Agroecology Knowledge Hub

Agroecology in action

Agroecology, as a scientific discipline, applies ecological principles to manage interactions among plants, animals, humans, and the environment, with a primary focus on food security and nutrition. Farmers worldwide are already implementing this approach, deeply rooted in traditional and local wisdom.

FAO acknowledges the pivotal role of farmers in effectively managing both human and natural resources, ultimately leading to improved food security, enhanced nutrition, and bolstered rural development. They serve as perpetual innovators and researchers, driving progress in sustainable agriculture and resilient rural livelihoods.

Explore below how farmers and food provisioners act as stewards of their lands, waters, seeds and natural resources through agroecology -- integrating sophisticated knowledge, innovative techniques, local wisdom and traditional practices. In this section, discover compelling action stories, insightful testimonials from the field, detailed project and practice profiles, enriching experiences, multimedia resources, and more.

Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) is a set of farming methods, and also a grassroots peasant movement, which has spread to various states in India. It has attained wide success...
2016
Red H Farm is located in Sebastopol, California on the western coast of the United States of America. Red H Farm is owned and operated by Caitlin Hachmyer, a 32-year...
2016
The collapse of the socialist block in 1989 generated a deficit of energy, supplies and chemicals, and forced significant changes in the ways in which food was produced and distributed...
2016
Mrs Tea Sarim is one of the participating farmers in a European Union funded multi-country (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Vietnam and Thailand) project called "Sustaining and Enhancing the Momentum for Innovation...
2016
The main cause of food insecurity for many communal households in Zimbabwe is their reliance upon a form of subsistence-based agriculture which is dependent on a limited range of inputs...
2016
A highly successful, ecologically based pest and weed management system was introduced in 1999 to resource-poor smallholder maize farmers in Kenya. Used by thousands of farmers in East Africa, the...
2015
Cotton production presents a double bind for West African smallholder farmers, providing much-needed cash income through a chemically intensive production system that has a negative effect on human and environmental...
2015
Himo Environmental Management Trust Fund has worked to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers facing low productivity and soil erosion on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Farmers have been trained...
2015
Since 1984 the Keita Rural Development Project has focused on restoring the area’s ecological balance and pursuing social and economic development. The project was critical in stemming ecosystem degradation resulting...
2015
Since the early 1980s, farmers in the northern part of Burkina Faso’s Central Plateau have made significant investments in low-cost soil and water conservation techniques. These techniques greatly improved agricultural,...
2015
Malawi faces myriad of environmental, social, and human health challenges, including food insecurity, land degradation and deforestation. An agroforestry program promotes tree planting to increase crop yields in previously depleted...
2015
Rodale Institute Regenerative Agriculture Research Center teamed up with farmers’ groups and government researchers in Senegal to promote regenerative agriculture to increase food sufficiency, lessen farmers’ dependence on external inputs,...
2015
Governments and specialized international agencies have successfully promoted cassava production in Malawi and Zambia in order to reduce drought vulnerability and dependency on maize monocropping
2015
La experiencia vivida en la localidad Villa los Llanos-Estación Juárez Celman tiene por objetivo conocer la realidad de la agricultura familiar integrando conceptos productivos agroecológicos y sociales a través del...
2015
The Oakland Institute today released 33 case studies that shed light on the tremendous success of agroecological agriculture across the African continent in the face of climate change, hunger, and...
2015
Dans le cadre de ses programmes de sécurité alimentaire, Action Contre la Faim-USA (ACFUSA)* a mis en œuvre des foires aux semences dans les zones rurales de l’Ouganda et de...
2015
Northern Mali’s Timbuktu region is one of the most food insecure regions in the Sahelian nation. Agriculture depends on the floodwaters of the Niger River and highly variable rainfall that...
2015
Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO) has helped people address the challenges of food insecurity and environmental degradation while conserving wildlife and other natural resources. COMACO is one of the few...
2015
Declining soil fertility, climatic variability, and outmigration threaten Lesotho’s agricultural productivity. The Machobane Farming System is a simple, low-input technique based on the intercropping and localized application of organic manures....
2015
Manor House Agricultural Center provides training in low input farming as an alternative to conventional methods, which are heavily reliant on external inputs. Farmers practicing biointensive farming techniques experience significant...
2015