What is evidence? Why is it important? Who ought to generate it for what purpose? These are just some of the questions answered by the Grassroots Evidence for Agroecology Initiative.
To counter industrial agriculture’s powerful claim that they feed the world, we need to present strong evidence that agroecology can be scaled as the foundation of sustainable and equitable food systems across the world. But what makes a compelling case and who ought to present it to whom, for maximum influence and effectiveness?
In 2020 at the Agroecology Fund Learning Exchange in India, the way to approach evidence building was a key topic of discussion among grantees, funders and allies. Three important messages emerged:
1. There is a need to develop a new narrative of what constitutes evidence;
2. The process of evidence gathering must be participatory and creative;
3. Participants recommended that Agroecology Fund should extend support to grantees for gathering and disseminating evidence for agroecology.
As a result of these conversations, Agroecology Fund partnered with Statistics for Sustainable Development(Stats4SD) in late 2020 to launch the Grassroots Evidence for Agroecology (GEA) initiative. Stats4SD is a not-for-profit, social enterprise that promotes better use of statistical methods for decision-making to benefit society and the environment. Throughout 2021 and 2022, four grantees volunteered to participate in the GEA pilot, receiving methodological support from Stats4SD. The GEA pilot tested and developed a process to support grassroots organisations’ efforts to build and communicate evidence to their target audiences and demonstrate their impact. During the pilot phase, participants developed four evidence-based cases:
*Two cases by Slow Food International and Slow Food Uganda;
*One case by Grupo Autónomo para la Investigación Ambienta (GAIA), Mexico;
*One by Centro de Desenvolvimento Agroecológico do Cerrado (CEDAC), Brazil.
The results from the pilot phase were shared in this report in early 2024.
In 2024, we also launched an online course in multiple languages to share the methodology. Enrollment remains open. The Agroecology Fund also opened an internal call for current grantees and awarded 15 small grants to support documentation and production of communication products. These grantees received methodological support of the Stats4SD team throughout 2024 . The resulting evidence-based cases were organized into an Online Catalogue, a platform for sharing evidence built from the grassroots perspective. The cases in this catalog were developed by grassroots organisations using a structured approach to turn their knowledge and experiences into compelling arguments for agroecology. By using rigorous evidence to support their claims, these cases aim to influence farmers, communities, donors, policymakers, researchers and consumers—key actors in the transformation of food systems.
On February 25, 2025 Agroecology Fund held a webinar to launch the online catalog and hear from grassroots partners from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, including grantee partners Asociación ANDES (Peru), ESAFF Uganda, and GRAVIS (India) about their experience in documenting and communicating evidence for agroecology more strategically. The launch event was attended by hundreds of people from across the globe and generated much attention and engagement. You can watch the recording here.
This collection is an evolving resource, and we invite more contributions from grassroots organisations working to build the case for agroecology. We encourage you to explore the cases, learn from their insights, and join us in strengthening the movement, the practice and the science that drives the quest for sustainable and just food systems. We extend our gratitude to the farmers, Indigenous communities, and grassroots groups whose experiences shape this work. Join us in sharing and building up the evidence for agroecology!
The Agroecology Fund (AEF) is thrilled to announce the first IPA-Global initiative round of grants (IPA means “Investigación Participativa en Agroecología” or Participatory Research on Agroecology), aimed at strengthening advocacy and participatory research for resilient food systems. This grant call, “Strengthening Climate Resilience by Scaling Up Agroecology: Collaborative Research and Advocacy to Advance Food Systems Transformation,” focuses on empowering civil society organizations and social movements to champion agroecology as a key climate solution. Thanks to the Waverley Street Foundation’s funding, 22 grants, with awards of up to USD 190,000, will support collaborative initiatives for up to 24 months on four continents. Additional grants will be made next year and in subsequent years.
Research for Policy Changes and Food Systems Transformation
IPA-Global seeks to catalyze change by supporting multi-stakeholder collaborations, which bring together farmers’ organizations, Indigenous Peoples, youth, women, academics, and climate justice networks. By combining grassroots activism with participatory research, these collaborations will craft and implement advocacy strategies that elevate agroecology to the forefront of climate policies. In many instances, there is close collaboration with governments, from local to national. This initiative continues the highly successful IPA-LAC initiative (focused on participatory action research in Latin America and the Caribbean). It offers a crucial next step in scaling advocacy for agroecology and climate solutions across new regions.
By aligning advocacy and participatory research, collaborative initiatives will shape and influence multi-level policies—national, regional, and international—while also influencing sub-national policies. Key focus areas of the initiatives include policy advocacy to adapt to and mitigate climate change via agroecological practices and Indigenous knowledge, such as seed and biodiversity conservation and reducing agrochemical input dependency. The initiative also underscores the inclusion of youth and gender perspectives in agroecological transitions.
Selected collaborations will explore critical questions such as: What policy opportunities exist to scale agroecology in each region or country? What changes are needed to create an enabling environment for resilient food systems?
Advocacy campaigns will be supported to bolster creative communication strategies, including visual media, workshops, and interactive learning exchanges. New tools, such as agroecological curricula and observatories on public policies and socio-environmental conflicts, will also be developed. The data generated will be translated into actionable communications products such as policy briefs, reports, and multimedia content aimed at influencing policymakers and civil society alike.
IPA-Global Learning Community
The Agroecology Fund has invited awarded collaborations to join the IPA-Global Learning Community, which promotes the co-creation of a cross-learning agenda amongst collaborators, with inclusivity and diversity as key principles of the learning process. The wide variety of experiences and shared passion for impactful advocacy set the stage for a rich learning opportunity. On Dec 4th, all IPA-Global collaborative partners gathered online to discuss a common agenda for 2025 and the functioning of this Learning Community.
Advocacy through Participatory Research
At the heart of the IPA-Global initiative is Participatory Action Research (PAR). This approach involves grassroots communities in identifying research questions that address gaps in public policy and in documenting effective strategies for advancing agroecology and climate justice. The research generated through this initiative will support advocacy efforts to influence national and regional policies, including their effective financing and implementation. It is rare to have the opportunity to conduct advocacy, reflect on lessons about impacts, and adjust strategies accordingly. This inclusive approach fortifies grassroots power, mitigates power imbalances, and strengthens community ownership over advocacy processes. By integrating lived experiences into research, PAR ensures advocacy efforts are credible, legitimate, and impactful, fostering collaboration and trust among diverse stakeholders. PAR generates robust, actionable insights to inform advocacy campaigns and fortifies networks critical for holding governments accountable for advancing agroecology, an intersectional solution increasingly present in national food, climate, and development strategies.
Global Reach and Impact
IPA-Global grants are tailored to organizations and networks working in 12 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia, and one broad region (the European Union). Funded activities will include research, advocacy campaigns, policy dialogues, and learning exchanges among collaborative networks. By the end of the grant period, the initiatives will deliver research-informed policy recommendations, actionable advocacy roadmaps, and creative and publishable communication outputs, driving agroecology as a transformative climate and food systems solution.
The IPA-Global initiative reflects the Agroecology Fund’s commitment to fostering agroecological research and turning that research into real-world impact. By building bridges between research and advocacy, this initiative will help shape the future of food systems policy at a time when climate action has never been more critical.
IPA-Global Geographic Coverage
IPA-Global Initiatives and Collaboratives’ Lead Organizations
AFRICA
Ethiopia
Ethiopian Sustainable Food Systems and Agroecology Consortium (ESFSAC) – “Collaborative Research and Advocacy to Advance Agroecology-Based and Climate-Resilient Food Systems Transformation”
Kenya
Biodiversity and Biosafety Association of Kenya (BIBA Kenya) – “Strengthening Climate Resilience by Scaling Up Agroecology: Collaborative Research and Advocacy to Advance Food Systems Transformation”
Ogiek Peoples Development Program (OPDP) – “Research and Advocacy to Advance Food Systems Transformation Among Indigenous Hunter-Gatherer and Pastoralist Communities in Kenya”
Nigeria
Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) – “Strengthening Climate Resilience Through Agroecology Research and Advocacy”
South Africa
Biowatch South Africa – “Strengthening Climate Resilience by Scaling Up Agroecology: Collaborative Research and Advocacy to Advance Food Systems Transformation in South Africa”
Regional: Nigeria, Kenya, Togo, and Uganda
Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) – “Connecting Young Agroecologists and Climate Advocates for Transformative Food Systems”
Youth Summit organized by the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), one of the IPA-Global collaborative partners. AFSA’s participatory research initiative focuses on the critical role of youth in policy advocacy for food systems transformation and climate action.
AMERICAS
Argentina
Mesa Agroalimentaria Argentina (MAA) – “Territorial Plan for Participatory Research and Policy Advocacy Action”
Brazil
Articulação Nacional de Agroecologia (ANA) – “Agroecology Networks Against Climate Change: Action Research From the Ground Up”
Via Campesina Brazil – “Resilience in Peasant Territories in Response to Climate Change in the Amazon”
Colombia
Corporación Grupo Semillas (CGS) – “Policy Advocacy to Strengthen Agroecology, Agrobiodiversity, Peasant, Family, and Community Agriculture in Response to the Climate Crisis in Colombia”
Mexico
Instituto Agroecológico Latinoamericano – México (IALA México) – “Design Territorialized IALA Mexico’s Epistemological and Curricular Approaches as a Tool to Bolster Climate Resilience and Advocacy Efforts and Strengthen Agri-Food Systems”
Xilotl Asociación para el Desarrollo Social A.C. (Xilotl) – “Resilient Tlaxcala: Agroecology and Participatory Action Research in Defense of Native Maize for the Transformation of the Food System”
USA
National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC) – “The Bedrock of Resilient Food Systems”
National Black and Food Justice Alliance (NBFJA) – “Agroecology and Black Agrarians: Unsung Climate and Culture Catalysts”
MinneAg Network – “Policy Design to Strengthen Agroecology Among Small and Medium-Scale Producers as a Pathway to Climate Resilience”
Pesticide Action Network – PAN North America – “Policy Learning From a Multi-Stakeholder Process to Enact a Sustainable Pest Management (SPM) Roadmap in California, With Lessons for Other States”
ASIA
India
Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA) – “Kisan Mitra: Building Policy Ecosystem for Scaling Up Agroecology-Based Food Systems”
National Coalition for Natural Farming (NCNF) – “Participatory Action Research for Strengthening and Scaling Agroecological Transitions”
Indonesia
Serikat Petani Indonesia (SPI) – “Developing Food Sovereignty Areas to Strengthen Climate Resilience Through Collaborative Research on Agroecology Practices and Advocacy on Agroecology-Based Public Policy to Advance Food Systems Transformation”
Koalisi Kampus Untuk Demokrasi Papua (KKDP) – “Understanding the Food System Transformation and Resilience Strategy of Indigenous Papua”
Regional: India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Philippines, and Thailand
Focus on the Global South – “Agroecology and Climate Justice: Strengthening Social Movement Collaborations in Asia”
EUROPE
France
Confédération Paysanne – “Survey of Water Management on Small-Scale Farms to Reinforce Advocacy on Sharing of the Commons”
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Territorial markets are embedded in societies as critical public spaces where traditional, healthy, medicinal, biodiverse crops are found, where smallholder farmers have the option to sell directly to consumers and reduce dependence on intermediaries, and consumers have a chance to buy fresh food directly from farmers at fair prices.
Rooted in territories and communities, territorial markets have existed for millennia and go beyond economic exchange by strengthening socio-cultural ties, relationships between food producers and consumers, and harnessing trust and solidarity. Traditionally, these market systems build resilience for farmers, families and communities. But they are now increasingly threatened by a combination of forces.
Corporate concentration and underinvestment in municipal infrastructure has led to the neglect of territorial markets and localized food systems have lost some of their resilience. Global commodity markets and corporate-controlled supply chains are prioritized by public and private investors, leaving us all at risk. Finding solutions to these challenges calls for speed and urgency in supporting grassroots innovations.
The Agroecology Fund supports collaborative initiatives in more than 90 countries globally, and this year, has escalated efforts to support the growth and strengthening of agroecology economies. During our recent webinar ‘Territorial Markets – Healthy Food, Real Relationships, and a Fair Deal’, attended by nearly 400 participants from 71 countries, we learned about grantee partner initiatives to strengthen territorial markets and the challenges of scaling this key component of local food systems across diverse countries, regions and territories.
Through the advocacy of farmers and consumers – often working closely with local governments – territorial markets are enjoying an overdue renaissance. The markets have evolved and take many forms – from municipal plazas to WhatsApp platforms to purchase local foods to public purchasing programs to a seed exchange fair We heard from grassroots, farmer-led networks from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, from countries including Sri Lanka, Benin, Mali and Peru, about their experience revitalizing fresh food markets and strengthening links among farmers, consumers, and public officials.
Against this backdrop, the Human Development Organization (HDO), a development organization working with the marginalized communities including tea plantation workers in Sri Lanka to promote their right to food, spoke about working with minority women plantation workers to grow and market agroecological products.
Women tea plantation laborers historically have had little experience cultivating food agroecologically. Through territorial markets, this initiative supports the transition from worker to farmer, and from farmer to entrepreneur for women. There has been tremendous progress over the last five years.
Les Jardins de l’Espoir, Benin showcased their intervention, Eden’s Farmers Market, and how they used digital channels and social media to launch the initiative and raise its visibility. Participants heard about how the market has evolved and improved, and the challenges and opportunities towards creating healthy and sustainable food systems.
Working in collaboration with several networks and organisations, Les Jardins de l’Espoir shared how their focus on agroecology “is helping us to protect biodiversity, nature-friendly food systems, inclusive food systems, as well as commercial systems that offer favourable and sustainable price points. Since 2021, we have been expanding the network to ensure that as many farmers have access to Eden Farmers Market as possible.”
The Asociación ANDES, Peru shared about the network of Eco Markets they are creating across the country.
ANDES shared how their markets target, “ people in the lower income bracket. We have a standard for fixing prices across different regions. Our products are recognizable through the logo and our Fruit of the Earth markets – where we …. encourage and facilitate barter trade. We also participate in eco fairs where we educate consumers about the health benefits of agroecological foods.”
We also learned about the main findings of the “Food from Somewhere”report, launched by The International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food).
Speaking to findings from the report, Shalmali Guttal from IPES Food observed, “Global corporate food chains have demonstrated catastrophic vulnerability to shocks, while bringing unhealthy, ultra-processed food into the markets. We need a shift to a completely new model of food provision – to resilient, localised food systems and food webs.” She stressed the need to encourage consumers to buy directly from producers and to push governments to create an enabling policy environment for territorial markets.
“There are many kinds of territorial markets such as mass marketing spaces like public markets, informal markets, street vendors, farmers markets, peasant markets, wet markets, specialty markets. Then there are bulk community spaces. There are food hubs, cooperatives and network markets. There are also independent local businesses and direct producers to consumer markets through community supported agriculture. There are also digital sales, farm shops, urban agriculture and a number of different channels with potential to actually build up territorial markets and territorial food systems to something much broader,” Guttal observed.
Further stating, the research showed that territorial markets build food security and resilience on multiple fronts—they demonstrate increased food access, health equity and environmental benefits and at the same time, boost and support community solidarity and cohesion. They also make food accessible and affordable, especially for low-income populations.
“Territorial markets support decent prices and steady incomes for producers, especially women and youth. In Thailand, for example, green farmers markets offer producers higher margins than big retailers and these green farmer markets in Thailand and across much of Southeast Asia account for 60 to 80 percent of the income of small-scale food producers and vendors,” Guttal shared.
You can access the recording of this webinar and the previous webinars in our Agroecology Economies series here.
Written by Joyce Chimbi, a cohort three graduate of grantee partner ESAFF Uganda’s Agroecology School for Journalists & Communicators. Agroecology Fund supports this initiative with the aim of building the capacity of journalists and communicators to write and report on agroecology in their communities.
The Agroecology Fund works with a diverse pool of grassroots organisations and networks including Indigenous youth networks. Indigenous communities face existential threats to their ancestral lands from destructive forces of colonialism. These lands are crucial for sustenance and spiritual practices.
During the recent Agroecology Fund African Learning Exchange that brought together more than 100 farmers from diverse cultures and communities, Indigenous peoples shared about their journey in agroecology.
A Learning Journey
“We work with Indigenous communities in Kenya, particularly for the promotion of their social and cultural rights, said Bernard Loolasho – an Indigenous youth leader and convener at the Kenya Indigenous Youth Network. “Agroecology came into the picture when we started talking about the food sovereignty of Indigenous peoples and since then we have worked with the support of Agroecology Fund in three communities in Kenya. The Yaaku tribe in Laikipia, Endorois in Baringo and Sengwer people in Trans Nzoia, Cherang’any Hills.”
Ongoing interventions include support for creating seed banks with women in the Sengwer community in Cherang’any and agro-pastoralists farmers in Baringo as well as beekeeping farmers in Laikipia among the Yaaku community.
“So far, we have implemented the first year, and we have noticed successes in documenting culture, traditional practices and techniques of beekeeping and seed banking. We have managed to work with farmers, both the elderly and the young, and have facilitated exchanges in intergenerational knowledge transfer. It’s a learning journey. We long to see what else could come out of these interactions and our journey to food sovereignty as Indigenous peoples in Kenya. We are enjoying the journey and the learning,” he said.
Ultimately, he says, they would look forward to seeing how best indigenous peoples and indigenous voices are raised and how best to amplify them. For a very long time, Loolasho observed, indigenous people were not recognized and were significantly marginalized. Stressing that “even now, their rights to food in particular is not guaranteed. Their right to seeds is at risk. So, ours is a journey to food sovereignty for indigenous people.”
Identity and Land Rights
“I’m Juliana Loshiro, an Indigenous young woman in the Yaaku community. We live in Mukogodo Forest as hunter-gatherers. They have not recognized us as a tribe because our people settled in Mukogodo forest and that is where we are now fighting for identity. I’m the only remaining fluent speaker of the Yaaku dialect in my community after my grandfather Leriman who is 113 years old. I’m amongst 8,000 people who identify as Yaaku.”
Loshiro says “we are doing more of language and cultural utilization and trying our best to come up with a strategy to fight for all our rights – be it in culture, food security and land rights. Hunter-gatherers are facing a lot of challenges and we are essentially being evicted in our own lands. We are doing advocacy on the ground and writing memorandums to the government to consider us, because if we are pushed out of our homes, where will we go?”
“But we are more hopeful now and we have seen the light. We are using agroecological solutions to sustain ourselves even as we move into the future and we are also exploring value addition. We are good at beekeeping and using it to support our livelihoods. We have brought together more than 3,000 women who are interested in beekeeping and value addition and through such solutions, we are changing lives and narratives,” she said.
Diel Mochire Mwenge is a Chief among an Indigenous community called Batwa and, the director of the Programme Intégré pour le Développement du Peuple Pygmée in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a grantee partner of the Agroecology Fund. The organization works with local communities to promote agroecological solutions and more so, among the Indigenous people, creating linkages between farming and biodiversity preservation.
“We do all of this not only with technology, but also with the help of traditional knowledge in such areas as understanding when and where to plant. The Batwa are one of the two main indigenous hunter-gatherer communities in DRC and the population is about 100,000 in the Lake Tumba region of north-west DRC, and also a few thousand in Kivu near the Uganda and Rwanda borders,” he said.
Mwenge says besides increasing production, they are also doing value addition and working with farmers to improve access to the markets. Some of the challenges they face are linkages to markets since indigenous communities are often found in areas that are cut off from development and infrastructure.
All in all, the Chief recognized the Learning Exchange as a platform to deepen his understanding of agroecology within the context of indigenous, marginalized communities – learning and sharing with others in the East, Central and Africa region. The acquired knowledge, he said, will go into scaling their interventions.
Written by Joyce Chimbi, a cohort three graduate of grantee partner ESAFF Uganda’s Agroecology School for Journalists & Communicators. Agroecology Fund supports this initiative with the aim of building the capacity of journalists and communicators to write and report on agroecology in their communities.
Agroecology Fund’s African Learning Exchange on Agroecology Economies gathered more than 150 people representing organizations working towards agroecological food and nutrition sovereignty. It was an opportunity to learn more explicitly from Agroecology Fund grantee partners in Africa about what they are doing, how they are doing, and to learn from their success stories about how their community-led solutions might be replicated in different contexts. This rich, in-person gathering was also a chance for partners to brainstorm about agroecology as a business and enterprise. The backdrop of the exchange was Kufunda Village – Kufunda means learning in Shona, the language spoken by 70% of the people of Zimbabwe. The village, on the outskirts of Harare, Zimbabwe, is a learning center with a focus on vibrant and healthy local communities.
At an early gathering, Angela Cordeiro, an agronomistand Co–Director at Agroecology Fund spoke about the importance of thinking about agroecology simply beyond production. She encouraged the participants to think more expansively about agroecology, and stressed the need for movements to create economies and tap into the significant potential for positive socio-economic development in local communities. The power inherent to transforming structures is a significant marker of why grassroots agroecology movements hold the possibility to transform global food systems—and why Agroecology Fund centers these movements in their grantmaking.
“The root of the word economy, or its meaning, is to take care of the house or to take care of your home. The economy has been kind of controlled by one way of taking care of the home and we are here to brainstorm, to exchange ideas on how we are trying to develop new ways of taking care of the home through innovative approaches such as the participatory guarantee system, territorial markets, commercialization as well as financial mechanisms,” Cordeiro said.
Agroecology Fund grantee partners from across the African continent reflected on what the word economy means in their diverse languages and cultures, and on the positive socio-economic benefits associated with agroecology. In the Democratic Republic of Congo where the Lingala language is spoken, ekonzo means economy, in Swahili the economy translates to uchumi. For Yoruba people in Nigeria it is okowo, in Zambia it is phindu and in Dagara a language spoken in Burkina Faso, economy translates to na-bomo.
The discussions that were held on the economy and agroecology, and how these concepts translate in different languages highlighted that there can be many different ways of commercializing foods produced in synchronicity with nature. Conversations explored market practices that are favorable to the peasant farmer and peasant families in rural and urban areas, as well as the revitalization and investment in larger territorial mass markets.
Dioma Komonsira, an action-learning and advocacy coordinator for Groundswell International West Africa – an Agroecology Fund grantee partner– said that there is no contradiction between building a business around agroecology and upholding social values.
“We will soon be publishing a survey that we did focusing on 200 to 300 women-led agroecological enterprises in Mali and Senegal. There is a big and untapped market for agroecology products, bigger than the products available at the moment. But at times the women are limited in their production capacities due to challenges in accessing financing. We are seeing that there is potential in women organizing themselves in cooperatives. There is also an urgent need to train women or peasant farmers in general in how to develop a business plan,” he said. The Agroecology Fund is currently supporting 15 African networks that support emerging enterprises to create business plans.
Some of the innovative practices being used by women peasant farmers to raise much needed financing are anchored in social and solidarity economies – group savings or village fundraising strategies to help address the most pressing needs they face as a community.
Among other practices shared by grantee partners during the exchange included the Kenyan and Senegalese women’s solidarity funds in the form of rotating microcredits called “solidarity calabashes”. These funds are a way to mobilize local capital through donations from the local community to address their most pressing needs, including hunger.
From these conversations emerged ideas about how agroecology economies can thrive within varied communities, utilizing similar ideas and frameworks adapted to each local context as the respective communities see fit. The connections made among grantee partners is one of the major benefits of these learning exchanges. There is power in connection, and the mycelial-like network of grassroots agroecology movements grow stronger with each engaged interaction.
Written by Joyce Chimbi, a cohort three graduate of grantee partner ESAFF Uganda’s Agroecology School for Journalists & Communicators. Agroecology Fund supports this initiative with the aim of building the capacity of journalists and communicators to write and report on agroecology in their communities.
In various shapes and forms, peasant and family farmers from across the African continent came together from their respective countries to showcase the best of their seeds and foods. As part of the Agroecology Fund’s Learning Exchange on Agroecological Economies, Agroecology Fund grantee partners visited this year’s Good Seed and Food Festival in Harare to share their experiences and interact with the best of Zimbabwe’s traditional and organic seeds and food from the four corners of the country.
Carmel Kifukieto Manzanza from the Democratic Republic of Congo experienced firsthand how prices vary depending on the route that the farmer takes to sell their produce, “when farmers sell directly from their farm or as an individual, they often sell at a price that is lower than the market rate. But when there is an event such as this (festival), that brings many people together, the prices then become favorable for rural peasant farmers who are often cut off or at the margins of the market systems. And, yet the prices are also favorable for the consumer compared to what they would have paid in other markets such as a supermarket. Overall, it was an opportunity for farmers and local peasant communities to showcase what they can do.”
January Watchman Mvula from the Sustainable Rural Community Development Organization in Malawi, “learned that Zimbabwe as a country is investing much of its resources in organizing farmers’ cooperatives and in particular, peasant farmers from local communities. By doing that, they are also transferring various skills like drying for preservation and processing for value addition.”
What stood out for Ruth Badubaye from the Centre d’ Appui a’la Gestion Durable des Forests Tropical in the DRC are the innovative, value addition activities undertaken by peasant farmers. “They had packaged their products in ways that are very appealing to consumers while still maintaining a price range that is fair to the consumer. I took some time to learn how the farmers produce such big fruits. The watermelons and pumpkins were very big. I also shared what I know and, in the end, I realized that there is always a way to learn, exchange and improve knowledge all around. My take away is that in this community, the post-harvest processing or value addition is really done at a more advanced level. In DRC, people only do value addition to fruits and vegetables and only for household consumption. In Zimbabwe, the community does it for commercial purposes and this is very impressive as it helps put more money in a farmer’s pocket.”
A member of the African Alliance Against Industrial Plantation Expansion, Nasako Besingia grantee of the Agroecology Fund, observed, “I have interacted with various farmers’ gatherings and the idea of a food and seed festival is not unique to Zimbabwe, as we have similar festivals in Cameroon. But for the most part, that is where the similarities end. We have many more crop varieties than what I saw and many more farmers than what I saw. Perhaps the issue of fewer farmers is down to the fact that the festival was hosted in an urban area which limits the participation of peasant farmers.
“I come from Mundemba in Cameroon the headquarter of the Korup National Park
which extends over a huge chunk of mostly undisturbed forest. There, we have lots of plant varieties or what we call non-timber forest products such as vegetables and many other food varieties, that grow without human or farmer intervention”, said Besingi.
“But I also saw a few varieties of crops that we do not grow in Cameroon or Central Africa and a number of my colleagues from Gambia purchased some traditional cereal and vegetable seeds for planting when they return home.
“If you were to visit a similar food and seed festival in Cameroon, you will have access to foods that have come directly from the forest, like native tubers similar to yam and not necessarily cultivated. Our soils are still very healthy and in fact, if you try to grow say Irish potato using fertilizer, it will all rot and go to waste. It means you are adding more to the plant than it needs.”
“I did not see forest products in Harare but, for us, they are very important to our food systems in both rural and urban areas. There are forested areas in Zimbabwe, what happened to their forest foods?
“This is the beauty of farmers from across the continent meeting, interacting, learning and sharing from each other. You get to see and understand what is possible, and you are able to think beyond what you can see and to try new agroecologically innovative ideas. Overall, it was a fantastic festival and I had a great time!”
Written by Agroecology Fund Advisor Milka Chepkorir All photo credits: Milka Chepkorir
On June 21, 2024, the Agroecology Fund was invited to a school agroecology learning field day at Ugolwe Primary School in Siaya County, Kenya. The event was organised by Agroecology Fund grantee partner the Schools and Colleges Permaculture Programme (SCOPE) Kenya, who are a beneficiary of the Agroecology Fund through the regional umbrella body, ReSCOPE. Milka Chepkorir, Advisory Board member of the Agroecology Fund, attended the event and shared her experience.
Schools and Colleges Permaculture Programme (SCOPE) Kenya is a national capacity-building and networking organisation founded in 2014. The organisation works with schools’ communities, to promote practical ecological land use and management practices, through agroecology approaches, to address the challenges of food & nutrition insecurity, increasing poverty levels, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss in Kenya. Currently, SCOPE Kenya network has a membership of 16 civil society organisations (CSOs), working with 133 schools’ communities in 13 counties in Kenya.
The types of garden designs in the school compound include a rabbit system, fruit forest, key-hold gardens, sack gardens, a food plant circle, and much more.
Food plant circlesMixed vegetable garden
The gardens are set in front of the school classes and offices. This structure and design choice primarily give life to the school environment. This provides things to look at and admire as parents and visitors wait to be served at the school offices.
Gardens set in front of school administration buildings
At an early age, students are taught to be environmentally responsible by not using plastics either in the general school environment or in the gardens. This is a behaviour they have taken back to their homes to influence their villages. By working in the gardens together, the students learn to be tender and care for the plants in front of their classes and the school environment.
Grade 1-3 projects in front of their classes
Contribution to the current school curriculum
The youngest students, in grades 1-3, have been offered opportunities to put into practice the skills they learn from the Carrier-Based Curriculum (CBC)–a new Kenyan school curriculum in which students are guided to set up vegetable gardens at the front of their classes and encouraged to take care of them, water them and learn through doing.
Working with the larger community
In the spirit of inclusion and spread of agroecological practices into the larger community, the SCOPE project has invited parents to participate. As a result, a group of mothers are now a part of the project. They take up the role of nurturing the gardens when the students are on holiday, and work together on community workdays at the school garden. The group expressed how the project has informed their decisions to set up gardens and practice agroecology at their homes, thanks to their children’s influence and knowledge from school. The women’s group has also started agroecological enterprises resulting from their involvement in this project, including selling of organic foods and fruits even at the school field day event.
Women’s group displaying their enterprises
Performance and art
Different schools in attendance skillfully prepared and presented skits, songs, narratives, and poems (in Swahili, English, and Dholu, the local language). A group of three judges awarded scores to the performing groups and individuals. The best-performing groups had prizes presented to their schools.
Some of the performance pieces included:
A young boy from Sega Township Primary School presented a poem entitled Agroecology. In his poem, he pointed out the principles of agroecology and permaculture which included farming without chemicals, without altering or destroying the soil structure, and taking care of micro and macro-organisms like earthworms.
The host, Ugolwe Primary School presented a piece on agroecological activities, encouraging people to practice them and emphasised the benefits of Indigenous foods to human health. Some of the benefits of Indigenous foods highlighted by the presenters included good immune systems to support the body away from lifestyle diseases, and physical strength needed by community members to perform activities in their farms and community.
Lolwe Primary School presented a piece on Agroecology from an African perspective. The main points from the piece highlighted the fact that agroecological knowledge has been passed down through generations from the ancestors. They emphasized the need for the preservation of such knowledge. The piece was delivered with great African proverbs and phrases such as, “Listen to the whispers of cassava leaves on the secrets of the soil.”
There was also a narrative shared by a boy and a girl comparing two types of head teachers in their school. One of the headteachers proposed and pushed for the setting up of a school garden on agroecological principles while the other pushed for chemical farming in the same farm. They named the pro-agroecology teacher Mr. Mapinduzi, translated as Mr. Revolution. The narrative went further to describe how the school ended up dividing the land into two and the teachers piloted their preferred systems. The agroecological farm had higher yields and attracted attention from the students and other school stakeholders.
“It was impressive to see the interest of school administrations and boards of management to be part of these kinds of projects and to be eager to involve their extended school communities. The involvement of students, as key players in the project, draws such positive promise for the future of agroecology as this aligns their choices and actions around food production to the right and the most effective methods that take care of the planet. The knowledge mastered and shared by young boys and girls through the different arts; songs, poems, narratives, dances, drama, was a clear indication that agroecology and especially the consumption of African Indigenous foods is key in the general health of humans and the planet. SCOPE Kenya’s role in reaching out to schools in the country to engage more students in learning and spread knowledge and skills, contributes largely to the need for change that the world needs at this critical moment. While many agroecology actors are focusing on change of policy and strategies on paper, it is encouraging to see actors like SCOPE Kenya working with schools and their communities in the practical implementation and support of agroecological activities with youth, the next generation of change-makers.” – Milka
About Milka Chepkorir
Milka Chepkorir is a young Indigenous woman from the Sengwer peoples in Cherang’any Hills, Kenya. For the last six years she has been working with her community to address land tenure issues in their ancestral lands, the Embobut and Kabolet forests. Due to lack of recognition of her community land rights, the community has faced human rights violations through evictions by the government of Kenya, all in the name of forest conservation. Milka has a special interest in gender issues and has been working with women and elders in her community to ensure women are included in the community land rights struggles. Together with the women in Embobut forest, she helped develop a cultural centre where the community hopes to carry out indigenous education classes to educate the youth and children about the Sengwer indigenous knowledge and systems, most of which have been lost or are diminishing. She is currently completing her Masters in Gender and Development Studies at the University of Nairobi. Her specific focus is on gender relations in community forest conservation among Indigenous Peoples. Milka coordinates the “Defending Territories of Life” stream of work at the ICCA Consortium. She was previously the Coordinator of Community Land Action NOW! (CLAN), a Kenyan movement of communities working to register their lands as community lands under the Community Land Act 2016.
Inisiatif Rizab Benih Komuniti (IRBK), which translates to “Community Seed Reserve Initiative”, is a seed-saving project of the Malaysian Food Security and Sovereignty Forum (FKMM), a discussion and action platform to strengthen food security and food sovereignty in Malaysia that is partially funded with support from Agroecology Fund. The primary goals of this seed initiative are to raise the visibility of farmers’ seed systems, to encourage the spirit and practice of saving, processing, sharing and exchanging seeds between farmers, to jointly care for and conserve agrobiodiversity, especially heritage or local seeds, and to jointly strengthen farmers rights.
In addition to our annual global and regional grantmaking programs, Agroecology Fund is honored to provide support for participatory action and learning to leading organizations and networks in their territories. While shifting funding toward agroecology is our primary mission, creating space for learning, facilitating research and collaborating across geographies is also central to our work. When presented with the opportunity to support multiple grantee partners to attend FKMM’s Agroecology Conference on Community Seed Systems 2024 (AECoSS24) in Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia, we were happy to contribute resources to enable further connection and collaboration within the network. The conference is part of the IRBK work that Agroecology Fund already supports.
We followed up with both FKMM and grantee partners CREATE Trust and Seed Savers Network to learn more about their experiences at the conference—what they learned and what messages they want to amplify about the importance of community seed systems. Read each of their responses in the following Q&As to learn more about these initiatives and the important work they’re doing within their respective communities to create sustainable, just, climate-resilient food systems and the value of gathering in person to collaborate, learn, and connect.
(The following answers have been edited for brevity and clarity)
Q & A with NurFitri Amir Muhammad, project leader of IRBK, FKMM
Please share a brief introduction about your collaborative work on seed systems.
Inisiatif Rizab Benih Komuniti (IRBK), which translates to “Community Seed Reserve Initiative”, is a seed-saving project of the Food Security and Sovereignty Forum (FKMM), a discussion and action platform to strengthen food security and food sovereignty in Malaysia. FKMM was established in 2018 to advocate for farmers’ rights and policy changes toward agrobiodiversity through natural farming, permaculture, and organic agriculture. FKMM conducts theoretical and practical workshops on farmers’ rights, community seed systems, and GMOs.
IRBK was launched in 2020 with the support of the Agroecology Fund to help create a seed inventory with rural seed guardians and offer an alternative to the formal (commercial) seed system. The formal seed system supports seed patents, which ultimately work against farmers and undermine agrobiodiversity. Our work to develop and maintain a seed reserve strengthens farmers’ rights and supports a more biodiverse, climate-resilient food system.
Why did FKMM decide to organize this Conference? What were some of the highlights that stood out?
On April 26, Inisiatif Rizab Benih Komuniti and FKMM co-organized an Agroecology Conference on Community Seed Systems 2024 (AECoSS24) in Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia, in conjunction with the annual International Seed Day. This event was created to be a platform where farmers from all over the world could convene to discuss strategic action focusing on food security and sovereignty, farmers’ rights, and seed rights. FKMM invited farmers and organizers from across Malaysia, many of whom are Agroecology Fund partners, including Serikat Petani Indonesia (Indonesia), Consumer Research Education Awareness Training and Empowerment (India), Seed Savers Network (Kenya), Nous Somme la Solution (Senegal), Rural Women Farmers Association of Ghana (Ghana, member of NSS), and MASIPAG (Philippines). A total of 200 individuals with more than 20 speakers representing 15 countries from Asia, Africa, Australia, and South America gathered for the event. The primary goal of the gathering was to bring together people from around the world to begin to illustrate the significance their practices hold for local and small-scale farming, the critical role they play in contributing to seed security for resource-constrained households, and for supporting biodiversity. The conference intends to build on its initial success to continue to raise awareness of the importance of community seed systems with an eye toward influencing government policies.
What were the key learnings you received from the gathering? How are you thinking about them in the context of your work?
Key Learnings:
Community and farmer seed systems promote partnerships and fairness through the co-creation of knowledge, citizen science, connectivity, and social and cultural values.
Community seed systems promote genetic conservation and create opportunities for economic diversification.
Gathering in person promotes learning and facilitates connections that empower communities.
These key learnings mirror what FKMM considers to be a crucial embodiment of agroecology and are essential for advancing a just transition toward a resilient food system—community, connection, and co-creation. We see the value of holding these types of conferences to bolster the strength and power of farmer collectives.
What message do you want to share about community seed systems and the role they play in food sovereignty?
FKMM believes that recognizing the interaction and complementarity between formal commercial seed systems and community seed systems can lead to a more inclusive and sustainable system. So we urge all stakeholders to recognize and protect farmers’ rights to seeds, which include the protection of traditional knowledge, equitable benefit sharing, and participation in decision-making. These socio-cultural components need to be recognized and protected by international agreements like the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and the United Nations Declaration on Rights of Peasants and other people working in rural areas (UNDROP). FKMM is committed to promoting the community system and advocating for farmers’ rights because we believe this is crucial for sustainable agriculture and food security.
Additional stories about FKMM’s work can be read here and here.
Please share a brief introduction about your collaborative work on seed systems.
CREATE Trust is working on the revival of traditional rice paddy varieties in Tamil Nadu and at the national level. The work focuses on three primary areas in building seed systems: mapping of native paddy seeds in different agroecological regions, conservation and experimentation, and exchange of seeds with farmers. We organize training and capacity-building programs on quality seed production to help maintain genetic purity. We strengthen the community seed system by organizing annual seed festivals and seed fairs to create awareness and showcase diversity. As of now, we have revived and conserved more than 200 traditional paddy varieties, and they are conserved at the community level by farmers at seed banks. These varieties are experimented with by farmers under diverse climate conditions and climate variations.
What were your primary reasons for wanting to attend the seed systems conference? What were some of the highlights from your time in Malaysia?
CREATE Trust was interested in attending the conference to begin to understand the global context of how community seed systems are working across the world. We learned about so many aspects of seed systems from this gathering, including new approaches and strategies for wider outreach, challenges and opportunities farmers face, civil society collaborative actions, contributions of other stakeholders, and what strengthening farmer capacities to become self-reliant looks like globally.
What were the key learnings you received from the gathering? How are you thinking about them in the context of your work?
From the presentations and interactions with participants, panelists, and the organizers, it quickly became clear that there are many similarities in the approach to building alternate seed systems with community participation. While CREATE Trust focuses only on paddy, many others who shared their stories at the gathering are building diverse crop seed systems. It was very useful to be connected to and learn from many seed savers with great experience and knowledge. A major highlight was meeting a university professor from Malaysia with whom I could exchange information about traditional paddy varieties. We’ve already started planning to widen our focus beyond paddy thanks to the influence and information from this gathering. In the coming years, we will focus on native millet and vegetables in our working area.
What message do you want to share about community seed systems and the role they play in food sovereignty?
Farmers across the globe never consider seed as a commodity. They consider seeds to be a community resource, and to nurture that tradition, they have historically had many cultural and ritual practices. Many of these practices have been neglected with the advent of the Green Revolution. In the context of genetically engineered seeds with patent laws and its threat to genetic pollution and negative effects on agrobiodiversity, it is important that the community seed systems need to be strengthened across the world. We can’t achieve food sovereignty without seed sovereignty. Beyond community, it is essential that we establish community seed savers and system networks at National and Regional levels.
Additional stories about CREATE Trust can be read here.
Please share a brief introduction about your collaborative work on seed systems.
Our work started 14 years ago as a response to restrictive seed sector laws in Kenya that prohibited farmers from sharing, exchanging, and selling seeds. Policies pushing farmers to adopt hybrid seeds and use chemical fertilizers and pesticides have increased food insecurity and pushed small-scale farmers deeper into poverty.
In response to this, SSN has forged both local and international partnerships creating a network of more than 3 900 farmers organizations in Kenya and attracted technical and financial support from international partners like Agroecology Fund. Our grassroots activities are aimed to achieve food and seed sovereignty.
What were your primary reasons for wanting to attend the seed systems conference? What were some of the highlights from your time in Malaysia?
I wanted to attend the seed systems conference in Malaysia because I knew there were possibilities of learning actionable models or techniques that could be useful in advancing the SSN agenda back in Kenya. The conference offered a platform to gain insights into successful seed systems from around the world, network with other advocates, and share our experiences. The level of diversity of the participants and topics for discussion also caught my attention. I took home implementation ideas shared by people, from farmers, researchers, and the private sector. That combination of diversity is rare in Kenya because most of the research is funded by the people who want to promote green revolution technologies. This conference created a unique learning opportunity rarely available.
What were the key learnings you received from the gathering? How are you thinking about them in the context of your work?
One of the key learnings I brought back from the conference was the use of microbial treatments for seed dressing. This technique offers a sustainable alternative to chemical treatments, enhancing seed health and reducing environmental impact. Another valuable method I learned was using paper and postcards for seed sharing, which can facilitate easier and more effective seed exchange among farmers. We are now considering how these techniques can be integrated into our existing practices to improve our seed systems. There is also a regulatory requirement to treat seeds with seed dressing chemicals for protection against pest insects and diseases. We have started conducting research on the practical implementation of microorganisms for seed dressing.
What message do you want to share about community seed systems and the role they play in food sovereignty?
Community seed systems play a crucial role in achieving food sovereignty. They empower farmers to maintain control over their seeds, preserve biodiversity, and ensure the resilience of local food systems. By supporting community-based seed systems, we can enhance food security, protect the environment, and promote sustainable agricultural practices. These systems enable farmers to save, share, and exchange seeds, fostering a sense of community and resilience against external pressures such as fluctuations in seed prices and climate change. Supporting these grassroots initiatives is essential for building a sustainable and equitable food system.
