Resources on policy for agroecology

National Agroecology Strategies in Eastern and Southern Africa

Biovision Foundation, 2024
National strategies for an agroecological transformation have the potential to harness opportunities for the sustainable development of agri-food systems by upscaling agroecological production practices and by developing markets, value chains and consumer demand that can accelerate transition. This outcome brief summarises key lessons from work on national strategies in Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and Zambia and from a peer-to-peer exchange organised by Biovision involving 25 decision makers from governments and civil society organisations in eight nations.

They Will Feed Us! A people’s route to African food sovereignty

African regional Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples Mechanism consultation space, 2023
This report provides a critical analysis conducted by African peasant and civil society organisations of the process and content of the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit and the 2023 Feed Africa Summit, which developed “national pathways” to underpin a corporate-led, industrial food system transformation in Africa. The assessment is based on case studies in five countries – Mali, Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Zambia and Morocco – to evaluate the coherence, effectiveness and inclusivity of the national pathways and compacts put forth by their respective governments. The conclusion is that these processes are often externally initiated, time-pressed, and top-down in their orientation, rather than building up from the needs, experiences, and proposals of national actors, particularly those most affected by food policies and most engaged in food provisioning.

A call for civil disobedience against the privatisation of peasant seeds

GRAIN, 2023
The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) is pushing seed privatisation worldwide, giving companies control over plant varieties. It penalises communities for saving and sharing seeds, undermining and criminalising centuries-old agricultural practices. This is a threat to people’s ability to save, exchange and breed seeds, and creates dependence on corporations. In December 2023, 261 organisations and grassroots groups from around the world came together to oppose UPOV and to fight to protect our seed heritage by signing a call for civil disobedience.

From Plate to Planet: How local governments are driving action on climate change through food

International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems, 2023
Where national governments are falling short, local governments are pioneering some of the world’s most ambitious policies around food and climate. It has become increasingly clear that international frameworks can inform local policy development, and that local action can serve as a major catalyst for more ambitious global change. This report highlights seven areas in which local governments are leveraging the climate potential of food system transformation.

Legal Guide on Farm-to-Fork Procurement

COACH (Collaborative Agri-food Chains project), 2023
For many years, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability has been facilitating knowledge exchanges between green municipalities across the world. As part of this work, the city of Copenhagen, in collaboration with Ghent in Belgium, developed an innovative legal Farm-to-fork toolkit on ways to unlock tenders for small-scale producers. This toolkit is novel as it goes beyond existing guidance on the public procurement of agroecological food. Building on good practices across Europe, the toolkit, resourced by the COACH project, outlines multiple strategies that municipalities can adopt to source food from small-scale farmers. These range from skilfully navigating existing EU legislation to adopting collaborative practices such as market dialogues and dynamic purchasing systems – digital marketplaces that provide opportunities for food producers and municipal buyers to connect. Strategies also include investing in infrastructure such as on-site kitchens, engaging in knowledge exchange networks for procurers specialised in food, and developing ambitious political visions to drive food system transformation via the public plate. Read our article: How public procurement is powering food system transformation in Europe.

Webinar: A feminist approach to food systems policies

available only in Spanish
Network of Municipalities for Agroecology, Spain, 2023
Do local agri-food policies incorporate a feminist perspective? What does a feminist policy for agroecology look like? Are we able to design food policies that incorporate a feminist perspective and that therefore guarantee equality in access to healthy and sustainable eating? A group within the Network of Municipalities for Agroecology in Spain has begun to interrogate the feminist perspective of local agri-food policies. Through a webinar, they present results from two research projects that respond to these questions based on concrete experiences. Based on a set of criteria and indicators, they propose a path forward for re-thinking how to develop agro-food policies with a feminist twist.

Manifesto for One Health in Europe

Coalition of Health Professionals for Regenerative Agriculture, 2023
This manifesto aims to give voice to a European Regenerative Healthcare movement and incentivises actions across the food, agriculture, and healthcare systems. The Manifesto emphasises that the health and well-being of humans are inseparably linked to the health of other ecosystem components such as soil, plants, and animals. It asks stakeholders and decision makers to provide urgent and concrete action at the local, regional, national and European level in education and policy reform.

Measuring agroecology: The Agroecology Finance Assessment tool

Agroecology Coalition, 2023
Over the past years, a group of researchers and organisations has been tracking funding flows to agroecology by analysing development assistance, climate finance, and research funds for their contribution to an agroecological transformation of food systems. Together they have developed a methodological framework, using the High Level Panel of Experts of the Committee on World Food Security’s 13 principles of agroecology as foundation. The framework conceives of agroecology as paradigm-shifting rather than as incremental improvements to existing food systems. It enables global comparability as well as local contextualisation of each principle, and uniquely outlines a set of ‘red lines’. The tool is housed at the Agroecology Coalition.

Proposal for an EU Directive on Agricultural Land

European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC), 2023
The right to land as defined in Article 17 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other Rural Workers is threatened in Europe. Legislation is particularly urgent regarding land access for today’s young farmers, as called for in the European Parliament’s 2022 motion for generational renewal in the EU farms of the future. As there is no European framework for land governance, ECVC has analysed the state of agricultural land and proposes concrete measures to ensure the realisation of the right to land in this comprehensive proposal for a directive.

Growing Common Ground: Pathways to agroecology policy in Canada

Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, Waterloo, Canada, 2022
This report shares the results of the Agroecology Policy Research Initiative, a project that examines the state of agroecology policy in Canada. The findings are that while support and research for agroecology has grown tremendously around the world, it remains scant in North America, where agriculture policies are still largely serving the interests of the biggest actors in the food system rather than family farmers. The report presents opportunities and levers of change that will advance policies and practices for agroecology and will address the challenges (policies, practices, interests, narratives, and mindsets) that are currently standing in the way of change. Read also this opinion piece by Faris Ahmed on building a people's movement for agroecology in Canada.

Film: Foragers

Jumana Manna, 2022
Foragers depicts the impact of Israeli nature protection laws on the practice of foraging for wild edible plants in Palestine and Israel. The restrictions prohibit the collection of species including the artichoke-like ’akkoub and za’atar (thyme), and have resulted in fines and trials for hundreds of people caught collecting these native plants. For Palestinians, these laws constitute an ecological veil for legislation that further alienates them from their land, while Israeli state representatives insist on their scientific expertise and duty to protect.

UNDROP Training Modules

La Via Campesina and FIAN International, 2021
This series of popular education materials highlights how UNDROP (the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas) can be used to address and protect peasant rights to resources and means of production. The obligations of states are outlined, and examples of how communities around the world are using UNDROP to protect their rights are included.
Read also about UNDROP in our interview with Georgina Catacora-Vargas.

Sub-national initiatives on Agroecology. The case of Sicily, Catalonia and Murang’a County.

Agroecology Coalition (2024)
Various subnational governments have adopted agroecological strategies. In this blog, the Agroecology Coalition dives into the unique approaches and specificities of Sicily (Italy), Catalonia (Spain), and Murang’a County (Kenya). They conclude that providing services to farmers such as training, monitoring and evaluation tools and financial incentives is a key component of these local policies.

Building an Agroecological Urbanism

Various universities, ongoing
Created around the premise that agroecological farmers and cities are insufficiently understanding each other, this creative website offers building blocks, conversation starters/ stoppers and examples of new transformative initiatives and policies that redefine social, spatial and political relations in cities. It presents an overview of 'agroecological cities'. The website was developed under the Urbanising in Place research project, presenting experiences from Brussels, London, Riga and Rosario and then expanding upon those.