local fair trade solidarity

Agroecology is a science, a set of sustainable agricultural practices and a social movement fighting for food sovereignty. It is not confined to fields and farms, but extends to the entire food system, from field to plate, including every link in the production chain.

The right to choose production methods, the land to cultivate and the food to consume must belong to people, not to companies or states signing trade agreements. If it can't prevent global warming, agroecology can at least show farmers how they can adapt to its effects.

Four interacting dimensions

The ecological dimension of agroecology is essential: preserving soil fertility, combating erosion and promoting biodiversity are its cornerstones. In addition, agroecology replaces highly toxic synthetic pesticides and fertilizers with environmentally-friendly methods, and deliberately favors local seeds to better protect against climate variations.

Agroecology also has a social dimension: it values traditional knowledge, essential to the practice of equitable, sovereign agriculture. It also attaches great importance to solidarity groups and women's training, which are essential for strengthening the community. In fact, women play a central role in agriculture and food production: they do much of the work in the fields, preserve and propagate peasant seeds, prepare meals and sell harvests on the market.

The economic dimension of agroecology, giving priority to regional and seasonal produce, is reflected in the strengthening of local circuits: food is produced for the local market; seeds as well as fertilizers and ecological phytosanitary products are also manufactured locally. The agroecological approach deliberately focuses on a variety of products that can be harvested all year round, if possible, so that families can diversify their sources of income.

Finally, the political dimension refers to the participation in political processes of producers and employees in the agricultural and agrifood sectors, a right enshrined in 2018 in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas, which enables them to realize food sovereignty, the right to food and control over their land and seeds.

Changing models

Agriculture is both one of the main causes of global warming and one of its main victims. We need to change course. Instead of paying direct and indirect subsidies to industrial agriculture, a mode of production that is the antithesis of sustainability, it would make more sense to massively reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. There is also an urgent need to move towards a model of small-scale, diversified farming that guarantees access to land, particularly for women in the countries of the southern hemisphere.

This paradigm shift is being pursued by Fastenopfer's partner organizations in Asia, Africa and Latin America, who are committed to the consolidation and dissemination of agro-ecological approaches at both practical and political levels. In concrete terms, they promote access to resources such as land, seeds and water, and demand that the security of those who campaign for the rights of peasants be guaranteed.

Source: Christa Sutter, Head of Agroecology at Fastenopfer; https://actiondecareme.ch/une-science-doublee-dun-mouvement-social/

Peasant agriculture represents the only viable alternative to today's industrialized, mechanized farming and food system, which destroys the environment and jobs, and is based on the profit motive of a handful of companies. Peasant agriculture takes into account the social, economic and ecological dimensions of agricultural production.

According to the Confédération Paysanne (the equivalent of Uniterre in France, and also a member of La Via Campesina), peasant agriculture revolves around four points:

• Food sovereigntywhich must guarantee that each country can produce to feed its population with local, quality products;

• Control of distributionenabling farmers, both here and in developing countries, to participate in local development, with a fair and equitable distribution of wealth;

• The right to income Every farmer must receive a decent income from the sale of his or her produce. Prices must take production costs into account;

• Respect for the environmentwhich must enable the democratic use of natural resources, first and foremost water, in order to guarantee a living, livable planet not only for ourselves, but also for future generations.

Peasant agriculture is based on the following 10 political principles:

• Distribution of production volumes, enabling as many people as possible to enter the farming profession and make a decent living from it;

• Solidarity with farmers in other parts of the world;

• Respect for the environment, based on the principle that "we don't inherit the earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children".

• Making the most of abundant resources and saving scarce natural resources ;

• Transparency in the purchase, production, processing and sale of agricultural products;

• Good taste and sanitary quality;

• Increased autonomy in farm operations;

• Partnerships with other rural players to develop a local economy;

• Diversity of farmed animal populations and cultivated plant varieties ;

• Long-term, global thinking.

But if we are to maintain and develop a diversified, resilient and job-creating peasant agriculture in a living countryside, it is essential to consider a policy that supports it.