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Policymakers, donors, and investors are seeing the wisdom of investing in soil restoration, agroecology, agroforestry, and biodiversity, among other regenerative actions. Not only are these markets a good fit for smallholder farmers who practice agroecology , but they are also more equitable and accessible for women and youth.
This is the first part of an articles series based on based on conversations held during COP16 (Cali) and COP29 (Baku) side events by leading food system actors, who explored solutions provided by agroecology. And efforts to make food systems more nature positive, including through agroecology, must be integral to each.
On the importance of diversity in ecological research. ” The Role of Crop, Livestock, and Farmed Aquatic Intraspecific Diversity in Maintaining Ecosystem Services. Towards an agroecological approach to crop health: reducing pest incidence through synergies between plant diversity and soil microbial ecology.
For example, soil and vegetation on farms remove carbon from the atmosphere, regulate hydrological flows, and shelter pollinators who pollinate crops. Natural capital and ecosystem services constitute farms’ ecological wealth. Ecosystem services are the benefits provided by nature and managed by farmers on their farmland.
They also embraced crop diversity by adopting traditional crops, including hardier, more nutritious varieties that had been orphaned by modern agriculture demands. In Kansas, some annual row crop farmers are pioneering perennial crops to counter the impacts of yearly plowing that has depleted their soils. In the U.S.,
By Justin Duncan, NCAT Sustainable Agriculture Specialist For the past couple years, NCAT has worked with the Southern Risk Management Education Center to provide training to farmers on how to better decide which crops to plant based on agroecological methods. Where are we in the ecological succession?
Fossil fuels make it possible to grow crops in vast monocultures using pesticides instead of biodiversity to deter insects and employing energy-intensive synthetic fertilizers that actually deplete natural soil health and fertility. The CAFO system, with its dependence on vast amounts of feed crops, has many knock-off climate effects.
Title: Ecological Farming Program Specialist I or II Location: California / Hybrid – partially remote option (Davis, CA Region preferred) FTE: 1.0 Currently our programming is focused in four areas: Farm to Market, Policy & Advocacy, Farmer Services, and Ecological Farming.
A Bigger Conversation’s Director, Pat Thomas, shares insights from the ‘Agroecological Intelligence’ project, which spoke with agroecological farmers and growers to establish a criteria for adopting new technologies. An automatic irrigation system follows their path. But not everyone buys in to this narrative.
He is also part of the Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance , a Black- and Indigenous-led organization with a focus on African and African American crops. There are many different schools of thought or different methodologies that people embrace as we do our farm work, and I have borrowed from many, but my favorite is agroecology.
On the back 16 acres of Walla Walla Community College, 30 Red Angus cows stand munching on hairy vetch, ryegrass and other cover crops that were planted to help restore the soil. As part of its efforts to foster a new crop of farmers, earlier this y ear, the USDA announced it would be investing $262.5 It’s truly full circle.”
The need for greater access to land, so that younger generations can have a role in equitable and accessible food production – most particularly in agroecological food production – is critical and demands that we find new pathways beyond ownership to invite their participation.
The crisis in Ukraine reveals the folly of a global food system where a few staple crops are produced in a select few countries. The crisis in Ukraine reveals that now more than ever, we must embrace a food system grounded in local agroecology. Similar results were published in The Lancet in April 2022. Among the 12.6
Better yet, why do some researchers, farmers and activists prefer the term “urban agroecology?” From 2017 to 2019, my research team helped to define and elevate “urban agroecology” in the US as a better way of acknowledging the multifunctional benefits of urban green spaces. amount of food produced per unit of GHG emission).
However, as with all social-ecological systems , change in any part of the system necessarily requires or causes change in other parts of the system. Who manages land determines which scientific perspectives, crop choices, traditions, and skills shape the landscape, with profound implications for its ecological sustainability.
Since 2017, CAFF’s Ecological Farming team has been conducting an on-farm demonstration project in collaboration with California no-till farmers to better understand small-scale biointensive no-till farming’s effect on soil health. Their webinar grabbed the attention of hundreds of agricultural enthusiasts, invoking in-depth discussion.
It sits alongside the Belize Northeastern Biological Corridor, which connects various ecological reserves and allows for safe passage of wildlife like jaguars and pumas. The ecological farming practices SHI partner farmers use provide even more habitat for wildlife and contribute to national conservation efforts.
As California has lost much of its grain to higher value crops, small flour mills and grain cleaning businesses have disappeared, too. Similarly, buying a no-till drill allowed Gonzales-Siemens to expand the use of cover crops in his orchards and further protect the soil. “[The The drill] made a huge difference. What is that?
Acres of Ancestry Initiative/Black Agrarian Fund The Acres of Ancestry Initiative/Black Agrarian Fund is a multidisciplinary, cooperative nonprofit ecosystem that aims to regenerate custodial land ownership, ecological stewardship, and food and fiber economies in the American South.
Earlier this year, the Carbon Harvest partners wrapped up an agroforestry pilot program that helped four local farms, including Good Wheel, integrate trees with their crops and livestock. They’re going to be much larger-scale than the average farm, and they need to have very simple cropping systems.”
From losing seed crops as wildfires rage for weeks, losing entire crops due to erratic freezes, to losing farms as drought dries up available water, farmers’ risks are rising. Currently, CSP only offers SAPs for Resource Conserving Crop Rotations , Improved Resource Conserving Crop Rotations , and Advanced Grazing Management.
USDA funding should be directed toward building an understanding of the ecological aspects of our food and farm systems and integrating the diverse knowledge and practices of agroecological farmers and farm workers, rather than continuing to explore and promote the narrow constraints of industrial-scale monoculture. ( 7503, 7123).
Philly Forests uses revenue from their crop sales to operate their Urban Ecology Program which distributes free trees, shrubs and perennial plants through the Philadelphia zip codes with the lowest amount of tree canopy. In 2022, Philly Forests began a school garden and mini food forest at EW Rhodes K-8 School in North Philadelphia.
The couple show a real passion for nature, as evidenced by the sign at the entrance of their farm which reads, “Ecology now!” Last month, Wales had its hottest and driest June on record, which is not ideal when water is such a critical asset to growing their crops. And for agroecological farmers and growers, this poses some difficulty.
Currently our programming is focused in four areas: Farm to Market, Policy & Advocacy, Farmer Services, and Ecological Farming. We commit to advancing racial, gender, and environmental justice in our larger systems, as well as in our own workplace. To learn more about CAFF, our history, and our core values, visit [link].
At the same time, productive land as well as field margins and natural areas can be of great value to nature – a traditionally managed hay meadow or unsprayed crop can harbour and support a range of biodiversity and facilitate the movement of species through the landscape.
Prioritizing ecological integrity and community health over yield, these farmers stay profitable by diversifying their crops, producing value-added products like jams and sauces, and building community support and social capital. During the world wars, the U.K.
The soil quality may not support crops or the land may not have appropriate water drainage. The cost of trying to create viable conditions for growing can be enormous and may not be worth the expense or the crop it might produce. Obviously, farming crops and rangelands are not compatible,” she says.
These animals live on a diet of mainly pasture and forage, making use of land that is often unsuitable for growing other crops. Typically, this soya comes from Latin A merica , a crop that contributes to deforestation and pesticide use in biologically important areas, such as the Amazon and Cerrado.
Regenerative agriculture can cover a vast array of approaches and systems but it is based around five principles: don’t disturb the soil; keep the soil surface covered; keep living roots in the soil; grow a diverse range of crops; and bring grazing animals back to the land. “If
xvi] Regenerative agriculture is key to flood resilience and prevention of the decimation of crop yields. xxxix] [xl] [xli] Including temporary leys in crop rotations across the UK’s arable area could sequester c.2.2 Ecological Entomology 40, 124–135 (2015). 25 and 60% of the UK’s total current livestock emissions).
Virginia Tech and Virginia Cooperative Extension’s project team conducted 11 semi-structured interviews and conversations across Virginia to learn and better understand farmers’ and ranchers’ agroecological motivations and overall values related to the protection and conservation of water resources.
USDA funding should be directed toward building an understanding of the ecological aspects of our food and farm systems, integrating the diverse knowledge and practices of agroecological farmers and farm workers, and accessible to all farmers.”
Farmers need to have annual inspections to demonstrate delivery against those standards, ranging from controlled pesticide usage to crop rotations and natural fertiliser usage. For products to be certified as organic, they must meet a series of standards that are set and audited by certification bodies (CBs).
Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) , Africa AFSA is a coalition of civil society organizations advocating for food sovereignty and agroecology across the continent. Crop Trust , International Crop Trust is dedicated to preserving plant genetic diversity to secure agricultural, food, and nutrition sustainability.
Brazil’s national requirement that 30 percent of school food ingredients be sourced from local and regional family farms helps empower and fund women agroecological producers. Edition] By Christopher Hart Hedgelands is a delightful paean to a staple of British life and a critical part of the nation’s rural ecology: the hedge.
Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) , Africa AFSA is an alliance uniting civil societies dedicated to promoting agroecology and food sovereignty across Africa. The organization introduces beneficial plants called green manure/cover crops which fertilize the soil, control weeds, and respond to periods of drought.
As always, there was much to explore at the Conference with an array of workshops and deep dive sessions arguably dominating the more academic talks on topics like Trauma and the Land and The Interbeing of Agroecology not to dismiss those deeper discussions which are important to have, but perhaps practice is having a moment?
Other posts explore how the next farm bill can tackle issues in regional market development, crop insurance access, and more. A review of the research projects awarded through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) and AFRI from 2009-2023 shows that the allocation for organic research does not meet the ongoing need.
This bill defines precision agriculture as: “managing, tracking, or reducing crop or livestock production inputs, including seed, feed, fertilizer, chemicals, water, and time, at a heightened level of spatial and temporal granularity to improve efficiencies, reduce waste, and maintain environmental quality.” 7125, 7204, 7208, 7305, 7503).
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