The Agroecology Fund aspires to move massive amounts of funding into grassroots-led agroecology. It’s a big ambition, clearly something we can’t do alone. While we continue to grow the number of funders participating in the Agroecology Fund’s multi-donor fund – now over 50! –  we also participate in networks that share a commitment to agroecology principles and the urgent need to extend funding to agroecology movements across the globe.

The Roddenberry Foundation’s +1 Global Fund is a collaborative platform for discovering, strengthening, connecting, and amplifying locally-led change in the Global South. It launched in 2022 with its first cohort of awardees. Leveraging a “network of networks” model, the Fund brings together philanthropists, foundations, and partners who collectively believe that the engine for change lies in the efforts of locally-led, earlier-stage organizations.

The Agroecology Fund is honored to be counted as a network partner of the +1 Global Fund for Food Security, a network-based approach to improving food access and resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a network partner, for each grant round we’ve identified nominators from our grassroots movement network — leaders with expertise in specific agroecology-related themes from the regions where the grassroots work is being carried out.  In total, we’ve identified four nominators including long-term partner Alliance for Food Sovereignty Africa, The ICCA Consortium, African Women’s Collaborative for Healthy Food Systems, and independent consultant Samuel Nnah Ndobe, which resulted in seven associated awardees including four awardees from the Agroecology Fund’s grantee cohort including Schools and Colleges Permaculture Program (SCOPE Kenya), Regional Schools & Colleges Permaculture Programme (ReSCOPE), Kenyans Peasants League (KPL), and Solidarité des Femmes sur le Fleuve Congo (SOFFLECO). 

This month, the +1 Global Fund for Food Security recently welcomed the third cohort of 15 awardees, including two Agroecology Fund nominator-affiliated awardees — grantee partner Kenyan Peasants League(KPL) and Solidarité des Femmes sur le Fleuve Congo (SOFFLECO). 

These initiatives, hailing from Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, are bravely confronting some of Sub-Saharan Africa’s most pressing food and nutrition security issues. Their dedication and the significance of their work are a beacon of hope, demonstrating that change is possible even in the most challenging circumstances.

“We are thrilled to be part of this great network, which will allow us to learn from the experiences of others and see how we can all impact our communities together.” -Solidarité des Femmes sur le Fleuve Congo (SOFFLECO), Democratic Republic of Congo

These awardees are enabling food system transformations across regions and sectors, from promoting agroecological farming to empowering farmers to improve their practices and access reliable markets — all towards ensuring their communities have access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs for an active and healthy life. Besides the financial support provided by +1 Food Security, awardees will also join the +1 Network, through which they can connect with each other to exchange knowledge, provide mutual support, and/or coordinate their efforts. 

We are thrilled to collaborate with the +1 Global Fund to move essential resources to impactful agroecology movements.