Title of document: Why a Complexe Food System is Needed, Now Authors: Dr. Hans R. Herren Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: Millennium Institute Founder and Biovision Foundation Year of publication: 2016 Geographic focus: Worldwide Summary: This document presents various options for a sustainable agriculture and food system. It adresses the obstacles preventing the transformation from moving forward and how avoiding them.   Read More

Title of document: Agroecological practices: Transforming the dominant agro-food system? Authors: Les Levidow Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: Open University Year of publication:  10th of November 2016 Geographic focus: Worldwide Summary: This document introduces the concept of Agroecology and how it can transform the dominant agro-food system through various Agroecological practices.   Read More

Title of document: Proceedings of the Agroecology Learning Exchange 2016 in Masaka, Uganda Authors: Janneke Bruil, Jessica Milgroom, Romée Marchand (all from ILEIA) with support from Daniel Moss (AEF). Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: AgroEcology Fund (AEF) and the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) Date: From 10th to the 13th of May 2016 Location: St. Jude’s Family Projects, Masaka, Uganda Geographic focus: Uganda Summary:  “Agroecology is a process. You cannot expect a process to be perfect immediately. But once you make a step, you are moving.”—Jowelia Mukiibi, farmer, Uganda From the 10th to the 13th of May 2016, the AgroEcology Fund (AEF) and the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) brought together 70 people representing 30 organizations to share experiences and ideas about amplifying agroecology. True to its name, this Learning Exchange aimed to facilitate learning and crosspollination of ideas among grantees, advisors and funders of the AEF, and to explore synergies to further the global agroecology movement. The meeting was held at St. Jude’s Family Projects, a demonstration farm and training center for agroecology based in Masaka, Uganda. This report aims to capture the proceedings as well as the rich and valuable sharing that took place at the Exchange.   Read More

Title of document: Proceedings of the National Thematic Workshop on "What performance Indicators for Assessing Agroecology Impacts ?" Authors: Pierre Ferrand and Dr. Saythong Vilayvong Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: ALiSEA Date: 29th November 2016 Location: LANITH, Vientiane, Laos Geographic focus: Laos Summary: Agro-ecological approaches are seen as convincing and evidence-based alternatives towards sustainable agriculture. They clearly aim at strengthening innovation capacity of family farms, as well as the recognition of their contribution to food sovereignty in the region. They cover technical, economic, societal and policy dimensions of agricultural production respectful of environment. They also contribute to poverty alleviation, food security, climate change mitigation and adaptation However, relying on conventional metrics to measure the performance of farming systems, it is hard to make the case for agroecology. To understand the impact of agroecology requires assessing the performance through a different lens. This report presents the main findings of the discussions held during the 1 day workshop addressing performance indicators for agroecology impacts in Vientiane, Laos, on the 9th of November 2016.   Read More

Title of document: Stories From The Field - Women working toward a non-toxic environment Author:  Ilang Ilang Quijano et al. on behalf of Towards a Non-toxic Southeast Asia Date of publication: 2016 Geographical focus: Cambodge, China, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam Summary: The often unseen but disastrous consequences of chemical-intensive food and agricultural production are felt most by half of the world’s food producers and rural population: women. On the average, women make up about 43 percent of the agricultural labour force in developing countries, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Women are involved in all stages of food production—everything from seed collection, land preparation, fertilizer and pesticides application, weeding, harvesting and storage, food processing, and livestock rearing. In addition, they are also responsible for most household and child-rearing activities. This booklet contains a collection of stories of 25 women from five countries who are involved in an inspiring, ongoing campaign to eliminate use of chemical pesticides and promote agroecology in the Mekong Region. These women are part of the programme Towards a Non-toxic SouthEast Asia, a programme aiming to reduce health and environmental risks from chemicals by monitoring, regulating and managing agricultural, industrial and consumer chemicals. Partners in this initiative are the Swedish Chemicals Agency (KemI), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP) and The Field Alliance (TFA). The stories in this booklet highlight how women were influenced by the work of these dedicated organizations and how various activities and support resulted in mobilization of communities to start working for improved livelihoods, through reduction of pesticides use and shift to agro-ecology.   Read More

Title of document: Assessing capacity needs of extension and advisory services. A Guide for Facilitators Authors : Nimisha Mittal, Rasheed Sulaiman V and R M Prasad, on behalf of the Agricultural Extension in South Asia (AESA) Date of publication: July 2016 Geographical focus: India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal Summary: This guide is intended to assist facilitators in conducting a workshop with Extension and Advisory Service (EAS) providers for assessing their capacity needs. This guide has been compiled by the Centre for Research on Innovation and Science Policy (CRISP) for AESA with the assistance of a research grant from the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS). The purpose of the research grant was to identify capacity gaps at various levels (individual, organizational, and enabling environment levels) among EAS providers in four South Asian countries and develop a facilitator guide for Capacity Needs Assessment (CNA) based on this methodology. This guide builds on the outputs of the four National Workshops on “Capacity Needs Assessment of Extension and Advisory Service (EAS) Providers” held in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal during 2015-2016. This guide can be used as a standalone document / procedure for assessing the capacity needs of the extension and advisory service providers. However, using this guide for CNA has greater value if the outputs of this exercise are linked to a capacity development process. Moreover, this process also needs to be organised periodically to identify new capacity gaps.   Read More

Title of document: Voluntary Guide for National Seed Policy Formulation Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Date of publication: 2015 Geographical focus: Worldwide Summary: Ensuring that farmers have access to affordable quality seeds and planting materials of the most suitable crop varieties is essential for improving food security and nutrition as well as the livelihoods of farming communities. In many developing countries, there is a lack of adequate seed policies – i.e. principles that guide government action and define the roles of stakeholders. The absence of such policies weakens countries’ capacity to provide smallholders with adequate access to quality seeds of the crops most suited to their farming systems,  conditions and needs. This Guide has been developed to assist governments in formulating policies which help create an enabling environment for seed sector development.   Read More

Title of document: L'agroécologie: reconnecter l'homme à son écosystème Author: Michel Sonet et Eric Capoen, Aide au Développement Gembloux (ADG) Year of publication: Novembre 2016 Geographic focus: International Summary: Pour célébrer ses trente ans d’action au service des familles paysannes et de la souveraineté alimentaire, Aide au Développement Gembloux se dote d’une publication à destination de toute personne qui souhaite en savoir plus sur l’agroécologie : son évolution, sa définition, ses freins et limites et les solutions qu’elle porte en elle, en illustrant nos propos d’exemples concrets au Nord et au Sud. « Face à un système qui confisque le droit des peuples à se nourrir par eux-mêmes, l’agroécologie est une alternative éthique et réaliste, un acte de légitime résistance, qui permet l’autonomie des populations et la préservation de leurs patrimoines nourriciers ». Pierre Rabhi   Read More

Title of document: How to amplify agroecology ? Author: Agroecology Learning Exchange Year of publication: May 2016 Geographic focus: Uganda, Worldwide Summary: Amplification of agroecological experiences is “the main challenge today”, in the words of former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier De Schutter, because of its many contributions to addressing challenges such as hunger, poverty, loss of biodiversity and climate change. The participants in the Learning Exchange see amplification of agroecology as the transformation of food systems, rather than just the spreading of a set of food production techniques. Importantly, it promotes alternative forms of economic exchange and places agrobiodiversity, the struggle for land, control over seed and local farming and marketing knowledge (especially that of women) at the centre of this change processes. Amplification of agroecology was seen as a long-term process that is led by social movements, but encompasses all actors in the food system, including consumers. As agroecology is understood as an ongoing process of transition, there is no pre-determined end goal in its amplification, save for the broad objective of transforming food systems around the world.     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