Organised a Conference session on Agroecology and Sustainability in Berlin
Sustainability is a central intent among modern day resource use, management and governance approaches such as agroecology. The aimed at strengthening sustainability and demonstrating agroecology as a transformative path for livelihoods, ecosystems and other societal goals.
Particularly, the Mind-Nature Institute and Affiliate Network – the Women in Nature Sustainability Network (WINN) cooperated with the ATPP in proposing and winning space for transformative approaches such as agroecology for the food and agricultural system in a conference organized by the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS) Forschungsinstitut für Nachhaltigkeit | am GFZ (RIFS) in Berlin (Germany).
The session we organized was titled “Sustainability in “Transitional and Transformational Resource Use, Management and Governance Models such as Agroecology” with Dr. Juliet Katusiime (Mind-Nature Institute) and Dr. Matthias Geck (CIFOR-ICRAF/ATPP) as lead proponents.
The session was based on the background and need to strengthen and sustain transformative approaches and resource use, management and development models, such as agroecology against backlash tides or possibilities. But, also presenting the models as a possible pathway to achieve sustainability in general, following experience observed globally, and from the global south in particular.
Agroecology is one of the transitional and transformational approaches being implemented by a range of institutions and organizations to transform the food and agricultural system around the world. Agroecology is also defined, or so viewed variably but touching points as a science, practice and movement for an agricultural and farming model that is in tune with the prevailing ecology or ecosystem- while at the same time achieving the pillars of sustainability as embedded in the 10 Elements or 13 Principles of Agroecology.
The session also aligned with the broader conference theme and objectives of “Tough Conversations in Tough Times” and the atmosphere of navigating backlashes against sustainability, science and transformation.
The panel and participants in the session and conference in general interacted with our materials and messages on sustainability and agroecology in the frame of food and agricultural systems. They were able to discuss and evaluate agroecology as a sustainability path. Our interactive session and panel additionally explored the context of integration and manifestation of sustainability, the role of inputs-including data in agroecology, the gender and women perspective for sustaining transformational models such as agroecology and last but not least the value implied by the transformational and transitional approaches or model designed
The Conference was mainly attended by academic and research institutions, some policy makers and technocrats. As such we productively added a good blend of research and practice experiences to the conference.
Among the various points of discussion and observations, I found the following three among the top;
Because the Conference was attended by mostly participants from Europe, the backlash to science, sustainability and what we called resource transformative models such as agroecology was highly linked to the political environment-more so the resistance from the Far Right groups. The groups, though considered smaller in population, are powerful in demobilising even those that had previously supported progressive, nature friendly approaches. Thus, derailing sustainability, science, action.
Transformation is multi-dimensional and demands contextualization.
The sustainability aspects of transformative approaches- which by design include in sustainability principles still received less deserving attention. As such, this session and activity is foundational.
