Grassroots Evidence for Agroecology: A Growing Collection of Impactful Cases

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!

Exchanging Knowledge on How to Design and Implement Policies to Scale Agroecology

The International Seminar on Agroecology for National and Local Policies: Lessons from Initiatives in the Global South, gathered together 55 participants from 18 countries in La Habana, Cuba from Dec 10-13th, to exchange experiences and lessons learned on how to strengthen the role of municipalities and other sub-national governments in scaling agroecology up and out. Through plenary sessions, panels, working groups, and field visits, participants shared policy strategies for healthy local food systems. Please read on to gain a flavor of discussions and findings.

The first of five knowledge exchange panels contextualized the legal and policy framework for the development of Agroecology in Cuba. The climate crisis was at the centre of the discussion as well as the National Food Security, Sovereignty and Nutritional Education Plan (Plan SSAN), the Food Sovereignty Law (Ley SSAN), and the Agroecology Law.

For Cuba, just as in many other countries across the globe, 2024 has been the warmest year on record, with an increase in sea levels, uncertain rainy seasons, longer droughts, and higher vulnerability to tropical storms and hurricanes. With agriculture taking up to 60% of the island’s water use, strategies to adapt and overcome the challenges of global warming are urgent.

Climate change has been under study in Cuba since the 1990s. Recognizing it as a threat, local authorities have designed a national plan (Tarea Vida) to strengthen the island’s capacity to adapt and remain resilient. For food systems, Tarea Vida aims to foster climate security across the food chain, from seed to plate, leveraging sustainable practices like agroecology to improve ecosystemic health across territories.

To ensure the effective support of the environmental and food production strategies proposed in Tarea Vida, public policies like Plan SSAN must be implemented in a complementary way. Local government agencies, civil society groups and research institutes in Cuba emphasize that while launching national policies into action is a step forward, these need to be adapted to the needs of local territories, for each demands different solutions. To ensure territorial input, in the second implementation phase of Plan SSAN, 714 capacity-building workshops were held with 777 provincial and municipal commission members, engaging over 23,000 people and training 1,073 promoters.

An efficient implementation of Plan SSAN would demonstrate the political will to put food sovereignty at the front of a public agenda, back the constitutional right to food, and favor the transition away from an import-dependent food system. Among the challenges to advancing Plan SSAN are the scarce funding for food production, transformation and distribution, and deficient nutritional education. The more than six decades-long U.S. imposed commercial, economic and financial blockade looms large.

In the second panel, partners from Uganda, Sri Lanka, and India shared their experiences and learnings in topics such as the development of national public policies on agroecology, the fight against seed privatization and unsuitable forms of transitioning to organic production, as well as the importance of promoting nature-centric farming practices.

Public policies at the state/department/provincial level were at the center of the third panel’s discussion. In Colombia, after three years of participatory work, the department of Antioquia developed an agroecology development plan to build and scale equitable food systems. In Brazil, the state of Bahia is fighting hunger through public policies that incentivize agroecological food production to contribute to public health, solidarity economies, and environmental justice. This includes public funds for agroecology extension services in partnership with civil society organizations. In the state of Paraná, local policies range from efforts like incentivizing urban farming, banning pesticides in the metropolitan region of Curitiba, transitioning to agroecology, and increasing food procurement of organic food to supply the public school feeding program. In October 2023, a bill in support of a Fund for Agroecology Transition was submitted to the State Deputy Assembly.

The fourth panel featured examples from Mexico, Argentina and Brazil, discussing municipal consortia and territorial networks to scale agroecology. Shared opportunities among these countries are: youth engagement, gender-focused strategies to support women farmers, strengthening the production and distribution of bio-inputs, and the participatory design of local policies with multiple stakeholders.

To close the panel discussions, representatives shared their strategies to promote agroecology in public policies and programs at a municipal level. In Cuba, in the municipality of Cabaiguan, Sancti Spiritus province, a multi-sectoral platform is engaged in a participatory action research process to strengthen governance processes and implement public policies like Plan SSAN, that support the territorialization of agroecology. This includes the mapping of local actors, the development of assessment methodologies, and the identification of priority actions to scale agroecology. This scope of work is part of the participatory research initiative (IPA-LAC) supported by the Agroecology Fund.

In Kenya, the implementation of agroecology in Murang’a County aligns with a national agroecology plan, approved in November 2024. The county seeks to leverage its awareness in educational spaces, strengthen cooperatives and local food hubs, collaborate with public hospitals for nutritional therapies, and engage youth for intergenerational memory. This plan includes a financial model to sustain the municipal policy implementation.

Land access for women farmers is at the forefront of the grassroots efforts of Sahel Eco in Mali, in partnership with Groundswell International. Based on communal ownership models, the municipality supports women’s groups to achieve tenure through mitigating conflicts and supporting community building.

In Argentina, joint work between civil society networks like the Union de los Trabajadores de la Tierra (UTT) and local governments seeks to improve land access, agroecology education, gender equality, youth engagement, and democratized access to clean, healthy foods. In partnership with the municipality of Mercedes, the UTT has created agroecological areas called “Colonias Agroecologicas” to facilitate access to land and healthy food supply.

Despite the differences between each country’s context, the implementation of effective agroecology policies on national and local levels is a shared vision across borders. Through working groups, participants engaged in the co-creation of ideas to promote agroecology in public policies, territorial markets and public financing. Stay tuned for more findings and recommendations that emerged from three days of dynamic conversation at a first-of-its-kind international conference, made possible with the support of the Porticus Foundation and Waverley Street Foundation.

Driving Agroecology and Climate Advocacy Through Participatory Research: IPA-Global Grants

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 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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Participatory Action Research: Deepening Community Learning to Create Climate-Resilient Food Systems

At its roots, agroecology is about iterative, applied learning. The lessons from this learning are best shared—for practical application—by the organizations and networks that are engaged in on-the-ground science, practice, and advocacy. This commitment to collective “action-reflection-action” is what makes a movement strong.

In addition to our global and regional grant programs, The Agroecology Fund is honored to provide support for two participatory action and learning processes 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.

Participatory Research for Agroecology in Latin America and the Caribbean

In April 2023 the Agroecology Fund launched the Participatory Research for Agroecology in Latin America and the Caribbean (IPA-LAC) initiative with funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). We approved grants for seven participatory research collectives in Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador.

The Research Group on Agroecology at El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR) provides methodological support to each collective and facilitates the learning community. Each collective seeks to answer research questions relevant to local actors committed to the transition and scaling up of agroecology for the construction of resilient food systems. In addition to virtual meetings, the IPA-LAC collective holds face-to-face meetings to deepen reflection on strategic themes.

The First Meeting of the Regional Collective for Participatory Research in Agroecology in Latin America and the Caribbean, took place from July 23 to 27, 2023, in the city of Cotacachi-Ecuador, with delegates from nine countries. The Regional Collective bases its unity on the diversity of approaches, territories, dynamics and experiences. They recognize that the Indigenous, peasant, and Afro-descendant organizations of the people of Latin America and the Caribbean have historically struggled to resist and transform food systems and join to support their processes. The Regional Collective comes together to rethink and embrace the holistic nature of agroecology, and to discuss interest in promoting agroecology as a transformative practice.

The second meeting will be held in Cuba in June 2024 to learn about the participatory research on food system governance carried out by Cuban partners, exchange experiences, and make progress in defining metrics to verify the results of the IPA-LAC initiatives, which will be completed in the first half of 2025. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive an update about the Cuba gathering in your inbox later this summer.

Participatory Action Research to Strengthen Global Agroecology and Climate Justice Movements’ Approaches to Food Systems Change

In November 2023, Waverley Street Foundation joined the Agroecology Fund with an investment of $16 million over four years to support collaborative research and advocacy among agroecology and climate justice networks and, through them, among farmers, scientists (biophysical and social), consumer groups, and policymakers, to explore how to create an enabling policy environment to scale up agroecology as a climate solution.

With this large investment in the Agroecology Fund, Waverley Street Foundation is demonstrating to the donor community how we can collectively invest in grassroots, movement-led food systems change at scale.
Daniel Moss, Co-Director, Agroecology Fund

This partnership, inspired by the IPA-LAC initiative model, enabled the Agroecology Fund to deepen its existing partners’ work in Asia (India and Indonesia), Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa), Americas (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and the USA) and Europe (France), building on successes and momentum. Through participatory action research, multi-sectoral collaborations will implement, research, and strengthen advocacy strategies for food systems policies that link climate resilience, food systems, and agroecology.

Agroecology Fund reflects our commitment to climate solutions that address community resilience. We believe it is imperative to shift policy and public funding toward supporting healthy, climate-resilient food systems rooted in agroecology.
Amanda Eller, Strategy Director, Waverley Street Foundation

Over the next four years, guided by a participatory research approach, these collaboratives will pursue critical research questions and leverage data to galvanize policy changes supporting agroecology-based food systems as climate resilience strategies. The process will also contribute to strengthening the agency of civil society in food systems governance.

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