First stakeholders’ workshop on “Scaling up Agroecology in the Himalayas”

First stakeholders’ workshop on “Scaling up Agroecology in the Himalayas”


Background  

The urgent need to transform our food systems is now widely acknowledged. Climate change, hunger, malnutrition, biodiversity loss and human rights violations are just a few of the challenges that are strongly connected to the way we produce, trade, and consume our food. Agroecology has been globally identified as a key transition pathway that can more holistically address the multifaceted crises we face.  

To promote this transition pathway and the food systems approach, IFOAM – Organics International and the World Future Council organized a virtual workshop on “Scaling up agroecology in the Himalayas”. The interactive workshop brought together stakeholders from Bhutan, India and Nepal to discuss the fundamental steps needed to achieve sustainable food systems through agroecology in the Himalayas. Participants exchanged on the current situation of food systems and agroecology in the Himalayas, reflected on the main challenges and opportunities for positive change, explored available policy solutions that support sustainable and healthy agri-food systems, and discussed their potential improvements as well as ideas about additional policy initiatives. 

 

Organizers and supporters 

The workshop was organized by the World Future Council and IFOAM-Organics International and was supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)

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Summary 

The lively and engaging two-day workshop took place online on March 14-15, 2023, bringing together 60-70 stakeholders from Bhutan, India and Nepal. Attendees included policymakers, parliamentarians, academia, civil society organizations, private sector representatives and donors. 

The first day was dedicated to discussing the main challenges and opportunities of scaling up agroecology in Bhutan, India and Nepal. Sessions were structured around the food systems approach and included an overarching panel discussion and four breakout groups. The breakout sessions covered a range of topics, including resilient, inclusive, and diverse food production systems, sustainability along all food value chains, sustainable and healthy diets, as well as coordination and integration for more policy coherence and consistency. 

On the second day, participants built on the discussions from day one and focused on policy dimensions of sustainable food systems, again through panel discussion and breakout groups. They identified and discussed policy solutions that support and hinder sustainable and healthy agri-food systems, discussed policy improvements, exchanged on existing policy gaps and reflected on how policy coherence and consistency could be improved. 


See the Agenda here


Major takeaways  

  • Challenges discussed included food insecurity and malnutrition, availability of arable land, low labour productivity, climate change, migration, labour scarcity and feminization of agriculture, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, unsustainable farming practices, land use changes and land degradation, soil health, urbanization, the loss of community knowledge, dependency on external inputs (especially fertilizers), low competitiveness of domestic production, food imports and the impact of the recent pandemic, oversimplified diets, poverty and food affordability, agroecological products not getting out of the niche, access to markets, poor value addition, post-harvest loss and food waste, lack of coordination and therefore lack of convergence, as well as the lack of mountain-specific policies, programmes and approaches.
  • Opportunities highlighted included agroecology as transition pathway, awareness raising with policymakers, the value of a dedicated legal framework and a national agroecology promotion policy, set up a national centre of excellence for agroecology, more engagement of donors and support for capacity-building, the region’s ecosystem services, strengthening research, teaching and extension, improve the water distribution and efficient water use, use malnutrition as outcome indicator for poverty alleviation schemes, nutrition sensitive agriculture and the integration of nutritious foods, strengthening of local economies through distributing and procuring local food baskets, investment and access to finance,  increase consumer awareness, support access to markets and organic markets, provide price incentives, farm mechanisation, addressing crop depredation, attain commercial scale production of bio-fertilisers and pesticides, forming producer groups and achieving economies of scale, agroforestry, subsidies for agricultural infrastructure and integration with non farm enterprises such as tourism.
  • Value was seen in experience sharing within the region and across borders on agroecology and the food systems approach, innovation through cooperation, making contacts, sensitizing policymakers, strengthening institutional mechanisms and empowering smallholders at grassroots level.
    • An integrated, holistic, mountain-specific approach was emphasized, along with the importance of increased coordination and collaboration. Involving more policymakers and developing a joint roadmap was deemed necessary but also seen as mammoth task, which would require a lot of dedicated coordination and support.
    • While there are some promising policies in place, their weak implementation prevents a resilient and agroecological agriculture to spread more effectively and more sustainable food systems to flourish. In order to effect significant change, stakeholders highlighted, amongst others, that policy development in general needs to become more inclusive and has to include mountain-sensitive approaches, the science-policy interface has to improve, and key players such as government officials, teachers farmers and consumers need to be made better aware of the importance of healthy, nutritious and diverse food. 
    • A national-level mechanism that encompasses all relevant stakeholders was considered necessary to strengthen the coordination and convergence between different governance levels, food system relevant departments as well as all food system stakeholders, to advance collaborative efforts towards sustainable food systems and to address contradictory policy outcomes. 

     

    Why was this event held? What was the aim? 

    Over the last 10 years, Bhutanese, Indian and Nepalese policymakers have increasingly recognized the need for transition towards sustainable agricultural systems to preserve their natural resources and improve livelihoods for their rural populations. Political commitment has been implemented with varying degrees of intensity, including policies and programs with specific budget earmarks for measures supporting organic farming and agroecology. Recently also other parts of food systems, such as value chains and markets, have received more attention from policymakers. 

    To build on this momentum and to explore how to better scale up agroecological food systems, we organized this two-day interactive stakeholder workshop. The event brought together food system stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, who share a common understanding of the need for change. We created a platform, through which we can collaborate and find innovative solutions to accelerate the transition towards more sustainable food systems based on agroecology.  

    The workshop is part of the project “Scaling up Agroecology in the Himalayas”, which aims to draft a common roadmap and which builds on the digital event “Scaling up Agroecology in the Himalayas Together” held in April 2021 (More information at: https://www.ifoam.bio/news/high-level-policy-experts-discussed-current-situation) as well as on the study “The Mainstreaming of Organic Agriculture And Agroecology in the Himalaya Region” (Available at: https://old.worldfuturecouncil.org/the-mainstreaming-of-organic-agriculture-and-agroecology/). 

     

    Will there be more such events to come in the future? 

    This workshop is just the first in a series of stakeholder events that will conclude by the end of 2023 with a common roadmap. By scaling up agroecology in the Himalayas, we can create a blueprint for sustainable food systems that can be replicated in other regions around the world. Moreover, this is a crucial step towards ensuring our common future on this planet, acting upon the fact that the health of our ecosystems and the well-being of all living beings are intimately interconnected.

Solutions Scaling up Agroecology: Collaborator of PANORAMA platform

We proudly joined the PANORAMA – Solutions for a Healthy Planet initiative by UNEP, UNDP, GIZ, IFOAM – Organics International, IUCN and Rare, as new collaborator.

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Scaling Up Agroecology: The Outstanding Practices in Agroecology 2019

After months of intensive research, following an outreach to 2,000 agroecology experts from across the globe, the World Future Council is proud to officially give recognition 15 Outstanding Practices in Agroecology 2019. This is the climax of an intense multistep process including a nomination stage, evaluation stage and deliberation by a panel of global experts. But how does the process take shape? Here is a quick overview.

Keen followers will know that the World Future Council has already been directing much of its research efforts to agroecology. In 2018, the World Future Council organized its renowned Future Policy Award (FPA) on the topic of “Scaling up Agroecology”. After a lengthy and meticulous evaluation period, the winners of the award were announced at a ceremony at the FAO headquarters in Rome in October 2018 and the “100% organic state” Sikkim in India beat 51 nominated policies from 25 countries to take the Gold Award.

Following the same theme as the Future Policy Award, the recognition Outstanding Practices in Agroecology 2019 is a furthered effort to find and honour practices carried forward by diverse individuals and organisations, which enable and support transitions into agroecology. From a total of 77 nominated practices from 44 countries, received by a call to action to 2,000 agroecology experts, 23 made it through to the penultimate, most intensive stage of evaluation. Here, extensive research was carried out and interviews with practice representatives were led. As per the World Future Council’s methodology, the practices were compared with the 7 Future Justice Principles, plus the 10 Elements of Agroecology developed by the FAO.

MORE INFORMATION ON THE RECOGNITION

On the basis of the World Future Council’s evaluation report on the shortlisted practices, a global panel of experts decided which of the practices provide the best solutions in agroecology, in accordance with the evaluation framework. The Jury for the 2019 Outstanding Practices in Agroecology was made up of internationally renowned experts:

  1. Caterina BATELLO, former Team Leader – Agriculture Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO, in personal capacity)
  2. Million BELAY, Founder of the MELCA-Ethiopia NGO; Coordinator of the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA); Member of the International Panel of Experts on the Sustainable of Food Systems (IPES-Food), Ethiopia
  3. Gábor FIGECZKY, Head of Global Policy, IFOAM – Organics International, Hungary
  4. Barbara GEMMILL-HERREN, Senior Associate to World Agroforestry Centre, Nairobi, Kenya; Team member of the Committee on World Food Security HLPE project ‘Agroecological approaches and other innovations for sustainable agrifood systems that enhance food security and nutrition’
  5. Dr. Franz Theo GOTTWALD, Chairman of the Schweisfurth Foundation; Chairman of the Supervisory Board, World Future Council Foundation
  6. Shantanu MATHUR, Lead Adviser, Global Engagement and Multilateral Relations Division, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD, in personal capacity)
  7. Shamika MONE, Research Director, Organic Farming Association in India; Convenor of International Network of Organic Farmers Organizations (INOFO).

In total, 15 practices were granted recognition and celebrated at the event. With the recognition, the World Future Council seeks to raise global awareness for these exemplary practices and speed up action towards just, sustainable and peaceful societies.

18th January 2019 also marks the release of the Position paper (in German) ‘Agrarökologie stärken: Für eine grundlegende Transformation der Agrar- und Ernährungssysteme’ of which the World Future Council and 56 other German and international organisations are official signatories. This paper marks real movement and co-operation in the field of agroecology and its potential to present a real, sustainable alternative to the current global system. The paper features background information, a call of solidarity to action, the necessary steps to move forward and most importantly issues clear demands to the German government.

The recognition is organised by the World Future Council (WFC), in collaboration with the start-up Technology for Agroecology in the Global South (TAGS).

Berlin welcomes the World Future Council into the Bundestag

100% Organic Sikkim, World Future Councillor Vandana Shiva and Director Alexandra Wandel in the German Parliament with Former Minister for Food and Agriculture Renate Künast

On Thursday 29th November, Berlin provided a solace of winter sun after a week of heavy-hanging weather to welcome World Future Councillor and world-renowned environmental activist, Prof. Dr. Vandana Shiva, and the Director of the World Future Council, Alexandra Wandel in the capital’s Bundestag Complex. They were invited by Member of Parliament, Renate Künast, former Minister for Food and Agriculture to discuss the agro-political situation in India, the world’s first 100%-organic state and Gold-winner of the Future Policy Award 2018, Sikkim, as well as the road-map to sustainable global agriculture.

 “Sikkim shows that we can turn this around and walk the agro-ecological path.”

Vandana Shiva

In a simple yet elegant conference room, the Honourable Künast welcomed her guests and 30 audience members from the German Parliament, European environmental institutes and the general public, and opened the discussion. The conversation quickly turned to agriculture in India. As a country whose agricultural face was profoundly transformed under the Green Revolution of the mid-20th Century, India is a notable example of the extreme conflicts and contrasts in the current global food system. Councillor Shiva described the horrors incurred by input-intensive agriculture in the country, which she has repeatedly encountered across four decades of environmental activism. An ongoing suicide-epidemic of hundreds of thousands of debt-ridden farmers, a ‘cancer train’, from the Punjab the Rajasthan, and a youth driven from agriculture and into drug abuse were some of the images she invoked. But the old techniques based on an old reductionist “lego-logic” have been recognised and, by some, reversed in the most radical and inspiring ways.

“A new knowledge of an old knowledge will be the future of humankind.”

Renate Künast

Over the past 45 years, Sikkim state in the Himalaya Region of India has made the transition to 100%-organic agriculture. Model farms, farmer field schools and a total ban on non-organic food-products have been instrumental in training over 65,000 farmers across 75,000 hectares into sustainable, fully-organic methods. World Future Council Director Wandel described how this unprecedented and entirely-successful transformation has earned the region countless benefits for its farmers and the health and well-being of the local people, as well as a 50% boom in tourism and recognition on the global stage. It is for this tireless work in organic agriculture that Sikkim was awarded the Gold Future Policy Award 2018 at the ceremony in front of 170 heads of state in Rome. Whilst 51 other nominations to the post were extensively researched and other policies from Denmark, Ecuador and Brazil received a Silver recognition, Sikkim’s efforts proved by far by the most exemplary.

“A truly visionary and holistic approach to agriculture.”

Alexandra Wandel

As part of her work with the Parliamentary Group on India, Hon. Künast recently had the opportunity to visit Sikkim experience their ground-breaking (and ground-making) work first-hand. She said she was wholly impressed by how the state uses public money to provide possibilities and livelihood dignity for its citizens in organic agriculture. Their valuing of traditional knowledge fuses with the goodness of the people in an atmosphere of respect for one another and the Earth.                                                                                                

 

“Sikkim is the light. The struggle must continue.”

Vandana Shiva

After all speakers had passionately shared their experiences and knowledge, the floor was opened up for questions from the audience. The opportunities and risks of digitalisation of agriculture came first, and Councillor Shiva was quick to insist on the stark difference between the right to technology and free internet, versus the forced digitalisation of agriculture. We must remain wary of the dangers of commodification of agricultural data for use by big companies. “Defining the commons in this new context,” said Prof. Dr. Shiva, “is extremely important.”

A second audience member asked how Sikkim was perceived at national level – is this the dawn of an organic India? There certainly exist other positive examples, for example, efforts in the Northern state of Ladakh to become organic. However, at national level, major obstacles remain. Vital here is the ongoing commitment to a sustainable vision by all spheres of society.

“We need a real debate across all of our societies or the future is a dead-end. Only food democracy will feed us in 2050.”

Vandana Shiva

The Director of the World Future Council Alexandra Wandel mentioned that unfortunately not a single German law was nominated for the Future Policy Award on Scaling Up Agroecology and that parliamentarians were invited to have a look at the awarded policies, including the organic policy of Sikkim and also the silver award from neighbouring country Denmark which received the Future Policy Silver Award and has the highest share of organic products in the world.

The event in the German Parliament came a day after the World Future Council and Councillor Shiva were invited to celebrate Bread for the World’s (Brot für die Welt) 60th anniversary in the German Theatre, and proceeded two exciting events at the historic Babylon Cinema in Berlin’s Mitte district. The first – “Vision for Agriculture 2050” [1] [2] –  was a debate between Councillor Shiva, Norbert Lemken, Director Agricultural Policy at Bayer and Prof. Dr. Sonoko Dorothea Bellingrath-Kimura of the Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF). As the audience outed their respective support and outrage, the debate raged over the science behind chemical inputs, the capacity to feed the world and the morality behind this monumental task. After a short break where audience members could inform themselves with Councillor Shiva’s literature and speak with Liam Innis about the World Future Council and the Future Policy Award, the night continued with the screening of “SEED: The Untold Story” [3]. The film, wherein Councillor Shiva is a protagonist follows the rich and treasured history of Earth’s 12,000 year-old food legacy, which continues to be threatened to extinction by – and fight back against – an all-encompassing agro-industry.

“I think it’s time to bring care, sharing, love, the commons and our brains back into the picture of agriculture.”

Vandana Shiva

[1] https://www.2000m2.eu/de/vandana-shiva-visions-for-agriculture-2050/

[2] https://theworldnews.net/de-news/aktivistin-streitet-mit-konzern-vandana-shiva-vs-bayer-lobbyist

[3] https://www.seedthemovie.com

Food is Fundamental: Farm Okukuna launched

Ground-breaking at a Pioneering Project in Goreangab

Windhoek, 22 February 2018. In the far north-west of Windhoek, on the boarder of the informal settlements of Goreangab, a visionary new project was born yesterday. Farm Okukuna wants to improve food and nutrition security in the capital’s northern settlements.

At the ground-breaking ceremony, City of Windhoek Councillor Ananias Niizimba pointed out that “Farm Okukuna will be the centre for a number of programmes, including growing food, marketing it, supporting small enterprises and entrepreneurship and – also very important – improving nutrition”. The City of Windhoek has provided the erf, is putting up fencing and will organise basic services such as security, electricity, semi-pure and fresh water.

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How to mobilise the masses: Watershed Management in Tigray

Travelling through Tigray, northern Ethiopia is a mind blowing experience for anyone with an eye for land management. Hill after hill after hill is terraced. Stones are piled up in long benches to stop water flowing off. All of this back breaking work has been done by local communities over the past 30 years.

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Namibian mayors vow to combat hunger and malnutrition through concrete policy action

Windhoek/Belo Horizonte/Hamburg, February 12, 2015: In an effort towards eradicating malnutrition, a delegation from Namibia has travelled to Brazil to study the successful food and nutrition security programme of the city of Belo Horizonte, strengthen their understanding of food security and sign cooperation agreements. With programmes on urban agriculture, food banks and school lunches, Belo Horizonte has reduced child mortality by 60 percent over the past 12 years, decreasing malnutrition among children to 3%. The study tour was organised by the World Future Council to bring about a knowledge exchange between experts.

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Study Trip to Belo Horizonte

Windhoek/Belo Horizonte/Hamburg, February 12, 2015: In an effort towards eradicating malnutrition, a delegation from Namibia has travelled to Brazil to study the successful food and nutrition security programme of the city of Belo Horizonte, strengthen their understanding of food security and sign cooperation agreements. With programmes on urban agriculture, food banks and school lunches, Belo Horizonte has reduced child mortality by 60 percent over the past 12 years, decreasing malnutrition among children to 3%. The study tour was organised by the World Future Council to bring about a knowledge exchange between experts. Read more

Namibian mayors sign declaration to end hunger and malnutrition

Three-day workshop on food and nutrition security comes to successful close as leaders agree to drive urban agriculture

Windhoek, Namibia, 24 July 2014 – A declaration to end hunger in Namibia was adopted by mayors, policymakers, technicians, experts, and representatives of civil society organizations in Windhoek yesterday. The document promises a review of national policy and legal frameworks and a commitment to harmonize current efforts to tackling food and nutrition security. First concrete measures will oversee the establishment of Food Banks and greening the riverbeds in Windhoek.

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The City that Beat Hunger

The city of Belo Horizonte in Brazil is a world pioneer in governance for food security. Its Municipal Law No. 6.352, 15/ 07/1993 set out a policy framework that is committed to the concept of food sovereignty: the right of peoples to define their own food and agricultural policies, to protect and regulate their production and trade in such a manner as to secure sustainable development, to determine the degree of their autonomy and to eliminate dumping on their markets.