Key Results and Recommendations of the Agroecology Dialogue Series

In 2022, FAO and Biovision Foundation organized the Agroecology Dialogue Series, an initiative in support of the Coalition for food systems transformation through Agroecology (Agroecology Coalition).

The briefs were officially launched during the FAO Deputy Director-General’s visit to Switzerland on 22 February 2023.

The series consists of three thematic dialogues that aim to identify entry points, opportunities, building blocks, innovative approaches and institutional frameworks that can support the upscale of agroecology. Between 60 and 90 participants contributed to each dialogue from various backgrounds (scientists, government representatives, civil society organizations, intergovernmental organizations, private sector, and others) and sectors. The key findings and recommendations of each dialogue were summarized in three outcome briefs.

23 June 2022. Dialogue 1: The interface between agroecology and territorial approaches for food systems transformation

Agroecology and its principles are increasingly recognized as a promising pathway for providing sustainable solutions to the issues of food security and nutrition, the fight against poverty and social inequalities, the adaptation to climate change, the preservation of biodiversity and natural resources, and the fight against zoonotic diseases. Simultaneously, approaches that put territories at the center of development also gained attention for the implementation of the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. They are championed as being more effectively and sustainably tailored to local socio-economic and ecological conditions and have been proposed as ways to increase the sustainability of agricultural landscapes that look at the landscape as an integrated system of resources, actors, processes, and flows.

This first hybrid dialogue: 

• explored the interface between territorial approaches and agroecology, and how this interface contributes to the sustainable transformation of food systems. 
• analysed the relation between both approaches and the pathways needed for public policies, research initiatives, investment mechanisms, and advocacy to support agroecological transitions at territorial scales.

Resource:

FAO and Biovision (2023) The interface between agroecological and territorial approaches for food systems transformations, Outcome brief no. 1, January 2023, # 17 p.

15 September 2022 Dialogue 2: Beyond the farm: Exploring synergies between the agroecology and conservation communities

The second dialogue intended to connect the conservation and agroecology communities to explore opportunities and limitations of agroecology to address conservation needs beyond the farm. It looked beyond classical on-farm conservation angles (e.g. conservation of local crop varieties and crop wild relatives). 

Instead:

• it discussed the contributions of agroecology to mitigate species decline and ecosystem degradation in the landscape, which are less explicitly recognised within existing narratives of the agroecology or conservation communities. 
• The dialogue also aimed to identify concrete pathways to increase synergies between the agroecology and conservation communities in food system transformation through policy reform, knowledge creation and investment.

Resource:

FAO and Biovision (2023)  Beyond the farm: Exploring synergies between the agroecology and conservation communities, Outcome brief no. 2, January 2023, # 15 p.

29 September 2022. Dialogue 3: Agroecology as a response to agri-input scarcity

This third dialogue reflected on the current global food crisis and the looming scarcity of agricultural inputs. Record prices in fertilizers, supply chain interruption, increasing dependence on synthetic agricultural inputs and on a handful of suppliers have underlined the urgency of food system transformation. As a result, a number of countries are committing to reducing their dependence on synthetic inputs. The current crisis creates opportunities to advance food system transformation through agroecology. 

The dialogue focused on:

• a better understanding of concrete implementation steps and pathways to increase the resilience of food systems to agricultural inputs scarcity through agroecological approaches, in the areas of policy reform, knowledge creation and investments.

Resource:

FAO and Biovision (2023) Agroecology as a response to agri-input scarcity, Outcome brief no. 3, January 2023, # 17 p.