Agroecology Knowledge Hub

Practices and innovations

Agroecology is the science of applying ecological concepts and principles to manage interactions between plants, animals, humans and the environment for food security and nutrition. All over the world, farmers and food provisioners already apply this approach, which has a fundamental basis in traditional and local knowledge. FAO recognizes the importance of farmers managing human and natural capital to improve food security, nutrition, and rural development. They are seen as constant innovators and researchers who contribute to develop sustainable agriculture and more resilient rural livelihoods.

Below some examples of how farmers and other food provisioners are acting as the custodians of complex and innovative techniques that, through agroecology, combine local knowledge, traditional products and innovation.

In Regions

The countries and regions page offer knowledge and information on agroecology related issues by country (FAO Members and Associated Nations) and region. The purpose is to offer a quick and reliable way to access country-specific information on agroecology without the need to search in each section of the platform.

The community livestock enclosure is an innovative strategy to defend the land for communal use, deployed by peasants, whose occupation areas are territories disputed by the agribusiness in the context...
2018
Durante mucho tiempo la producción de ganado en el trópico seco se ha centrado en el desmonte del bosque (también llamado “monte”) y la siembra de pastos mejorados. Sin embargo,...
2018
More than 12 million small-scale farmers and their families in the risk-prone, dryland areas of the Western Sahel have become chronically vulnerable to food and nutrition insecurity. This growing crisis...
2018
Small-scale agroecological and organic farming systems require appropriate machinery and technologies, and a change of paradigm in the way they are conceived, produced, sold and patented. The mainstream agricultural model...
2018
This guide presents a set of actions to speed up the transformation to sustainable food and agriculture that are based on evidence, experience, technical expertise and collective knowledge within FAO....
2018
Agriculture is the mainstay of the Kenyan economy and contributes over 45 percent of government revenue. The agricultural sector is the largest employer, representing 60 percent of total employment. Overall,...
2018
In Cambodia, small-scale farmers are facing the issue of low economic returns from their rice farming because of low productivity and high input costs. The system of rice intensification (SRI)...
2018
Two serious problems in rice production should be solved, not only in China, but also all over the world. First, environmental problems need to be addressed, such as soil erosion...
2018
The needs of rural and high-risk areas are diverse and location specific. As the market is limited, the private sector is not interested in developing technologies for high-risk areas, and...
2018
Like many African countries, Benin has had a rapid increase in its urban population, with high demand for garden produce, such as fruits and vegetables. Large quantities of fertilizer and...
2018
Scaling soil health and biologically based landscape restoration is knowledge rather than input limited. The FarmOS system leverages existing global, open-source hardware and software communities to provide tools to all...
2018
One of the main problems of the páramo ecosystem (altitudinal belt of the tropical mountain between 3,000m and 4,000m) is conventional potato production. The use of agrochemicals in food production...
2018
In the field of agroecology, the problematics of innovation are not just about technology: the obstacles of sustainable production also stem from ignorance and the lack of a common language....
2018
This guide has been prepared by Prosalus, as a result of a study carried out within the framework of a project promoted by the INTERCOONECTA Plan of the Spanish Agency for...
2018
This book results from the compilation of different case studies from the ALiSEA Small Grant Facility and other research work carried out since 2015. ALiSEA funded 26 initiatives to support...
2018
In western Burkina Faso, on-farm manure production has long been confined to the edges of houses and cattle pens. With increasing land pressure and the remoteness of fields, manure production...
2018
The project Macho Sauti (Eyes and voice in Kiswahili) is an innovative collaboration between scientific research institutions and civil society in the development context. By merging agroecological methodologies that promote...
2018
Érosion, désertification, salinisation, à Fimela, delta du Saloum, 30 % seulement des terres agricoles restent cultivables. C’est la cause du bradage des terres et de l’exode rural vers les villes...
2018
Haiti’s rural farming communities have been historically marginalized and disenfranchised. In this context, peasant farmers must resort to self organization to develop and spread sustainable farming innovations. Similarly, in order...
2018
UNACMA is the only association, at a national level, representing traders and repairers of agricultural machinery, and of machinery for the maintenance of green areas. It is associated with CONFCOMMERCIO...
2018