food system (e.g. farmer and auditor, farmer and researcher, consumer and auditor, consumer and intermediary); (iii) new forms of market exchange, such as box schemes, university kiosks, public procurement or systems of seed exchanges; and (iv) new technologies for sustainable agriculture (e.g. effective micro-organisms, biopesticides and soil analysis techniques). The public sector plays a key role in providing legitimate political and physical spaces for multiple actors to jointly create and share sustainable agricultural knowledge, practices and products.   Read More

Title of document: Consolidated account of the 4 national multi stakeholder workshops on agroecological transition in the Mekong Region Authors: Pierre Ferrand Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: ALiSEA Year of publication: 2016 Geographic focus: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar & Vietnam Summary: This report presents a short consolidated account of 4 national multi-stakeholder workshops addressing Agroecological Transition in the Mekong Region and bringing together 225 participants that have been organized between March and June 2016 (Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam Lao PDR). Such workshops aimed at sharing knowledge, information and actions between agricultural development stakeholders.   Read More