#agroecology

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1. Promising breakthrough creates plastics that self-deconstruct on cue

“[Researchers have] developed a new molecular structure for plastic, inspired by nature, that allows it to self-deconstruct at the end of a product’s lifespan. In fact, researchers say that a timely programmable breakdown date can even be built into future plastic products. […] But it’s not always possible to predict in advance when you’ll want plastic to break down. So, the researchers have also designed mechanisms into the new plastics to trigger self-deconstruction on demand.”

2. 2 'Lazarus' animals thought to be extinct for over 7,000 years found alive in New Guinea

“Two marsupial species thought long extinct, until now known only from fossils, were found alive in New Guinea through a collaboration of scientists, indigenous communities and citizen scientists. […] Indigenous communities in the Tambrauw and Maybrat areas of West Papua aided the scientists with identification work through their knowledge of the marsupial’s “unique” lifestyle[….] Carlos Bocos, a citizen scientist who is now a co-author on the study, [had] posted photos of the animal on iNaturalist[….]”

3. Powerful new rooftop solar panel promises system sizes “previously out of reach”

“[The newly approved module] at up to 545 watts adds an extra 24 per cent of generating capacity above the average rooftop module[….] It also means that smaller systems can still use fewer panels, which gives installers more flexibility – and provide a better aesthetics[….] Fewer modules mean reduced racking, wiring, and installation time, Aiko says.”

4. New Mexico Legislative Session Ends with Significant Investments in Rivers and Habitat

“[The state budget] includes a $13 million dollar appropriation for the River Stewardship Program, and a $10 million dollar appropriation for the Strategic Water Reserve. [...] 80% of New Mexico’s at-risk bird species are completely riparian-dependent, so these programs are essential for ensuring those birds and the places they need are intact.”

5. In Malawi, farmers rebuild soil and livelihoods through agroecology

““The farmers are currently cutting on cost of fertilizer by over 40% while yielding between 30 and 40 bags of 50 kilograms [110 pounds] of maize per acre, proving agroecology as a sustainable and cost-efficient way to food production,” Chikoko says. […] At the district level, agricultural authorities are increasingly recognizing agroecology as a climate adaptation strategy. […] As a sustainability measure, Chikoko says SPRODETA has constructed a seed bank to preserve local seeds.”

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The original version of this post was a rotating list of links for both Sudan and Gaza. I was unable to keep up with actually rotating out the links, and so I thought it might be for the best if I just focus all my energy onto one mutual aid campaign. I'll link the original masterpost at the end of this one.

If you've followed me for any amount of time, you probably know that agriculture is one of my passions. I firmly believe in food sovereignty and food justice.

So I was glad to learn about the Revive Gaza's Agriculture project. This program not only produces food (which is critical right now), but it also undermines the blockade intended to starve out Gazans, and is working to provide jobs. The organization has stated that later stages will help remediate the soil that has been poisoned over the course of the genocide.

Their progress in their own words:

Cultivated 1,019 dunums of vegetables with 537 farming families, comprising a total of 3,370 individuals.

Produced 5,090 tons of fresh vegetables.

Rehabilitated 17 greenhouses.

Rehabilitated 2 agricultural wells serving 6,000 individuals.

Provided fishing nets to 30 fisherfolk.

Distributed poultry to families.

If you are wanting to send money to mutual aid programs, please, consider this one.

Rather than boosting African fertiliser production to replace what’s blocked in the Gulf, governments across the region should urgently redirect subsidies and policy initiatives to support agroecology. The fact is that, for much of Africa, local foods are produced without chemical inputs. Farmers don’t use them for traditional crops like cassava in West Africa, sorghum in the Sahel, or banana around the Great Lakes. They are often reserved instead for cash crops, for export. Furthermore, across West and North Africa, farmers’ organisations are advancing agroecological methods that avoid chemical fertilisers. Groups such as Beo-neere, the Convergence des Femmes Rurales pour la Souverainete Alimentaire, and the Nous Sommes la Solution movement support tens of thousands of farmers across several countries. In Tunisia, the Network for Agroecological Transition and the Tunisian Association of Permaculture promote fertiliser-free food systems, including the “Nourriture Citoyenne” (citizen food) label for produce grown without chemical inputs. Evidence shows that agroecology can increase food production on farms, strengthen farmer livelihoods and provide multiple ecosystem benefits. A series of studies conducted in the 2000s of 208 agricultural projects across 52 countries, involving 9 million farmers, found yield increases of 50-100 percent for various food staples, including cassava, sweet potato, millet, maize and sorghum, when environmentally sensitive agricultural techniques were applied. In Senegal, researchers found that farmers using agroecology had 17 percent higher yields and 36 percent higher incomes than their conventional counterparts; in Brazil, these numbers were respectively 49 and 177 percent. Yet, for agroecology to reach its full potential, the economic cycle that keeps farmers tied to monocropping and export markets at the expense of feeding their own communities must be broken.

Slow Food Farms are dedicated to producing good, clean and fair food in a way that’s rooted in agroecological principles.

Aligned with Slow Food’s philosophy that everyone deserves access to nourishing food that supports communities, honors the Earth and strengthens local economies, these farms embody the future of sustainable agriculture

What is a Slow Food Farm?

A Slow Food Farm is a plot of land cultivated for agricultural purposes according to the principles of agroecology, used for growing crops and/or for raising animals for human consumption. It may include a processing unit but cannot be solely for processing.

By integrating farms into resilient local food systems, Slow Food Farms not only enhance farmers’ livelihoods but also ensure fair compensation and long-term economic stability.

Agroecology—a science, practice, and movement that seeks social, political, economic, and environmental sustainability in the global food system—is gaining momentum in the U.S., according to a new Dartmouth-led commentary in Nature Food. As the co-authors report, the approach requires coordination among scientists, farmers, and activists.

"Agroecology is different, as it strives to achieve both ecological and social sustainability of food systems without sacrificing one for the other. We cannot save biodiversity and ecosystem integrity without also preserving farmer livelihoods and ensuring that the food systems we create provide food that is culturally relevant to local communities, and not simply meeting a calorie quota," says Ong.

Supporters of agroecology say the U.S. food system is dominated by industrial agriculture, which is characterized by monoculture production, reliance on agrochemicals like pesticides and fertilizers, and advanced technology and machinery that depend heavily on fossil fuels.

Prior research has found that challenges facing global food systems—which include food insecurity, public health crises, biodiversity loss, and climate change—are perpetuated in part by the U.S. food system and the political influence of its big players.

"The transformation of ancestral lands into intensive monoculture plantations has led to the destruction of Guatemala’s native forests and traditional practices, as well as loss of livelihoods and damage to local health and the environment.

A network of more than 40 Indigenous and local communities and farmer associations are developing agroecology schools across the country to promote the recovery of ancestral practices, educate communities on agroecology and teach them how to build their own local economies.

Based on the traditional “campesino a campesino” (from farmer to farmer) method, the organization says it has improved the livelihoods of 33,000 families who use only organic farming techniques and collectively protect 74,000 hectares (182,858 acres) of forest across Guatemala.

Every Friday at 7:30 a.m., María Isabel Aguilar sells her organic produce in an artisanal market in Totonicapán, a city located in the western highlands of Guatemala. Presented on a handwoven multicolor blanket, her broccoli, cabbage, potatoes and fruits are neatly organized into handmade baskets.

Aguilar is in a cohort of campesinos, or small-scale farmers, who took part in farmer-led agroecology schools in her community. As a way out of the cycle of hunger and poverty, she learned ecological principles of sowing, soil conservation, seed storage, propagation and other agroecological practices that have provided her with greater autonomy, self-sufficiency and improved health.

“We learned how to develop insecticides to fend off pests,” she said. The process, she explained, involves a purely organic cocktail of garlic, chile, horsetail and other weeds and leaves, depending on what type of insecticide is needed. “You want to put this all together and let it settle for several days before applying it, and then the pests won’t come.”

“We also learned how to prepare fertilizer that helps improve the health of our plants,” she added. “Using leaves from trees or medicinal plants we have in our gardens, we apply this to our crops and trees so they give us good fruit.”

The expansion of large-scale agriculture has transformed Guatemala’s ancestral lands into intensive monoculture plantations, leading to the destruction of forests and traditional practices. The use of harmful chemical fertilizers, including glyphosate, which is prohibited in many countries, has destroyed some livelihoods and resulted in serious health and environmental damage.

To combat these trends, organizations across the country have been building a practice called campesino a campesino (from farmer to farmer) to revive the ancient traditions of peasant families in Guatemala. Through the implementation of agroecology schools in communities, they have helped Indigenous and local communities tackle modern-day rural development issues by exchanging wisdom, experiences and resources with other farmers participating in the program.

Keeping ancestral traditions alive

The agroecology schools are organized by a network of more than 40 Indigenous and local communities and farmer associations operating under the Utz Che’ Community Forestry Association. Since 2006, they have spread across several departments, including Totonicapán, Quiché, Quetzaltenango, Sololá and Huehuetenango, representing about 200,000 people — 90% of them Indigenous.

“An important part of this process is the economic autonomy and productive capacity installed in the communities,” said Ilse De León Gramajo, project coordinator at Utz Che’. “How we generate this capacity and knowledge is through the schools and the exchange of experiences that are facilitated by the network.”

Utz Che’, which means “good tree” in the K’iche’ Mayan language, identifies communities in need of support and sends a representative to set up the schools. Around 30-35 people participate in each school, including women and men of all ages. The aim is to facilitate co-learning rather than invite an “expert” to lead the classes.

The purpose of these schools is to help farmers identify problems and opportunities, propose possible solutions and receive technical support that can later be shared with other farmers.

The participants decide what they want to learn. Together, they exchange knowledge and experiment with different solutions to thorny problems. If no one in the class knows how to deal with a certain issue, Utz Che’ will invite someone from another community to come in and teach...

Part of what Utz Che’ does is document ancestral practices to disseminate among schools. Over time, the group has compiled a list of basics that it considers to be fundamental to all the farming communities, most of which respond to the needs and requests that have surfaced in the schools.

Agroecology schools transform lives

Claudia Irene Calderón, based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is an expert in agroecology and sustainable food systems in Guatemala. She said she believes the co-creation of knowledge is “key to balance the decision-making power that corporations have, which focus on profit maximization and not on climate change mitigation and adaptation.”

“The recovery and, I would add, revalorization of ancestral practices is essential to diversify fields and diets and to enhance planetary health,” she said. “Recognizing the value of ancestral practices that are rooted in communality and that foster solidarity and mutual aid is instrumental to strengthen the social fabric of Indigenous and small-scale farmers in Guatemala.”

Through the implementation of agroecology schools across the country, Utz Che’ says it has improved the livelihoods of 33,000 families. In total, these farmers also report that they collectively protect 74,000 hectares (182,858 acres) of forest across Guatemala by fighting fires, monitoring illegal logging and practicing reforestation.

In 2022, Utz Che’ surveyed 32 women who had taken part in the agroecology school. All the women had become fully responsible for the production, distribution and commercialization of their products, which was taught to them in agroecology schools. Today, they sell their produce at the artisanal market in Totonicapán.

The findings, which highlight the many ways the schools helped them improve their knowledge, also demonstrate the power and potential of these schools to increase opportunities and strengthen the independence of women producers across the country...

The schools are centered around the idea that people are responsible for protecting their natural resources and, through the revitalization of ancestral practices, can help safeguard the environment and strengthen livelihoods."