Climate-Resilient Food Systems at Territorial Level

Lead Organization:

Global Greengrants Fund

Partner Organizations:

Agroecology Fund (AEF) collaboratives; grantees Alliance for Food Sovereignty (AFSA) in Africa, International Indian Treaty Council (IITC), and La Via Campesina–ETC Group-GRAIN; networks Nous Sommes la Solution in Africa and Convergence des Femmes Rurales pour la Souveraineté Alimentaire (COFERSA) in Mali; grantees Autonomous Group for Environmental Research (GAIA) in Mexico, Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Association in Africa, Kilusang Magbubukid [ng] [Correct?] Pilipinas, and the Peasant Movement of the Philippines (KMP); One Earth on a Project Marketplace, IPES–Food, and the Global Alliance for the Future of Food (GAFF)

Duration:

11/2021—11/2024

Overview:

Climate change and Covid-19 have underscored the precarious and unjust nature of high-input, global trade-based food systems. An unprecedented opportunity exists to scale agroecology up and out around the globe.

Agroecology is increasingly identified in global debates and emerging policies as a contributing solution to climate change, global health inequities, poor nutrition, poverty, gender inequality, human rights violation, and vanishing biodiversity. Influencing opportunities are abundant, including the UN Food Systems Summit, Convention on Biological Diversity, and UNFCCC Climate talks. Agroecology movements, in all of their diversity, offer an ambitious vision and practical plan for food systems that are truly regenerative and circular, benefiting both people and planet. They are reaching new levels of maturity and effectiveness in some regions and gaining momentum in others.

The Agroecology Fund has grown quickly alongside the agroecology movements it supports. This is a moment of immense opportunity for it, having met and often exceeded its goals in four strategic directions:

  1. Shift and leverage significant financial resources toward agroecology
  2. Strengthen political and economic systems to enable agroecology to thrive
  3. Influence the global conversation about solutions to global hunger by amplifying agroecological solutions
  4. Co-create and share agroecology knowledge and practice

While the Fund’s grantmaking capacity and evidence building, learning, and communications programs have grown considerably, it must further take advantage of emerging opportunities to amplify agroecology in target regions and territories.

Grant Aims:

  1. Increase support to leading agroecology networks through regional and territorial funds.
  2. Deepen grassroots evidence base and its dissemination through strategic communication strategies to scale agroecology.
  3. Support agroecology enterprises, their enabling environment, and their connection to the agroecology movement.
  4. Educate and influence donors both private and public to support vibrant agroecology movements globally.
  5. Strengthen AEF’s capacity in areas of operations, MEL, enterprise development, and communications; in turn, support frontline networks and organizations leading agroecology movements.

Outputs and Outcomes:

  • Regional funds created in Africa and India and providing a minimum of $3 million in target territories; seed money from IKEA Foundation used by AEF to leverage at least 25 percent more funding from other donors
  • Increased investment from private philanthropy in agroecology by multilaterals and bilaterals with encouragement from the first State of Agroecology Investments Report and engagement of donors
  • Learning funded and/or facilitated by AEF among grantees and with allies and donors
  • Increased legitimacy of AE from evidence documentation derived from grantees’ work, attracting more support from various constituencies (including research/academy) at territorial and global levels
  • Higher quality and better targeted communications products because of AEF support to partners in communications realm
  • Strengthened territorial markets with support for AE generating a virtuous cascade effect in production, farmers’ income, and healthy food supply, with particular benefits for women and youth
  • Regional funds efficiently built out and administered by AEF while fulfilling other programmatic objectives
  • Strategic plan implemented and course corrected per AEF monitoring
  • Enterprise development support effectively incorporated into AEF’s program strategy