Agroecology resources
Explore resources on agroecology from our members belowAgroecology, an introduction
(Institut Agro Montpellier)
We often hear that agroecology is THE answer to the contemporary challenges of agriculture: feeding a growing population while preserving natural resources, even as uncertainties increase (climate, biodiversity, energy, etc.). Fashion effect… or scientific, technical and political revolution?
This course (in French) allows you to discover what agroecology is, what are the different approaches, how they translate into agricultural practices and agroecological transition. In a participatory training dynamic, based on the social and geographical diversity of the actors and actresses, the MOOC proposes to build an approach to agroecology at the interface between agronomic sciences, ecology and social sciences.
Agroecology: Transition towards sustainable food systems
(FAO)
This course (in Spanish) is a joint effort of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Latin American Scientific Society of Agroecology (SOCLA), and also aims to be a contribution to stimulate the exchange and dissemination of good practices in agroecology in the context of territorial development, sustainability and resilience, governance and empowerment of communities and people.
Ecological Organic Agriculture Leadership Course - A Manual for Course Design
(IFOAM Organics International)
This manual is intended for those wanting to design or facilitate a course or workshop based on the Ecological Organic Agriculture Leadership Course (EOALC).
The EOALC and the manual cover a wide range of topics in the field of leadership and ecological organic agriculture. The intention is to inform and inspire change leaders by providing a broad horizon and foundation from which they develop further what resonates with them and their specific context - growing further the seeds that have fallen on their own fertile ground.
“Ecosystem-based adaptation and agroecology” (GIZ)
The report argues that the two holistic approaches of agroecology and ecosystem-based adaptation should be combined in order to adapt agricultural and food systems to climate change. This systemic measure has the potential to exploit synergies and protect ecosystems and natural resources. In a five-step approach, the report presents a comprehensive methodology for implementation at the country level. Three practical examples from India, Kenya and Guatemala illustrate the topic.
See also Five Key Messages on How to Implement Agroecology as a Systemic Adaptation Response
Climate Resilience – What can we learn from Pastoral Systems in Africa’s Drylands? (GIZ)
Pastoralism in Africa’s drylands offers valuable lessons for climate resilience. Pastoralists in highly variable environments are professionals in adapting to change and dealing with uncertainty while not relying on energy-intensive processes that have caused climate change in the first place. Key factors supporting pastoralists’ resilience include strategic mobility, diversity of assets, adaptive resource management strategies, and strong customary institutions.
Green Jobs and Income Potential: Agroecology's Role in Rural Employment (GIZ)
Good agroecological approaches offer triple-wins: they are ecologically sustainable, socially just and they open economic prospects for income and jobs. The examples show the opportunities of agroecological approaches: new income and employment opportunities arise in particular through the promotion of innovation and attractive jobs for young people and women in rural areas.
Natural farming through a wide-angle lens
True Cost Accounting Study of Community Managed Natural Farming in Andhra Pradesh, India
Andhra Pradesh Community-Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) is a state-wide agro-ecological transformation of the farming practices of its 6 million farmers over 6 million hectares and 50 million consumers. It is the largest transition to agroecology in the world, with 630,000 farmers already addressing multiple development challenges: rural livelihoods, access to nutritious food, biodiversity loss, climate change, water scarcity, and pollution. This research into the APCNF program, led by GIST Impact and supported by the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, started in 2020. The study is the first of its kind to assess the true costs and benefits of natural farming against other counterfactual farming methods by measuring all major economic, social, and health impacts.
Agrobiodiversity on the plate (Swiss Aid, 2023)
This publication looks at the reasons behind the dwindling diversity on our plates and explain why agrobiodiversity must play an increasingly important role in the future of a sustainable food system worldwide, particularly as climate change increases the challenge for many to consume a nourishing diet.
Measuring agroecology: Introducing a methodological framework and a community of practice approach (2023)
In this article, the authors introduce a new framework for measuring the degree of agroecological integration in projects and project portfolios, which builds on and further develops existing approaches, and we describe its development. Most of the work has been carried out in the context of the Financing and Investment Working Group of the Agroecology Coalition.
Agroecology Dialogue Series outcome briefs
The Agroecology Dialogue Series is an initiative that took place throughout 2022 organized by FAO and the Biovision Foundation in support of the Agroecology Coalition. The series consisted of three thematic dialogues that aimed to identify entry points, opportunities, building blocks, innovative approaches and institutional frameworks that can support the upscale of agroecology. The key findings and recommendations of each dialogue were summarized in three outcome briefs, launched in February 2023.
• The interface between agroecological and territorial approaches for food systems transformations:
The interface between agroecology and territorial approaches for food systems transformation
• Beyond the farm: Exploring the synergies between agroecology and conservation communities:
Beyond the farm: Exploring the synergies between
agroecology and conservation communities
• Agroecology as a response to agri-input scarcity:
Agroecology as a response to agri-input scarcity
Access Agriculture
To value local culture, and to encourage a healthy lifestyle it is important that schools include topics on farming and traditional food in their curriculum and activities. Weave elements related to agroecology in the school curriculum of all the grades. By organising field visits, children can learn from farmers about local varieties, ecological cropping practices and farming tools. You can create a room dedicated to local farm culture where children can read books, watch videos, display their art work, and play games. In a school garden, teachers, pupils and parents can grow crops and other plants. It is important to offer healthy school meals with local ingredients.
Access Agriculture
To sell agroecological produce, we need to pay attention to four things: organization; negotiation with local authorities; a guarantee system, so consumers know that all the produce is free from agrochemicals; and finally marketing and customer services.
Biodiversity, an ally of the agroecological transition (and vice versa!)
Between science and practice, this video takes stock of biodiversity in Europe and explores possible transition pathways with Alexander Wezel, director of research at Isara, Lyon and vice-president of Agroecology Europe, Jonathan Vericel and Quentin Violet, organic market gardeners at the GAEC Flam'en vert and Philippe Barral, organic dairy farmer at the GAEC de Charron in the Ain department.
Conservation and strengthening of the natural ecosystems through agroecology
On World Bee Day 2022, members of the Agrícola Cerró Azul, situated in Oxkuztkab, Mexico, introduce us to the importance of local stingless honeybees (Melipona beecheii) cultivated by the Mayans for 3,000 years. From the project "Conservation and strengthening of the natural ecosystem through agroecological production and the Mayan solar in Oxkutzcab" supported by Fondo Agroecológico Península de Yucatán - FAPY (Agroecology Fund of the Yucatan Peninsula).
Agroecology - the next evolution in food systems
Agroecology is a way of farming with nature, not against it. It builds resilience to climate change and disease outbreaks by combining different plants and animals, based on farmers' knowledge of their local environments. Agroecology doesn't rely on chemicals to fertilize crops and fight pests. It relies on diversity. And diversity in the field means fresh and nutritious food for communities. So can we embrace agroecology as the next evolution in food systems?
The 10 Elements of Agroecology: Enabling transitions to sustainable agriculture and food systems
(FAO)
Agriculture and food systems are facing wide-ranging and interlinked challenges that demand urgent actions. The 10 Elements of Agroecology have been internationally endorsed as a framework to support research and development efforts in the design of differentiated paths for agriculture and food systems transformation. The 10 Elements are interlinked and interdependent and represent a simplified, yet holistic, way to think about reality. They are a useful analytical tool to facilitate decision-making when planning, implementing, managing, and evaluating agroecological transitions by policymakers, practitioners and other stakeholders in differing contexts and at different scales. This video highlights Agroecology as an integrated approach that simultaneously applies ecological and social concepts and principles to the design and management of sustainable food and agricultural systems.
Business Agroecology Criteria Tool (B-ACT)
The Business Agroecology Criteria Tool (B-ACT) is a tool to assess and identify inspiring and promising agroecological enterprises that contribute to sustainable food systems. The extent to which an enterprise ‘inspires’ is reflected in its alignment with the 13 agroecology principles (HLPE, 2019) while the aspect ‘promising’ is reflected in its business model, value-generating activities and scalability.
One Million Voices citizen science initiative
Developed together with the Agroecology Map team, the One Million Voices of Agroecology platform easily allows users – be those farmers, producer organizations, consumers or anyone else interested in agroecology – to characterize and evaluate their diverse agroecological practices and locate them on a worldwide map. An additional feature also enables users to comment on other users’ entries, fostering global exchange and co-creation of knowledge within a community of agroecology practitioners.
Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE)
TAPE is a comprehensive tool that aims to measure the multi-dimensional performance of agroecological systems across the different dimensions of sustainability. It applies a stepwise approach at the household/farm level but it also collects information and provides results at a community and territorial scale. The tool was designed to remain simple and to require minimum training and data collection.
BOOST- AE: the collaborative platform on the agroecological transition
Boost is a collaborative platform for bringing actors into contact, sharing knowledge and solutions between them, and methodological support, for a agroecology adapted to tropical zones and countries of the South.
ACT: Agroecology Criteria Tool
"Assess your project or policy with the Agroecology Criteria Tool and find out how much transformative Agroecology it entails". The Agroecology Criteria Tool (ACT) methodology is based on the analytical framework by Gliessman on the 5 levels of food system change and is embedded within the 10 Elements of Agroecology by FAO. Each element of the transition includes a list of relevant topics or criteria, which were based on past work by DeLonge et al.
Methodology | Criteria Tool | Agroecology Info Pool (agroecology-pool.org)
Banner photo credit: Pierre Ferrand / FAO