GIZ Knowledge Centre for Organic Agriculture and Agroecology in Africa Newsletter

Global project Knowledge Centre for Organic Agriculture and Agroecology in Africa

• Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)​​​​​​​
• Overall term: 2019 to 2026

KCOA is a collaborative country-led partnership that aims to scale up the adoption of organic and agroecological farming practices through a network of five Knowledge Hubs in Africa. Within KCOA, the implementing organisations have four main objectives: 

1. to improve access to knowledge on organic agriculture and agroecology; 
2. to strengthen the technical and professional capacity of multi-pliers; 
3. to foster networking and to strengthen relationships in the sector; 
4. and to strengthen actors in their advocacy activities.

Resources:

ISAN Magazine Issue 10 (May 2024) brings stories about the benefits of biodiversity in agricultural systems, stories from Zimbabwe about how to enhance agrobiodivesity for improved food security and community-based climate change adaptation approaches, as well as profiling knowledge products on enhancing soil fertility developed by farmers in the Southern African region.

GIZ (2024) Agroecology –From Principles to Transformative Pathways # 13 pp.

On behalf of BMZ, GIZ implements projects related to agroecology, among others, as part of BMZ’s Special Initiative “Transformation of Agricultural and Food Systems“. The following examples of rural development projects illustrate how transformative pathways are shaped differently by different sets of agroecological principles.

• India Agents of Change – Women Self-Help Groups in India To design a systemic approach for food systems transformation and to tailor a strategy which supports rural women to create community benefits. Women Self-Help Groups (WSHG) have become pivotal change agents in agroecology
• Mali Uniting Multiple Stakeholders for Agroecological Transitions in Mali To support multi-stakeholder dialogue and foster change processes and politics. 
• Global Integrating Aquaculture into Smallholder Farming Systems To harness synergies among different productions systems in rural areas and to design approaches to integrated aquaculture. 
• Regional in Sub-Saharan Africa Agroecology – a Pathway for Rural Youth Employment To ensure that business models meet sustainability goals while promoting fair employment. 
• Mexico Strengthening Rural Livelihoods in Mexico To design cross-sectoral approaches to integrate biodiversity

Related

Supporting agroecological transformation processes in India

Support to Agroecological Transformation Processes in India (SuATI)