News

The 2022 “GROW - Agrobiodiversity in a Changing Climate" is now accepting applications. The training programme will be held online from 15 to 25 November 2022. 

One of the world’s greatest challenges is to secure access for all to adequate supplies of food that are healthy, safe and high quality, and to do so in an environmentally sustainable manner. To make the necessary improvements, the sustainable management of natural capital must be at the forefront of food production systems' major goals. Resilient environments, sustainable production practices and the protection of agrobiodiversity can serve as avenues toward improving dietary diversity and quality and, in turn, generating income for sustainable smallholder farmers, while aiding in the restoration and conservation of ecosystems.  

The reduced variety of crops on which commercial farming is based creates a reduced capacity for agriculture to adapt to environmental changes and stresses. The loss or lack of adaptive capacity in modern, commercial agriculture is a cause for concern in relation to the expected impacts of climate change. This is particularly relevant to mountain areas. Mountain farmers are preserving many rare varieties of cultivars in functioning biodiverse agro-ecosystems, but the harshness of the environment and the effects of climate change increasingly pressure mountain communities to modify their traditional approaches to agriculture. 

The 2022 GROW course will focus on the importance of biodiversity in agriculture, with a particular focus on biodiversity’s role in enhancing cropping and farming systems’ resilience and adaptability to climate change. Lectures will illustrate principles and practices for gathering agrobiodiversity data through either participatory diagnostic or empirical approaches, and for their utilization to develop management approaches that improve resilience and adaptability. 

The aim of the course is to equip participants with the necessary tools, knowledge and understanding to enhance productivity and improve marketing strategies in sustainable and resilient agricultural systems. The training will include lectures by speakers from various national and international organizations. 

GROW is organized by the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, Sapienza University of Rome’s Department of Environmental Biology, the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture and Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research (PAR). Technical support is provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 

Sponsors and partners of the summer school include the Italian Development Cooperation, NaturaSì, Slow Food International, IFOAM-Organics International and the Raffaella Foundation. 

The deadline to apply is 6 September 2022. 

Apply here

Course programme

Learn more