The global agrifood system stands at a critical crossroads. Industrial practices based on monocultures and synthetic inputs and farming in forest frontiers drive biodiversity decline and deforestation, compound the climate crisis and deepen inequalities, especially in rural and peri-urban areas, where most of the world’s food insecurity is concentrated. PAS TERRA addresses these interlinked challenges by positioning agroecology and agroforestry (AE/AF) as global solutions that advance food and nutrition security, climate action and social justice. With family farmers, Indigenous Peoples and local communities as key protagonists, and rural women and youth at its core, TERRA aims to scale up AE/AF systems to strengthen food and nutrition security, generate decent farmer incomes, restore biodiversity and build climate resilience.

Through the FFF, FAO contributes a proven implementation model that combines support to producer organizations, capacity development, policy engagement and access to finance, with more than a decade of experience in strengthening forest and farm producer organizations in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Research shows that, when implemented at scale, AE/AF can play a crucial role in tackling the climate crisis. Rooted in traditional knowledge, AE/AF practices such as intercropped systems, integrated crop-livestock-forestry systems, the sustainable management of soil and water, and the stewardship of native and farmer-saved (crioulas) seeds contribute to both climate mitigation (through reduced emissions and enhanced carbon sequestration) and adaptation (by improving soil health, water retention, crop diversity and climate resilience), while reinforcing agrobiodiversity and the cultural knowledge systems that sustain it.

Drawing on the strengths of existing farmer organizations, TERRA brings together fragmented agroecology and agroforestry initiatives into coordinated territorial transitions. Their cumulative effect demonstrates that agroecological and agroforestry systems can match – or even outperform – conventional agriculture, while yielding stronger environmental, social and climate benefits.

Climate resilience and ecosystem restoration: AE/AF practices such as integrated crop-livestock-forestry systems restore soils, conserve water and biodiversity, and strengthen the capacity to withstand climate shocks, droughts and floods. By increasing agroecosystem diversity and landscape connectivity, family farmers improve food and nutrition security through diversified agroecology and agroforestry systems that incorporate locally adapted and traditional seed varieties.

Economic and social justice: They diversify production, stabilize incomes, support women and youth to rural areas, and promote sustainable rural development and equity. Farmers gain access to sustainable markets and to fair and inclusive incentive mechanisms for biodiversity and climate, including results-based and non-market-driven approaches.

Food and nutrition security: They integrate fruit and nut trees with diversified agricultural crops, using tools such as Diversity4Restoration, to increase the household supply of healthy foods for families, while generating income through sales to private and institutional markets, such as school feeding programmes and territorial food procurement schemes.

To overcome the persistent barriers to the uptake of agroecology and agroforestry practices, such as producers’ limited access to appropriate technologies, finance, markets and enabling policies as well as a lingering scepticism about the ability of agroecology and agroforestry to provide a viable alternative to traditional agricultural models and know-how, TERRA has identified five levers of acceleration. These mutually reinforcing levers are conceived as an integrated territorial methodology, aligned with the national strategies of the implementing countries and coordinated through farmer organizations or their government counterparts. They serve as key enablers for small- and medium-scale producers to adopt and scale agroecological and agroforestry systems in ways that are environmentally sustainable, economically viable and socially inclusive, reflecting the objectives and proven implementation approach of the FFF, which integrates producer organization strengthening, policy dialogue, capacity development, market access and finance.

1. Producer organizations and cooperatives – Collaborating with and building the capacity of cooperatives and producer networks at local, national, regional and global levels to better coordinate agroecology/agroforestry implementation at scale.

2. Knowledge, training and extension – Expanding agroecological rural extension services (ATER), university partnerships, regional training centres and horizontal learning networks to foster farmer-to-farmer exchanges and AE/AF innovation.

3. Seeds, bioinputs and technologies – Supporting climate-resilient and native seed systems, local bioinput production and trade, cooperative equipment pools, access to small-scale, soil-friendly machinery and technologies that are tailored to the needs of family farmers.

4. Value addition and market access – Promoting inclusive value chains, public procurement programmes and digital commercialization platforms to increase farmer income while creating incentives for AE/AF transitions.

5. Blended finance and transition capital – Channelling finance through multi-donor trust funds (FFF, IFAD ASAP+, NOW Partners) to crowd in private and public investment ranging from catalytic philanthropic grants to concessional loans from development banks.

The Global Productive Forests Initiative (GPFI) is a distinct initiative within PAS TERRA, of which it forms an integral part. The GPFI builds on the foundations of Brazil’s National Productive Forests Programme (NPFP), a joint initiative of the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Farming (MDA) and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA) that links forest restoration, family farming and sustainable value chains in a bid to generate income, increase food security and strengthen climate resilience through agroforestry systems. Successfully implemented in the states of Acre, Pará, Rondônia, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Maranhão and Amazonas since its launch in July 2024, this flagship programme serves as a model of productive restoration that can be replicated in other countries and adapted to different national contexts.

Inspired by the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty (GAAHP) and aligned with the Belém Declaration on Hunger, Poverty and People-Centered Climate Action, the GPFI is intended as a multipartner, intergovernmental alliance designed to scale productive restoration, sustainable value chains and climate action at the international level, with the FFF as a global support mechanism for its implementation within TERRA, coordinating technical assistance, access to finance, and multipartner investments through forest and farm producer organizations. Launched in the context of the COP30 Action Agenda alongside TERRA, the GPFI partakes of its five-lever methodology and the spirit of mutirão but is more firmly focused on agroforestry and productive forest solutions.

The Brazilian concept of “productive forests” as integrated land management systems in which ecological restoration, food production, biodiversity conservation, climate resilience and rural livelihoods are mutually reinforcing rather than competing goals, pursued through three main management approaches (agroforestry systems; sustainable forest management; and productive restoration), provides an overall framework and a starting point for policy debate, constructive dialogue and strategic coordination. In the first instance, the GPFI seeks to reach a shared understanding of what constitutes “productive forests” by convening a series of consultations with Member States, partner organizations, FFPOs and relevant international bodies ahead of COP31 in November 2026.

TERRA implementation follows a five-step cycle:

Step 1. Farmer organization mapping: Baseline mapping of existing local-to-national producer groups and their networks, alongside existing extension services, credit flows, bioinput practices, machinery access and commercialization channels.

Step 2. Organizational needs assessment: A participatory process, involving around 20–40 questions spanning the five levers and channelled through cooperative leadership, extension teams and farmer groups, designed to identify priorities without placing undue burden on participating organizations.

Step 3. Territorial transition strategy: Two planning horizons are developed with and by farmer organizations: a three-year and a five-year pathway aligned with the 2028 UNFCCC Global Stocktake and the 2030 SDGs deadlines respectively.

Step 4. Matchmaking and partner mobilization: Organizational needs disaggregated by lever are presented to bilateral donors, development banks, foundations, private sector actors and technical partners at international events and in online meetings.

Step 5. Annual monitoring cycle: Generation of territorial metrics that validate the model and attract new “pollinators” – donors and co-implementers who connect resources to specific levers, territories or countries – who sustain political support in multilateral and regional participatory policy processes.

Each step generates the evidence and partnerships needed to sustain and scale the next. FAO, through the FFF, supports this cycle by facilitating country dialogue, technical assistance, partnership development and resource mobilization at both country and global levels.

Led by the MDA, the TERRA PAS was elaborated by six co-founders and partners in the run up to COP30 in Belém, Brazil, building on their extensive expertise and experience in agroecology and agroforestry as well as in resource mobilization and matchmaking. TERRA will collaborate with many other implementing partners to advance its mission within the timeframe of the 2028 UN Global Stocktake and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

TERRA operates through two tiers: a core group of four to six countries with direct territorial implementation through farmer organizations and a broader country engagement through policy dialogue and knowledge exchange. A preliminary mapping of projects and implementing countries was conducted to identify the most promising cases for acceleration by 2030. Priority countries are selected based on the extent and maturity of existing agroecological and agroforestry initiatives, the presence of founding members, political commitment and donor interest. TERRA's founding members are currently active in over 70 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The six core co-founders overseeing the implementation of TERRA are: 

The Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Farming (MDA) of Brazil. A ministry specifically tasked with supporting small- and medium-scale agricultural activities, and one of the key institutions implementing Brazil’s successful Zero Hunger policies, the MDA brings extensive knowledge and expertise in policies to support agroecology and agroforestry, working hand in hand with farmer organizations.

FAO/Forest and Farm Facility (FFF). Established in 2012 and operating in 15 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean, the FFF is a partnership between four international organizations with complementary skills and capacities – FAO, IIED, IUCN and AgriCord – dedicated to strengthening the organizations and their capacity to lead productive restoration, agroforestry and sustainable value chain development.

NOW Partners Foundation (NOW). Since the 1990s and COP3, NOW advances the adaptation and scaling of groundbreaking innovations in agroecology and agroforestry, their integration into capacity building, value-added production, public and private supply chains, and blended finance solutions. NOW privileges approaches that combine the financial success and overall wellbeing of farmers with rural economic development and the regeneration of social and natural systems.

International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD). IFAD is a specialized United Nations agency and international financial institution that invests in rural people to eradicate poverty and hunger, with a core focus on small-scale producers and inclusive and sustainable rural transformation. Agroecology and supporting sustainable rural food systems are central to IFAD’s mandate.

Agroecology Coalition. Set up in 2021, the Coalition provides a platform for countries and organizations to collaborate on food systems transformation through agroecology while addressing multiple interconnected crises. Its work is guided by the agroecological principles and elements developed by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) and FAO. The Coalition facilitates the co-creation and exchange of knowledge, fosters increased investments, advocates for supportive policies and promotes market pathways for agroecology.

Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT (CGIAR). This CGIAR research center delivers research-for-development innovations at the intersection of agriculture, biodiversity and climate resilience. The Alliance supports smallholder farmers and partners across Africa, Asia and Latin America with tools, data and evidence to transform food systems and restore multifunctional landscapes. It will act as a federator and mobilizer of CGIAR science and innovations for multifunctional landscapes to accelerate regenerative agroecology, agroforestry and ecosystem restoration through inclusive, science-based and scalable solutions.

Within TERRA, the FFF provides an established mechanism to translate global commitments into country- and local level action by combining technical assistance, policy support, capacity development and resource mobilization with and through producer organizations.