Second Members Forum meeting of the Transformative Partnership Platform on Agroecology

12-13 March 2024. The second Members Forum meeting of the Transformative Partnership Platform on Agroecology – or Agroecology TPP – was held in Nairobi and online. 

Related article: 06/05 Expanding agroecology’s reach from CIFOR/ICRAF Forest News

The Agroecology TPP works to accelerate and co-ordinate work on agroecology across international, national and local scales and contexts, towards transitions to more sustainable agricultural and food systems.

Its annual Members Forum meeting was open to all institutions that formally engage in TPP projects, are active in the TPP’s science-policy or science-development interface, are represented in the governance and advisory bodies, or have submitted an application form and agree to the membership charter.

Not only did the 2024 meeting provide an opportunity to share progress and assess key achievements, but it also helped to identify successful strategies, pinpoint existing challenges, and, collectively, determine priorities for the future, all the while enhancing synergies.

Extracts of the agenda

12/03 Key events, major outputs, portfolio growth: TPP Co-Convenors Bernard Triomphe (CIRAD) and Fergus Sinclair (CIFOR-ICRAF)

12/03 Voices from the Agroecology TPP’s Community of Practice (CoP)

12/03 Key elements of the Agroecology TPP communication and engagement strategies

12/04 Enhancing membership engagement

• Key elements of the TPP communication and engagement strategies- Fabio Ricci, TPP Secretariat and Sandhya Kumar, TPP Secretariat
• Joint prioritization of topics and definition of modalities: guided discussion on co-creation of bimonthly TPP webinars/workshops

12/03 CGIAR Agroecology Initiative: an overview and a reflective panel discussion with local partners

• Overview of achievements, challenges and lessons learned: Initiative Co-Leads Marcela Quintero (ABC) and Chris Dickens (IWMI)
• Highlights from the five work packages: Work package Leads Bernard Triomphe (CIRAD), Chris Dickens (IWMI), Carolina Gonzalez (ABC), Frank Place (IFPRI), Anne Rietveld (ABC) [Video]
• Reflective panel discussion with local partners: Partner organization representatives from Burkina Faso, Kenya, India, Lao PDR, Peru, Senegal, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe

12/03 Transformative Land Investment TLI : an overview and Q&A

• Overview of TLI and how it relates to agroecology: TLI Co-Leads Anne Larson and George Schoneveld (CIFOR-ICRAF)

12/03 TRANSITIONS programme: an introduction and reflection on its three projects

TRANSITIONS: Agroecological transition programme for building 

resilient and inclusive agricultural food systems 

Objectives :  Facilitate agroecological transitions that are informed by climate considerations among farmers in low- and medium-income countries (LMICs) by creating comprehensive metrics to measure the performance of food and agricultural systems, implementing inclusive digital tools, and fostering transparent private sector participation and engagement.

Implementing organisation : CGIAR

Location :  Asia: India and Vietnam;  Africa: Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Burkina Faso;  Latin America: Brazil and Peru

Funding :  EUR 6 700 607 funded by the European Union and managed by IFAD

Duration : 2022 - 2025

Website :  https://bit.ly/3odtX4E

• Introduction to the Programme: Viviane Filippi (IFAD)
• Reflections on the three projects: Metrics Project - Matthias Geck (CIFOR-ICRAF); Digital Tools Project - Lini Wollenberg (UVM and ABC)
• Private Sector Incentives and Investments - Jonathan Mockshell (ABC)
• Panel discussion: Project partners, IFAD and European Commission representatives 

Resources:

ICRAF (2024) Developing holistic assessments of food and agricultural systems: A meta‑framework for metrics users # 32 p.

• This document  puts forward general steps for developing a holistic agrifood system assessment, as well as principles to guide decision making at each step of the design process, intended to support metrics-users in navigating the jungle of available approaches and selecting something that meets their needs. 
• This guiding framework for the design of holistic assessment and metrics aims to support their wider use, levelling the playing field for sustainable agrifood systems.

Dittmer, K.M.; Burns, S.; Shelton, S.; Wollenberg, E. (2022) Principles for socially inclusive digital
tools for smallholder farmers: A guide.

Agroecological TRANSITIONS: Inclusive Digital Tools to Enable Climate-informed Agroecological Transitions (ATDT). Cali, Colombia: Alliance of Bioversity & CIAT #18 p.

• The co-creation of farm practices with farmers is framed as an element of social inclusion that ensures relevance to farmers’ livelihoods and development of robust technical solutions. 
• The principles aim to support digital developers and managers using digital tools with farmers and help funders, farmers’ organizations or nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) hold tool developers or managers accountable to social inclusion principles.

12/03 Viability project: key elements and synthesis of case studies and cross-case analyses

• Presentation of the key elements of the synthesis across case studies and cross-case analyses: Viability Co-Lead, Ric Coe (CIFOR-ICRAF)

12/03 Tracking the CFS policy recommendations on agroecology

• Overview of achievement so far and plan for the near future: Alex Awiti (CIFOR-ICRAF)

13/03 An overview of the Agroecology TPP domains and project portfolio

Overview of the TPP domains and project portfolio: Matthias Geck, TPP Secretariat

13/03 Panel discussion on research priorities for agroecological transitions

• Monica Yator, Co-Chair, Agroecology Coalition and Founder of the Indigenous Women and Girls Initiative; 
• Esther Penunia, Secretary, General Asian Farmers’ Association; 
• David Amudavi, African Union, Ecological Organic Agriculture Initiative; 
• Oliver Oliveros, Coordinator, Agroecology Coalition

13/03 Co-designing future projects

Interactive prioritization of topics to be addressed in future TPP projects: plenary discussion on domains and portfolio vis-à-vis research priorities; voting on which domains or other topics novel TPP projects should prioritize; break out group composition according to prioritized research topics.

13/03 Enhancing synergies between projects 

• Introduction of options for strengthening synergies: Sandhya Kumar, TPP Secretariat
• Joint definition of modalities & participation: guided discussion on proposed modalities

13/03 Closing panel : reflections on the 2024 Agroecology TPP Members Forum meeting and way forward

• TPP Co-Convenors Bernard Triomphe (CIRAD) 
• and Fergus Sinclair (CIFOR-ICRAF)