From 1-4 December, 2015 Youth in Landscape Initiative workshop at Global Landscape Forum (GLF) in Paris was organized to guide 50 young innovators together to solve rights and tenure, finance and trade, restoration, measuring success, and education challenges. I was one of the 10 young innovators who worked on the Education Theme Landscape Challenge.

The scourge of “hidden hunger” or micronutrient deficiency affects around two billion people worldwide who lack adequate intake of vitamins and minerals in their diet. While several international and regional initiatives are underway to combat malnutrition, and specifically micronutrient deficiency, these have largely focused on the approaches of nutrient supplementation and food fortification at the expense of dietary diversification, considered the most durable solution to hidden hunger. Read more

Recognizing the urgent need for capacity building in agroecology the Third World Network organized training courses to equip key actors with a comprehensive understanding of the principles and concepts of agroecology and to provide evidence of success through illustrative examples. This booklet describes the main learning points from the training courses held in Indonesia (2013) and in Zambia (2015)

There is evidence that the 2007−2010 drought contributed to the conflict in Syria. It was the worst drought in the instrumental record, causing widespread crop failure and a mass migration of farming families to urban centers. Century-long observed trends in precipitation, temperature, and sea-level pressure, supported by climate model results, strongly suggest that anthropogenic forcing has increased the probability of severe and persistent droughts in this region, and made the occurrence of a 3-year drought as severe as that of 2007−2010 2 to 3 times more likely than by natural variability alone. This study concludes that human influences on the climate system are implicated in the current Syrian conflict.

Our Solutions to the COP21 – New Notebook La Via Campesina – La Via Campesina is pleased to present study booklet number 7: “Peasant Agroecology for Food Sovereignty and Mother Earth, experiences of La Via Campesina”, which is the result of the collective efforts of various organizations from diverse regions including Africa, America, Europe and Asia. These groups make up part of our worldwide movement. From their distinct territories they shaped their experiences in agroecology training, organizing, production and marketing of healthy foods into 10 articles. This set of experiences represents a dynamic range of practices and knowledge, both for training within our movement and as a mechanism for additional knowledge exchange and rural-city dialogue.

This book also seeks to provide visibility of advocacy for Food Sovereignty which creates space for reflection, with examples from academic institutions, political allies and friends. We propose Peasant Agroecology as a way of production for rural communities, where Food Sovereignty constitutes a principle of life.

The document is available also in French and Spanish

The International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) has adopted a set of 10 principles to guide the transition to sustainable food systems. The 10 principles include 5 principles to shape the sustainable food systems of the future, and 5 principles for the types of knowledge and analysis that are required to support this transition. Read more

“We are pleased to present the report of the International Forum on Agroecology, held at the Nyéléni Center in Sélingué, Mali from 24th to the 27th of February, 2015. This represents the first joint vision of Agroecology from the shared viewpoints of all kinds of small-scale food producing peoples, seen from the perspectives of our social movements. This is the first common statement across constituencies, of the pillars and principles of Agroecology. Read more

What exactly is the climate change crisis ? How does it affect us ? Are we causing it ? How ? How is it going to affecting our land, water, food and lifestyle ? Can we anything about it ? How ? Why is the practice of agroecology so important in addition to clean energy ?

Should we wait for global agreements on mitigating climate change or act locally, intelligently and consistentl ? Small and marginal farmers must adapt their practices to deal with changing temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events. These adaptations must first and foremost build resilience within the agroecosystem, increasing its ability to continue functioning when faced with unexpected events. How can this be made possible ?

“Climate Change and the Agriculture Crisis – Agroecology as a Solution” throws light on these pressing issues. It is an important addition to our work on small-holder agroecology series of publications. Read the book to understand how agroecology farms hold immense mitigation and adaptation potential and therefore are better suited to deal with the climate crisis.

Abstract: Global food and agriculture systems face a series of inter-related challenges; to assure food security for a growing world population while supporting decent livelihoods and reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture. Agroecological approaches can address these challenges by contributing to a greener economy.  Agroecological systems are diverse, highly inter-connected and perform multiple functions that benefit society. They place a strong emphasis on environmental integrity and social well-being. Moreover, the groecological mode of production is highly efficient and resilient to disturbances.
This document provides a review of the scientific literature on agreocology, including global, regional, national and local studies. In the Annex, the performance of various agroecological management systems are described and compared. Based on these findings, key steps towards an agroecological transition are outlined

Extract: The only sure approach to reducing our exposure to toxic pesticides is through a move towards a more long-term and sustainable approach to producing food. This will require legally-binding agreements to immediately phase-out all pesticides that are toxic to non-target organisms implemented at both national and international level.
Fundamentally changing our approach to farming involves a paradigm shift from industrial agriculture, which relies heavily on chemical additives, towards the full implementation of ecological farming as the only means of feeding the population and protecting the ecosystems we live in. Ecological farming is a modern and effective approach to farming that does not rely on toxic chemicals, and delivers healthy and safe food.