Governments are beginning to recognise the urgent need to transform our food systems. This has been made even more pressing by the current health and economic crisis caused by the COVID pandemic. Currently, there are good but rather scattered examples of governments around the world that have been developing conducive and innovative policies aimed at introducing and implementing agroecological and resilient principles.

Join three leading policymakers from three different countries (India, Denmark and Uganda)…

Diverse crop rotations are key to a successful agroecological and regenerative food system. Innovative farmers and growers across the globe are using a range of strategies and crop mixtures to build soil health, reduce pests and weed burdens, and enhance natural capital. In this session, curated by the FarmED team, you will be introduced to the key principles of rotation and hear about the diverse cropping systems at the Rodale Institute (Pennsylvania, USA) and FarmED…

The UK has exited the EU but is in the process of striking trade deals with new partners around the globe and leading a big free trade agenda. This has enormous implications not only for our own food standards but those of our partners. This session is to explore where we are and discuss what we can still influence and how. Will the UK be leading the globe in setting high standards for the food…

With global hunger likely to double as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, the need for food systems transformation has never been more urgent. Across five continents, Agroecology Fund partners have been on the frontlines of relief efforts, mobilizing powerful grassroots networks to strengthen long-term food security and resilience. The Agroecology Fund launched an Emergency Fund to support 59 such community-led responses to Covid-19. A panel of grassroots organizations will share their strategies to provide…

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent crises, as a result of lockdowns, have exposed the fractures of human societies’ relationship with nature. In a world dominated by capitalist globalisation, these crises are not blips or anomalies that require a few tweaks to make the system a little more sustainable. No, it is a forceful reflection of processes that engender the economic, ecological and social crises that already existed.

Key international forums and publications are focusing…

Including trees in farm management offers opportunities to future-proof our farms against the effects of global climate change. Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent throughout the world. 60% of UK farm businesses have been affected by severe weather over the last 10 years. Soil degradation and loss are evident as wet winters carry our topsoil onto roads. Annually, flood damage costs the farming sector £1.9 billion, with a rise to £2.4 billion expected by…

Access to fresh, affordable, nourishing, locally produced and culturally appropriate food (as well as the fuel to cook it and time to prepare it) should be the guaranteed right of every individual and household. However, global food systems are increasingly dominated by an ‘industrial diet’ where highly processed and low nutrient foods are widely available and most easily accessible. Many countries, including the UK, have shameful levels of food insecurity and diet-related ill health, and…

The Food, Farming Countryside Commission is launching new research looking at how future farming systems based on agroecological principles could be feasible for UK nations – removing the need for artificial inputs whilst producing healthy food to feed a growing population, contributing to net zero targets and making more space to restore nature.

In this session, the panellists will explore some of the details of this research, and talk about the questions that it…

At last year’s World Food Day, UN Secretary General António Guterres announced that he would convene a UN Food Systems Summit in the fall of 2021. Little did anyone know that the stakes would become so acute so fast. The COVID-19 pandemic has quickly become a hunger crisis. At this moment of upheaval, what gets decided in the next few years will determine the path for global food governance for decades to come. Guterres‘s goal…