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Working with nature for diversity in farming, climate protection and empowerment

2023-06-27

Germany joins the international Agroecology Coalition, reinforcing its commitment to fair, sustainable agriculture and ensuring the future viability of rural areas. By adopting a holistic approach, agroecology is helping to address the greatest challenges of our time: protecting the climate, combating hunger and preserving biodiversity.

Landschaft im Chunati Wildlife Reservat, einem Naturschutzgebit im Südosten von Bangladesh. © GIZ, Martin Ranak, 2013

By Friederike Bauer

Friederike Bauer studied American Studies, Communication Science and Politics in Munich, Los Angeles and Morelia. She worked at the FAZ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) for 14 years, first as a trainee, later as an editor, correspondent and as a member of the commentary team. After that, she worked in development cooperation. Since 2011, she has been working as a freelance journalist, author and speechwriter. Her special focus is on foreign and development policy as well as sustainability. She is the author of various books.

All contributions

Two of Germany’s Federal Ministries – the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) – joined the Agroecology Coalition together at the ‘Policies against Hunger’ conference held in Berlin on 27 and 28 June 2023. The Coalition was established in 2021 at the World Food Summit with the aim of transforming global agriculture and food systems. Current methods have failed to provide enough healthy food for the global population and to protect the environment and climate.

In fact, agriculture has become one of the main contributors to climate change and is responsible for deforestation, loss of biodiversity and soil degradation. Without a fundamental transformation of the entire system, the number of people going hungry will remain high at around 800 million, healthcare costs will rise due to malnutrition, land will continue to be degraded and water will become even scarcer.

Counteracting the exploitation of land, the environment and people

One way to counteract this existential threat is agroecology. Agroecology aims to transform food systems by deliberately pursuing a holistic, socially and ecologically sound approach to counteracting the exploitation of land, the environment and people.

Agroecology and organic farming are often wrongly regarded as the same thing. Although many aspects of the two overlap and environmentally friendly agriculture using natural fertilisers, efficient water use, crop rotation, avoidance of pesticides and so on are central to both, agroecology goes far beyond agricultural practices. Various measures come together to ensure future prospects and equality for farmers. As a systemic approach, agroecology also alters the framework conditions, ensuring, for example, fair access to land and water – particularly for groups that are currently disadvantaged. Agroecology promotes biodiversity in farming, on-site product processing and distribution through local or direct sales channels. This benefits women, young people and indigenous groups in particular, boosting their economic status through additional income. These multifaceted farming systems preserve local food cultures and facilitate a healthy, varied diet

Agroecology therefore stands for diversity on many levels – ecological, social and economic – and not least because it protects the environment, involves poorer population groups and diversifies income sources in rural regions.

The application of agroecological principles thus improves the structure of the soil, ensures balanced water management and increases carbon storage. Agroecology can also be regarded as a social movement that promotes women and young people, supports smallholder farmers, helps to boost their productivity and rights, and opens direct sales channels between producers and consumers. The UN World Food Council laid down 13 principles and policy recommendations in 2019, outlining what agroecology is.

Germany reinforces its commitment

By joining the Coalition, which now counts 44 countries and 100 organisations among its members, Germany is underscoring its support for this future-focused approach. The BMZ has been significantly expanding its commitment and has supported more than 60 agroecology projects since 2014. An initiative in India has become a beacon among such projects. Although the green revolution has lifted millions out of hunger and poverty in recent decades, the widespread use of chemical fertilisers in India has also created dependencies and leached the soil, up to 40 percent of which is degraded.

Back to overview

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(c) Christoph Püschner/Brot für die Welt

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A project of GIZ

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A contribution by Jan Rübel

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A World Resources Institute project

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A contribution by Dr. Jan Orbie (University Gent)

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What do you expect from this Pre Summit, Mr. Haddad?

Interview with Lawrence Haddad (GAIN)

Nutrition experts from all over the world are coming together in Rome. They are not only distilling 2000 ideas to improve food systems - they are also preparing for the big UN summit in New York in September. An interview.

Mr. Campari, how do we create sustainable food systems?

Interview with Joao Campari (WWF)

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Land Rights, Gender and Soil Fertility in Benin

A contribution by Dr. Karin Gaesing and Prof. Dr. Frank Bliss (INEF)

Especially in densely populated areas, land pressure leads to overexploitation of available land and a lack of conservation measures. The West African country of Benin, with heavily depleted soils in many places, is no exception.

Mr. Marí, what happened at the alternative summit?

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City, Country, Sea: 6 Innovations in the Fight Against Climate Change

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‘None of the Three Traffic Light Coalition Parties is Close to the Paris Agreement’

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Diversity Is the Fundamental Principle to Use

An Interview with Shakuntala Thilsted

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‘Preserving and restoring fertile soils is a global responsibility.’

An Interview with Jochen Flasbarth (BMZ)

Healthy, productive soils are a prerequisite for global food security – one of the priorities of German development cooperation. State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth on Germany’s efforts to support sustainable land management and why the VGGT are more important than ever today.

Food security is more than production volumes and high yields

A Contribution by Adrian Muller, Catherine Pfeifer and Jürn Sanders (FiBL)

Taking Biodiversity Focus Areas under production or abandoning lower yielding, more extensive production systems is the wrong approach to mastering the looming global food crisis, say the authors of the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL).

Strengthening food markets across the rural-urban continuum

A Contribution by Thomas Forster

How to maintain functioning food markets in global food supply chains in the face of vulnerability and disruption? Markets that support local and territorial food systems are part of the solution. Thomas Forster presents proposals for these markets to cope with future shocks.

The fight against illegal fishing

A Report

The oceans are important for our food supply, but they are overfished. To halt this trend the global community is now taking action against illegal fishing. Journalist Jan Rübel spoke with Francesco Marí, a specialist for world food, agricultural trade and maritime policy at "Brot für die Welt," and others.

The UNFSS Stocktaking – shadow and a little light

A Contribution by Harry Hoffmann (TMG) & Nathalie Demel (WHH)

At the halfway mark of the 2030 Agenda and two years after the UN Food System Summit 2021, a stocktaking moment was held in Rome to analyze the progress of countries on the commitments to action in transforming food systems. Dr Harry Hoffmann, TMG Think Tank, and Nathalie Demel, Welthungerhilfe, were on site and take stock as well.

Climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies for the African livestock sector

A Contribution by ILRI and GIZ

The production of animal-source foods is becoming increasingly difficult due to the impact of climate change on the livestock sector in Africa. Though, Livestock make a crucial contribution to food security in Africa. Three papers by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), GIZ, ILRI and World Bank analyze, how Africas future livestock sector can look like.

The Insect Whisperer

A Contribution by Jan Rübel and Zain Jafar

Agriculture is coming under pressure worldwide: bacteria, viruses and insects are causing problems for crops. In Palestine, Dr. Rana Samara from the Palestinian Academy of Science and Technology is researching solutions to the problem. And she finds them in nature itself.

Nature conservation around the world

A Contribution by WWF

From measures to promote biodiversity in Germany to more sustainable cocoa cultivation methods in Ecuador: WWF works at many different levels. At the Green Week, it will be demonstrated just how multifaceted nature conservation work is and what role each individual's decision plays.

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