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Document52 Profiles on Agroecology: Agroecological Transition in Mexico: ANEC’s journey to a Better Farm and Food System 2017
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No results found.By minimizing the use of external inputs and decreasing dependency on global commodity markets, agroecological approaches enable small farmers to survive some of the challenges posed by climate change, volatile prices and unfavourable government policies. Examining how agroecology fosters resilience and resistance to damaging industrial agricultural practices and policies can lend insight into how to promote and scale out agroecological approaches, by overcoming the various political and economi c obstacles to a truly equitable and sustainable food system. Countless countries have policies and programs that support an extractive agro-industrial system, creating institutional barriers to a transition. Many farmers must compete in a global commodity market that rewards mechanization and foments dependency on often subsidized harmful chemical inputs. In such a context, what policies and programs might foster a transition to agroecology? What are the best practices for supporting farmers in this transition? The experience of farmer organizations and the rural social movements at the forefront of agroecological innovation and the struggle for food sovereignty can shed the light on these questions. The following case study examines the experience of one such farmer’s organization in Mexico. -
Book (stand-alone)Methodological recommendations to better evaluate the effects of farmer field schools mobilized to support agroecological transitions 2022The farmer field school (FFS) approach, based on group experimentation of innovative practices and/or farming systems, is in line with participatory farm advisory efforts. This approach has an ambitious goal: strengthening farmers’ skills so that they can adapt their practices, or even invent new ones, and move towards more agroecological farming systems. Assessing such an advisory intervention poses significant challenges. The purpose of this document is to propose fresh ways to update FFS assessment methods, notably the study of changes in farming practices and the detailed analysis of FFS outcomes. Project designers, managers, and evaluators are the target audience for this document, which may also interest teachers, researchers, students, and policymakers. The elements of the FFS assessment methodology presented here stem from the collaboration between three institutions, CIRAD, FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), and the NGO AVSF (Agronomists and Veterinarians Without Borders), and fieldwork carried out in cotton-growing areas of Burkina Faso and Togo between 2018 and 2019. This document is divided into four parts. We first define FSS and the principles of the approach, then we detail the methods commonly used to assess FSS and the challenges involved. We then present a comprehensive assessment method using a case study in northern Togo. The final part of the report provides a basis for placing the proposed method within the process of designing an assessment for a project involving FSS.
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Book (stand-alone)How can the farmer field school approach be used to support agroecological transitions in family farming in the Global South?
Recommendations for farmer field school facilitators, agricultural development project designers and managers
2022The key to implementing farmer field schools (FFS) is to trigger an experimentation process based on collaboration between a group of farmers and a facilitator. The purpose of this document is to provide project managers, technicians and designers with practical information on how to use the FFS approach and adapt it to their context of intervention to support the agroecological transition (AET). It also will be useful for research staff, leaders of farmers' organizations (FOs), teachers and students interested in using the FFS approach or better understand its benefits. The findings and recommendations proposed in this document are the result of a partnership between three institutions working to support AET in the Global South: CIRAD, FAO and the NGO AVSF (Agronomists and Veterinarians Without Borders). This document has four parts: - Definition of the FFS approach and its principles, and characterization of the advantages of this approach to supporting family farm AET in the Global South, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. - Presentation of several important points for a successful FFS, i.e. to strengthen farmers' skills to practically and collectively solve the problems they encounter. This second part is aimed specifically at development project managers and field technicians and facilitators. - Recommendations for project designers and managers for including FFS in development projects. - Proposal of ways in which FSS could evolve to better take into account the needs of farmers and other actors engaged in AET.
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