Small Island Developing States (SIDS) comprise 58 countries and territories. The majority are situated in the Caribbean and Pacific and are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Over sixty percent of food consumed is imported, much of which is of low nutritional quality, contributing to high burdens of nutrition-related disease. Increasing the production and consumption of local nutritious foods is a goal of SIDS governments. This panel discussion will examine the current situation in SIDS and…

Dr. Zach Bush spent 17 years in academic medicine where he studied biochemistry, cellular biology, pharmaceutical management, disease and ultimately worked for many years in the hospital system. During the 1990’s and 2000’s he witnessed an epidemic of chronic disease in the US, that was hugely accelerated from previous decades where the main cause of death was trauma or infectious disease. He believes this is a result of the toxic pesticides that we have pumped…

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…

This session will provide an overview of the climate crisis in these countries and the need for global and national policies. Speakers will share how the crisis in Pakistan devastated the country and the efforts that farmers have made to rehabilitate their communities with agroecology. Speakers from Bangladesh will share how they have used the floods to create a sustainable community development initiative.

This session will begin with a 35 minute screening of the film “Planet Local: A Quiet Revolution” which features grassroots activists from every continent alongside internationally known figures like Noam Chomsky, Jane Goodall, Pat McCabe and Gabor Mate. The film challenges the mainstream media narrative that “bigger is better” that has dominated economic thinking for centuries, and showcases initiatives that are already underway to protect and restore human-scale local economies, communities and the natural world,…

After two years online, ORFC is back in-person! Come and gather with your friends and colleagues in the Main Hall as we celebrate the movement and reflect on all we’ve been through over the last three years. There will be short opening addresses from each of the ORFC’s partner organisations and musical performances by folk singer, Kate Huggett and the Shumei Taiko Ensemble, featuring Natural Agriculture farmers from Japan, the US and the UK.

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)…

For over four decades, Vandana Shiva, has vociferously advocated for farmers’ rights, indigenous knowledge, diversity, localisation, and real democracy. She has been at the forefront of seed-saving, food sovereignty, and connecting the dots between the destruction of nature and indiscriminate corporate greed. In her keynote talk, Dr. Shiva will reflect on a life of activism, recounted in her new memoir, Terra Viva. She shares memories of her childhood in post-partition India, and reflects on how…

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…