AEKN
Working Groups
Technology & Agroecology
The Technology & Agroecology working group aims to critically explore how technology can support equitable, sustainable, and farmer-led agroecological transitions in South Africa. Exploring a range of farming scales, the group investigates the appropriateness, accessibility, and impact of a wide range of technologies – from indigenous tools to digital innovations – through the lens of key agroecological principles. It seeks to map current practices, identify knowledge gaps, and inform a context-specific research and innovation agenda that prioritises ecological integrity, local control, and social justice. Ultimately, the group works to ensure that technology strengthens farmer autonomy, enhances resilience, and supports just food systems in South Africa.
Climate Change & Agroecology
The Climate Change and Agroecology working group focuses on the potential role of agroecology for climate change adaptation and mitigation. The aim is to investigate key issues and potential strategies (adaptation/mitigation) for farming systems. This includes research on production practices, implications at farm and larger geographical scales, and potential development pathways of farming systems and agricultural sectors. Resilience, livestock, crops, and landscapes / watersheds are dominant themes.
Farmer-led Seed Systems & Indigenous Foodways
The Farmer-led Seed Systems & Indigenous/Traditional Crops working group covers two areas of work. First, it will focus on enhancing production and consumption of indigenous crops and breeds rooted in indigenous and local knowledge. Second, it will advance farmer-led seed systems. Our work will place livelihoods and socio-cultural contexts at the centre, while also addressing economics and agroecological markets. Priority research areas will include analysing markets, demand, and patterns of use; documenting existing work on farmers’ rights in practice (e.g. seed banks and networks, crop and variety revival and multiplication, etc.); and conducting actor mapping to understand the roles of NGOs, farmer groups, and researchers. The group will explore the environmental, social, health, and nutritional benefits, as well as the medicinal properties, of indigenous crops and breeds while undertaking policy scans and analysis to identify gaps and opportunities for integration into national strategies. In addition, it will address obstacles and opportunities for advancing farmers’ rights in policy and practice. Attention will be given to policy and production challenges and bottlenecks. We anticipate producing output(s) that will contribute meaningfully to resilient agroecological food systems, sustainable livelihoods, and the revitalisation of agrobiodiversity.
Biodiversity & Agroecology
The Agroecology Biodiversity Working Group is an interdisciplinary team of farmers, researchers, natural and agronomic scientists, social scientists, and civil society actors working towards understanding the interactions between ecological and social systems in agriculture. A key objective of this multidisciplinary group is to foster research and practices in the space between biodiversity and agroecology for the benefit of more resilient agricultural systems that are protected from biodiversity loss and/or degradation. Such systems can then provide for sustainable agricultural products, and enhance food security and nutrition, thus benefiting human-health and protecting livelihoods.
In a time where we face increasing biodiversity loss, the recognition of biodiversity for sustaining food systems has become more important than ever before. Agroecology, through its various principles, values and practices, offers a wide range of options (possible solutions) with direct benefits that combat biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation by reducing the negative impacts on the environment. These negative impacts would, to a great degree, have similar mechanisms to those of large scale agricultural practices. Having vital social-ecological and social-cultural values affords us the opportunity to explore multiple ways of practicing conservation-based agriculture in our food production systems for their long term preservation.
We are interested in the role of agroecology in sustaining, supporting and restoring biodiversity. In addition, deepening our understanding of how biodiversity supports thriving farming systems. We are open to working in collaborative ways to develop place-based farmer-led biodiversity monitoring, practice and innovation.
Animals & Agroecology
The Animals in Agroecology Working Group aims to situate animals within the discourse and practice around just agroecological transitions. It is vital that we focus on shifting away from industrial animal agriculture, in particular, due to it being one of the major drivers of climate change, soil and water pollution, and biodiversity loss, amongst others, and provide local data which is currently sorely lacking. Animal health and welfare is one of the HLPE’s 13 agroecological principles. It is necessary that animals are understood beyond simply their productivist and utilitarian values in agricultural production. Beyond consumption, animals form a significant part of landscapes, livelihoods, and spiritual and cultural practices in Africa.
The nutrition transition, i.e. shifting dietary patterns from traditional diets rich in vegetables, cereals and complex carbohydrates and fibre to more Westernised diets with a notably higher proportion of sugars, fats, ultra processed foods and industrially produced, animal-sourced foods, is very much a reality in South Africa, and linked to the rising levels of malnutrition. Therefore, as part of an agroecological future, decreasing the reliance on processed and animal products must be tackled, while ensuring the accessibility and affordability of nutrient-dense foods and plant-rich diets.
Therefore, this group seeks to develop farmer and community-led research in this regard, to ensure research and outcomes are responding to the realities of animals in agriculture and food systems, including farmed animals, fisheries, and also wild animals in South Africa. Animal health and, in particular, animal welfare provide a useful lens to explore such concepts further and what this means within an African context, including aspects such as duty of care, and how ethics and justice form part of agroecological transitions across the food system and its input and supply networks.