Slash and burn is a real issue in the tropical rainforests as farmers look for fertile land. With the climate and ecological emergency, it is urgent we find real solutions to prevent rainforest destruction and biodiversity loss as well as supporting local people. Using the agroforestry system of inga alley cropping is producing amazing results. Regenerating soil by planting inga edulis in alleys and leaving the biomass to break down is showing an astounding increase…

The world is at a crossroad of multiple crises. Returning to look back to Indigenous wisdoms is vital as we look to the future. This session shares the journey of developing an Indigenous verification and validation system for Kai Atua (Pure Food) or Māori organics. It is a framework developed over a decade ago by the Māori Organics group - Te Waka Kai Ora and is fast becoming a pathway for Māori communities to reclaim…

The Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming Programme is a highly successful government-led initiative involving millions of farmers and eight million hectares of land in India. It revolves around nine key agroecological principles, including the use of indigenous seed, cover crops and keeping soil disturbance to a minimum. Probably most importantly it offers a viable alternative to using chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides. 

In 2020, members of the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA)…

2022 saw a meteoric rise in the price of all major fertilisers, triggering a ripple effect of extra costs across the farming industry. Long before the recent crisis, farmers have been investigating nature-friendly practices which give them independence from global markets. Through Innovative Farmers, groups of farmers are teaming up with researchers to test new ideas on their farms. From developing low tech innovation into herbal leys, living mulches, and intercropping to researching the latest…

Experimentation has been a core element of many farmers’ and growers’ practice since the dawn of agriculture, and continues to influence day-to-day decision making at the farm level. However, in recent decades, top-down approaches to innovation in agriculture have dominated the formal research agenda, resulting in massive degradation of land, environment and local culture. There is an urgent need to recognise the value of farmers’ knowledge and research and the essential role it can play…

Extreme and unprecedented drought is being experienced across the globe, even in areas once thought to be safe from the harshest effects of climate change. In this session we bring together two Indigenous farmers and activist leaders, Alfredo Cortez from Guatemala, and Gerald Miles from Wales, to share experiences from recent droughts and discuss strategies for building resilience.

‘We consider bread and agricultural products as spiritual nourishment and physically vital as well as emotionally, culturally and spiritually healing.” (Panis Vita)  The peasant baker is someone who grows, mills and bakes with landrace heritage grains on a small scale. It is a model which combines tradition and innovation, producing the best possible quality of bread from nutritionally dense grains. During this session we will be hearing from Rupert Dunn, Jean-Marc Albisetti, who have run…

There is often a perceived conflict between animal welfare and sustainability. There is a belief that slower growing breeds are less efficient and so less sustainable; extensive systems have a decreased output per unit of environmental footprint so intensive systems are preferable; or that we should replace ruminants with monogastrics and apply intensification principles. In this session we will explore some of the misconceptions, trade offs and areas of positive practice that are being developed…

Want to learn more about nuts? If you’re considering agroforestry but aren’t sure what to plant, or you already know you want to plant nut trees, or perhaps you already have some but don’t know what to do with them, then this is the session for you. With a panel spanning years of nut tree growing experience, international research, business development and new nut tree agroforestry enthusiasm, this session will crack open the technical and…