Round 6 Grantees

Long-term partners

Lead Organization: Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA)

Partner Organizations: Members of AFSA

Location(s): Six countries across East, West and Southern Africa.

Award: $125,000 over 12 months

This proposal aims to bring together multiple actors working on food systems and create a broad-based agreement on what the food system should look like in the future. The collaborative partners will work towards an Africa Food Policy, both at a continental policy level and at the country level, using a framework and principles for context-specific approaches. The process and the outcomes of the discussion will facilitate citizens’ engagement in national and regional food systems-related issues.

Lead Organization: Groundswell International

Partner Organizations: Agrecol Afrique, Association Nourrir sans Détruire (ANSD), Center for Indigenous Knowledge and Organizational Development (CIKOD) and Sahel Eco.

Location(s): Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Senegal

Award: $125,000 over 12 months

This proposal will layer interventions that emphasize gender equity and a strong enabling environment for agroecology on existing initiatives. Using the comprehensive Agroecology Plus Six approach and targeting 600 women farmers in 40 villages, the collaborative will use strategies to integrate gender, equity and nutrition into agroecology practice and improve local and district government capacity to support and promote agroecology.

Lead Organization: International Indian Treaty Council (IITC)

Partner Organizations: Some of the partners are the Comobabi Community in the Schuk Toak District, San Xavier Cooperative Association Farm in the San Xavier District of the Tohono O’odham Nation, I’iolgam Youth Alliance and Yoemem Tekia Foundation (Pascua Yaqui Tribe), Shiprock Traditional Farmers’ Association, Shiprock Chapter of the Navajo Nation and Sixth World Solutions, Association of World Reindeer Herders, International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry, Sami Parliaments of Finland and Norway, and the Arctic Athabaskan Council, CONAVIGUA (Indigenous Widows Association, Guatemala), Kuna Youth Movement (Panama), and the Seminole Sovereignty Protection Initiative (Oklahoma).

Location(s): Global

Award: $125,000 over 12 months

Building on the successful collaborations of 2020, the Alliance will continue supporting sustainable and resilient food/seed systems and food sovereignty projects in 10 Indigenous communities in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. An ongoing major activity will be to expand the Alliance to include new partners and to incorporate, in addition to responses to the climate crisis, the urgent need to build, enhance, strengthen and restore Indigenous Peoples’ food resiliency in the face of Covid-19.

Lead Organization: La Via Campesina

Partner Organizations: ETC Group and GRAIN

Location(s): Global

Award: $125,000 over 18 months

The collaborative will build on the 2018 adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP), analyzing, influencing and holding governments, agencies and the private sector accountable for policies and practices. The collaborative will focus on promoting evermore widespread understanding that agroecology is an integral part of the full realization of peasants' rights. It will continue to strengthen the network that links peasant agroecology schools in Asia, Africa, America and Europe, supporting territorial processes to bring agroecology and peasant seed systems to scale, so that they involve more families and larger territories.

Medium-term grantees

Lead Organization: Indigenous Movement for Peace Advancement and Conflict Transformation (IMPACT)

Partner Organizations: PARAN ALLIANCE, Kivulini Trust, Samburu Women Trust, Indigenous Strategy and Institution for Development (ISID), and WASO Trustland

Location(s): Kenya

Award: $120,000 over 24 months

Pastoralists Alliance for Resilience and Adaptation in Northern Rangelands – PARAN is a collective social movement made up of pastoralists’ institutions and organizations, including indigenous customary/traditional institutions, indigenous peoples’ organizations, women groups, youth groups, and community-based organizations. This proposal looks into agroecology to restore and revitalize landscapes and livelihoods of pastoralists by providing promising pathways forward and reconnecting the young generations to knowledge-holders. The main activities include pastoralist food festivals, food camps for inter-generational knowledge transfers to the youth, documentation of alternative medicinal plants, promotion of nature-based solutions and linking indigenous peoples to markets.

Lead Organization: Convergence des Femmes Rurales pour la Souveraineté Alimentaire (Convergence of Rural Women for Food Sovereignty)

Partner Organizations: Cooperative members of the COFERSA, African Center for Biodiversity, Comité Ouest Africain des Semences Paysannes – Mali (West African Peasant Seeds Committee, COASP), Biodiversité Échange et Documentation d’expérience (Biodiversity Exchange and Documentation of Experience, BEDE), Insight Share, FIAN international

Location(s): Mali

Award: $120,000 over 18 months

COFERSA is the voice of more than 5000 rural women, mainly from the southern regions of Mali. Its members are part of an innovative mechanism called "living house garden for peasant seeds", a strategy to regain seed and food autonomy. This grant will strengthen five member women cooperatives on agroecological production. Another key activity is women's capacity building in participatory video production, as a tool to amplify the voices of rural women. Working together with other partner organizations, COFERSA will advocate for a new national seed policy that recognizes peasant seed systems and rights.

Lead Organization: FAHAMU Africa

Partner Organizations: Nous Sommes la Solution (NSS), Association des Jeunes Agriculteurs de la Casamance (Association of Young Farmers of Casamance, AJAC) and Fédération Nationale des Organizations Paysannes (National Federation of Peasant Organizations, FENOP).

Location(s): Senegal and Burkina Faso

Award: $120,000 over 24 months

This proposal is a continuation of the previous collaborative funded by the Agroecology Fund (AEF). The objective is to support rural family farms in the Cascades and Hauts Bassins regions (Burkina Faso) and in Casamance (Senegal). Special emphasis will be placed on seed production and seed saving, strengthening farmers’ capacity to select and save their own seeds. A booklet on local rice varieties in West Africa will be published. The collaborative also includes advocacy work led by Fahamu and the women movement “Nous Sommes la Solutions” to increase awareness among policy makers and other development stakeholders regarding the importance of peasant seed systems.

Lead Organization: Réseau des Organizations Paysannes et de Producteurs de l'Afrique de l'Ouest

(Network Of Peasant And Farmer Organizations In West Africa, ROPPA) on behalf of the Alliance

pour l’Agroécologie en Afrique de l’Ouest (Alliance for Agroecology in West Africa, 3AO)

Partner Organizations: 69 member organizations working in West Africa, including peasant organizations, civil society organizations, international NGOs and international research and development organizations active in the region.

Location(s): West Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo)

Award: $120,000 over 24 months

The Alliance for Agroecology in West Africa (3AO) was created in 2018 to simultaneously address the multiple obstacles to sustainable transition, while also moving the debate on agroecology in West Africa forward. Currently it is composed of 69 member organizations, including peasant organizations, civil society organizations, international NGOs and international research and development organizations active in the region. This proposal aims to build bridges between food system actors; consolidating, disseminating, and exchanging agroecological knowledge among peasants; as well as developing advocacy tools.

Lead Organization: Slow Food International

Partner Organizations: Slow Food Uganda, Slow Food Convivia Association of Kenya, Women Development for Science and Technology (WODSTA) and Programme Intégré pour le Développement du Peuple Pygmée (PIDP) [Integrated Program for the Development of the Pygmy People]

Location(s): Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Award: $120,000 over 18 months

This proposal will continue the collaborative funding by AEF in East Africa. While the previous project focused on strengthening farmers’ agroecological knowledge (Food Academies) and applying these agroecological theories in the field (Food Gardens), this new collaborative aims to enhance market opportunities (Earth Markets and Cooks Alliance), strengthening food value chains (Presidia), and raising awareness of the importance of choosing these cultural agroecological healthy foods. Slow Food international will lead the collaborative as an umbrella organization, ensuring coordination and sound knowledge-sharing practices to advance the role of its African partners on the global stage.

Lead Organization: The Seed and Knowledge Initiative (SKI) with Biowatch South Africa as the project holder

Partner Organizations: Development Technical Assistance Services (DeTAS), Kasisi Agriculture Training Centre (KATC), Regional Schools and Colleges Permaculture (ReSCOPE), Towards Sustainable Use of Resources Organisation (TSURO), UKUVUNA (Zimbabwe) and Zimbabwe Smallholder Organic Farmers Forum (ZIMSOFF).

Location(s): Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Award: $120,000 over 18 months

SKI is a regional program implemented by 16 partners across four countries. The impetus to implement agroecology at a landscape level has arisen from the experience that focusing only on household gardens and field crops does not address the elements in the larger system that enables and supports a healthy food web. As one of the partners experienced with cyclone Idai in 2019, degraded landscapes also result in devastating damage when disaster hits. The intervention is based on a holistic and participatory approach, focused on building agency, healing relationships and deepening connections between people and nature. As this is new work with a long-term view, communication and outputs will be focused on raising awareness, interest and support for the long-term sustainability of the initiative.

Lead Organization: Centro de Desenvolvimento Agroecológico do Cerrado (CEDAC) (Agroecological Development Center of the Brazilian Savannah)

Partner Organizations: COOPCERRADO, Ecovida Network, Central de Abastecimento da Agricultura Familiar – CAFA (Family Agriculture Supply Center ) and Rede Povos da Mata (Forest People Network)

Location(s): Brazil

Award: $100,000 over 24 months

A process of dialogue and some pilot marketing initiatives among agroecological networks have confirmed the supply and demand for agroecological produce. This proposal will allow us to accelerate this process of cooperation, expanding CoopCerrado's capacity to market partner networks’ products and distribute more perishable products (fruits and vegetables) through multi-cooperative marketing circuits. The marketing strategy prioritizes women farmers through the implementation of 20 hectares of agroforestry systems with medicinal plants, vegetables and fruits, as well as poor consumers living in the periphery.

Lead Organization: Colectivo Agroecológico Del Ecuador (Agroecological Collective of Ecuador)

Partner Organizations: UOCE, Utopia, Accion Ecologica, Kurikancha, Centro Agrícola Cantonal Del Quevedo, Unidad Machete y Garabato, Troja Manaba, Juventudes MICC, Frente Proaño Vive, Ekorural, Minga por la Pacha Mama, Heifer Ecuador, OCARU, IEE, FIAN, Mesa Agroecológica del Azuay, Feria Carcelén, Plataforma Agraria De Loja, CUM, PRODAGRECO, ASOPROG, Asociaciones Biogranjas, AVSF

Location(s): Ecuador

Award: $100,000 over 18 months

The Agroecological Collective of Ecuador is a national platform that joins a diversity of stakeholders whose common goal is to expand and radicalize agroecology. The main objective is to strengthen and expand the scope of five of the main activities the Collective has been supporting: agroecological schools; agroecological markets, particularly farmers’ markets; the Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS); forums for nation-wide advocacy and coordination, and edu-communication strategies. The proposal includes research and participatory actions in priority territories to identify weaknesses, strengths, potential, and strategies that can help strengthen our initiatives. This diagnosis will allow us to focus on local strategies aimed at broadening networks, strengthening existing initiatives and enhancing their scope and impact.

Lead Organization: Grupo Autónomo para la Investigación Ambiental, A.C. (Autonomous Group for Environmental Research)

Partner Organizations: Asociación Nacional de Empresas Comercializadoras de Productores del Campo, ANEC (National Association of Marketing Businesses of Agricultural Producers), Sistema Comunitario para el Manejo y Resguardo de la Biodiversidad Unión de Comunidades, SICOBI (Community System for the Management and Protection of Biodiversity), Centro de Innovación Integral para el Desarrollo Rural KUKOJ, CIINDER KUKOJ (Integral Innovation Center for Rural Development), Centro de Desarrollo Integral Campesino de la Mixteca, CEDICAM (Center for Integral Peasant Development of the Mixteca), Finca Triunfo Verde, Unión de Ejidos y Comunidades San Fernando, Proyecto de Desarrollo Rural Integral Vicente Guerrero A.C (Vicente Guerrero Integrated Rural Development Project), La Red de Ejidos Productores de Servicios Ambientales Ya'ax Sot' Ot' Yook' ol Kaab, A.C., REPSERAM (The Ya ax Sot' Ot' Yook' ol Kaab Network of Ejidos Producers of Environmental Services), Unión Campesina Totikes S.C., Chiapas (Totikes Peasant Union) and Biosfera Productiva y Alternativa de la Sierra S.C. de RL de CV (Alternative and Productive Biosphere from the Mountains).

Location(s): Mexico

Award: $100,000 over 16 months

This proposal is a continuation of the Water and Soils for Agriculture (WSA) program implemented by Catholic Relief Service (CRS) in Mexico in partnership with GAIA. At the end of 2019, the Agroecology Fund provided additional support to this initiative. This proposal will support nine farmer organizations to implement Agroecological Management Models (AMM), with an emphasis on soil fertility (producing coffee and basic grains) in four states (Tlaxcala, Oaxaca, Chiapas and Quintana Roo). Inputs from the Bio input Production Units set up in 2020 will be the basis for designing the organizations' scalability strategies in their territories. A technological platform will be implemented to promote learning exchange among farmers, research bodies and government agencies.

Lead Organization: Xilotl Asociación para el Desarrollo Social A.C (Xilotl Association for Social Development)

Partner Organizations: Numerous grassroots organizations across the three countries.

Location(s): Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala

Award: $90,000 over 12 months

The proposal is part of an effort to strengthen local agroecological production, with a focus on peasant-to-peasant learning and local indigenous marketing. It also includes advocacy work to promote local public policies in favor of agri-food and agroecological systems. It is expected that this collaborative will strengthen existing local platforms to advance food sovereignty and improve resilience in communities vulnerable to disasters, emergencies and the effects of climate change. The experiences of the collaborating organizations will be systematized and simplified into popular terminology to be shared among the organizations participating in the project and other organizations in the Mesoamerican and Caribbean region.

Lead Organization: Asociación ANDES

Partner Organizations: Asociación de Comunidades del Parque Challakuy (Association of the Challakuy Park Communities), Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, Coventry University (CAWR) and Pluriversidad Yachay Kuichi (Pluriversity Yachay Kuichi).

Location(s): Peru

Award: $100,000 over 12 months

In the last 25 years, the ANDES Association has generated biocultural territorial models to conserve and innovate through agrobiodiversity for food sovereignty and for defense of territory, combining ancestral indigenous practices with regenerative and sustainable livelihoods. "Chalakuy" barter markets are at the center of the agri-food system in the Lares Valley, Cusco (between 3000 and 5500 meters above sea level). This collaborative will generate evidence on the role of barter markets ("chalakuy") as a regenerative strategy to achieve food sovereignty in response to the Covid-19 health crisis and climate change. The outcomes will inform the strategies of other mountain communities on agroecology and food sovereignty through the Yachay Kuichi Pluriversity, an intercultural education and research center of excellence in indigenous food systems and biocultural landscapes.

Lead Organization: Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance (NAFSA)

Partner Organizations: NAFSA is an Alliance that represents a network of food sovereignty practitioners, activists and educators through a broad base of Native American food sovereignty organizations, educational institutions, and Indigenous partner communities.

Location(s): United States of America

Award: $120,000 over 18 months

In our listening sessions, we have uncovered a huge need for scaled-up seed production to support the seed needs in our Indigenous communities. This collaborative will involve a regional collective of growers to develop a Cooperative Regional Seed Hub, serving over 25 local tribal communities. This seed cooperative hub will align with cultural values that honor seeds as relatives. Merging existing efforts as a regional hub strengthens the overall seed security of a region and is a critical investment in regional and local food/seed security in uncertain times.

Lead Organization: Peace Building Center (PBC)

Partner Organizations: GOLDEN HOOF COLLABORATIVE (GHC) (working title of the collaborative formed by the following partner-organizations): Peace Building Center, Baikal Buryat Center for Indigenous Cultures, Federation of Organic Movement Bio-KG and Rural Development Fund.

Location(s): Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan

Award: $120,000 over 18 months

This proposal is the third phase of the collaborative work on promotion of indigenous livestock breeding conducted by Golden Hoof Collaborative (GHC) since 2017. This collaborative joins several organizations and individual experts representing seven indigenous peoples inhabiting three linked Eurasian mountain systems called Pamir, Tien-Shan and Sayan-Altai (PTS region). The work strategy has three components: (a) the revival of gene pool of indigenous livestock; (b) the reactivation of related traditional agroecological technologies; and (c) consolidation of indigenous leaders around the issues of spiritually oriented and ecological models of development. The first two phases of the project were focused on revival of the Buryat cow using genetic material from the cross-border communities of Mongolia, and study of the Kyrgyz horse using genetic material from Kyrgyzstan itself. The third phase will add another five indigenous peoples and will focus on their agroecological potential, to develop a roadmap for further joint revival of nomadic indigenous livestock breeding.

Lead Organization: WASSAN - Watershed Support Services and Activities Network

Partner Organizations: a network of NGOs, CBOs and farmers promoting watershed management principles.

Location(s): India

Award: $120,000 over 12 months

NCNF is a multi-sectoral network created in 2020 to promote natural farming in India. It comprises a core team of 40 organizations, with expertise in different areas. Our goal is to have 50 million farmers adopting natural farming practices in the next 10 years. Natural farming in all its variants has been practiced in various Indian states. These processes, however, need to be researched, innovated upon if needed, and consolidated to take them to scale across the country. This collaborative will develop, set up systems and test them in four states, involving at least 25,000 farmers. NCNF will also work with the state governments and the central government in evolving innovative learning, providing feedback loops into policy making.

Lead Organization: Dewan Pengurus Pusat Serikat Petani Indonesia/Central Board of Management of Serikat Petani Indonesia (DPP-SPI)

Partner Organizations: Dewan Pengurus Wilayah Serikat Petani Indonesia Provinsi Jambi/Provincial Board of Management of Serikat Petani Indonesia of Jambi (DPW-SPI Jambi), Dewan Pengurus Wilayah Serikat Petani Indonesia Provinsi Jawa Barat/ Provincial Board of Management of Serikat Petani Indonesia of West Java (DPW-SPI Jawa Barat), Dewan Pengurus Wilayah Serikat Petani Indonesia Provinsi Jawa Timur/ Provincial Board of Management of Serikat Petani Indonesia of East Java (DPW-SPI Jawa Timur), Dewan Pengurus Wilayah Serikat Petani Indonesia Provinsi Sumatera Barat/ Provincial Board of Management of Serikat Petani Indonesia of West Sumatra (DPW-SPI Sumatera Barat).

Location(s): Indonesia

Award: $120,000 over 24 months

In the last 22 years, SPI has been promoting agroecology through training, demo plots, seeds centers and has brought the concept of food sovereignty to the Indonesian government. SPI has 20 provincial chapters across the country with structures from the village level to the national level. This proposal builds on previous SPI work and is focused on strengthening agroecology field schools, peasant-based research and development, territorial markets and advocacy campaigns. All work will be directly connected to SPI’s long-standing campaigns, with public education and advocacy work on peasants’ rights, land and agroecology, at national, provincial and district level. This approach will move towards establishing territories where food sovereignty is a reality.

Lead Organization: Consumers' Association of Penang

Partner Organizations: Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth), Malaysian Food Sovereignty Forum and Persatuan Iban Marudi Baram, Sarawak (Marudi Iban Association in Baram, Sarawak)

Location(s): Malaysia

Award: $120,000 over 18 months

This collaboration is between the lead organization Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) and Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM). Both organizations have been working in agroecology and are partners of the Third World Network and the Malaysian Food Sovereignty Forum. This proposal will scale the ‘grow your own food’ campaign based on nutritiously diverse and sustainable agroecological practices, expanding the work to other farming communities. The collaborative will involve a broad range of grassroots communities, urban households, indigenous peoples and small farmers, trying to demonstrate the viability of agroecological practices. The evidence based successes will be used to advocate for policies to scale up agroecology and farmer seed systems in Malaysia.

Lead Organization: Human Development Organization (HDO)

Partner Organizations: Women’s Solidarity Front (WSF) and Vikalpani National Women's Federation.

Location(s): Sri Lanka

Award: $108,000 over 24 months

This collaborative is a joint initiative of  HDO, Women’s Solidarity Front (WSFV), Vikalpani National Women’s Federation (VNWF) and six community women groups. The main objectives are (a) to increase awareness and capacity building on agroecology and food sovereignty; (b) to support farmers, rural workers, youth and women’s groups to undertake local marketing; (c) to implement policy advocacy campaigns towards agroecology, food security, governance and sustainable policy towards to combat Covid-19. Target beneficiaries include different ethnic and religious groups, particularly women, youth and vulnerable groups in tea plantations, rural villages and post-conflict areas.

Lead Organization: Southern Peasants’ Federation of Thailand (SPFT)

Partner Organizations: Isaan Land Reform Network (ILRN)

Location(s): Thailand

Award: $120,000 over 24 months

This collaborative is a joint initiative involving SFT and Isaan Land Reform Network (ILRN). SPFT is southern Thailand’s greatest proponent of community rights and a vital ally of landless communities and small farmers. ILRN plays a similar role in Thailand’s northeast where the rights of small farmers and local communities are repeatedly trampled upon. Both organizations have been working with agroecology since 2008, developing a complex land management model and implementing the School of Peasantry and Agroecology. This proposal aims to strengthen community land rights and collaboration on alternative models of sustainable agricultural development, promoting women’s roles in agroecological food production and processing, and seed conservation. The intervention strategy includes collaborations with influential Thai academics to better frame policy debates and strengthens advocacy towards food sovereignty.

Lead Organization: Save PNG

Partner Organizations: PNG National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI), Forestry Research Institute (FRI), Seventh Day Adventist Church South Pacific Division (SDACSPD) and Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELC).

Location(s): Melanesia including Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia

Award: $100,000 over 12 months

Save PNG is a Papua New Guinean organization that has played an instrumental role in addressing food, health and climate issues through media education and intercultural exchanges. This proposal complements Save PNG’s long-running and high-impact ‘Food is Life’ Melanesia campaign, which encourages farmers to become more independent by learning from the experiences of the past, adopting appropriate technologies of the present and preparing sustainable models of agroecology for the benefit of future generations. Our comprehensive communications strategies, inclusive gender practices and digital storytelling will empower vulnerable communities with essential information to overcome natural disasters, enhance economic prosperity and share indigenous food and farming messages with broader society. In addressing ‘governance and leadership’, this collaborative work seeks to influence relevant authorities to support local food and agriculture initiatives as a driving force in sustainable economic development.

Covid-19 follow-up grantees

Lead Organization: Concertation Nationale des Organisations Paysannes au Cameroun (National Consultation Forum of Farmers' Organizations of Cameroon - CNOP- CAM)

Partner Organizations: AGREN, CHASSAADD- M, CAFEM, SOCOVIMK, SOCODEFUSCAM and AFSA.

Location(s): Cameroon

Award: $49,500 over 12 months

Since 2000, CNOP-CAM has been building a network linking cooperatives and farmers’ associations. The main objective of this proposal is to facilitate women’s access to markets, and setting up a warehouse/showroom space for marketing of agroecological products. The operationalization of a community transport unit will enable a circuit with five agroecological produce collection points. In return, women farmers will be supplied with inputs, agroecological seeds, small tools and products necessary to comply with the sanitary measures related to Covid-19. The collaborative will carry out advocacy work to promote agroecology, market access  and food sovereignty.

Lead Organization: African Women's Collaborative for Healthy Food Systems

Partner Organizations: Pastoralist Women for Health and Education (PWHE), Eastern and Southern Africa Small Scale Farmers Forum Uganda (ESAFF Uganda), Rural Women’s Assembly (Zambia chapter), Zimbabwe Smallholders Organic Farmers Forum (ZIMSOFF) and We are the Solution/Nous Sommes la Solution (WAS/NSS).

Location(s): Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Award: $47,000 over 12 months

Founded in March 2017, the Collaborative arose from collective concern about rural women’s rights and food sovereignty. The main goal is to inform key stakeholders of the importance of local, agroecological and equitable food systems in times of crisis and to raise awareness of the contribution made by peasant and pastoralist women. The documentation of local responses to Covid-19 will focus on communities represented by Pastoralist Women for Health and Education (PWHE), Eastern and Southern Africa Small Scale Farmers Forum Uganda (ESAFF Uganda), Rural Women’s Assembly (Zambia chapter) and Zimbabwe Smallholders Organic Farmers Forum (ZIMSOFF). The proposed work will give visibility to an existing intervention to promote women’s seeds as a source of nutritious food.

Lead Organization: PELUM Zimbabwe

Partner Organizations: Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Zimbabwe and Knowledge Transfer Africa (KTA)

Location(s): Zimbabwe

Award: $50,000 over 12 months

This collaborative is a long term initiative piloted by PELUM Zimbabwe and Knowledge Transfer Africa in five districts in Zimbabwe. The main goal is to transform how marketing is approached and supported by various actors during and post Covid-19. The collaborative will encourage the production of biodiverse food crops produced in ecologically sustainable ways, linking the nutritional and food security of smallholder farmers and consumers. By documenting and digitally mapping Zimbabwe’s agroecology produce we hope to inform decision making by multi-stakeholders. The collaborative will include an advocacy campaign to create an enabling environment for resilient food systems.

Lead Organization: Arulagam

Partner Organizations: Sahjeevana -Collective of Dalit and Adivasi landless women, District women's Self-Help Group federation, Karnataka state district level and local level government, Arulagam.

Location(s): India

Award: $50,000 over 12 months

This initiative was kickstarted as a result of AEF’s Emergency Response small-grant received during the initial days of the pandemic lockdown. This proposal aims to consolidate and scale up this effort by creating a solidarity-based local marketing model for food security and sustainable livelihoods in southern Karnataka, India. It will bring together local agroecology farmers, women’s collectives, and youth as part of a cooperative marketing platform, under a common brand name called “Namdu” (meaning “ours” in the Kannada language). The women’s collectives have been purposefully envisioned to be small, so that the decisions are taken by the group members collectively. The youth will play critical roles in the implementation of the project: involved in all day-to-day logistical work on all fronts, from aggregation to marketing. The produce will be aggregated, processed, and marketed to rural consumers as well as urban consumers, as well as institutional consumers such as school meals programs.

Lead Organization: Arulagam

Partner Organizations: South Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers Movements (SICCFM) and Arulagam

Location(s): India

Award: $50,000 over 12 months

This initiative is proposed by the South Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers’ Movements (SICCFM), a network of South Indian farmers movements. The main goal is to establish a new farmers’ marketing association in the Thalavady district of Tamil Nadu, India. SICCFM will facilitate the creation and functioning of Thalavady Farmers Association, which will bring together small farmers and landless farm laborers. In Thalavady area the main collaborators include successful agroecological farmers, panchayat- level vegetable traders, farmers’ movements and Dalit movement leaders. The Association will support farmers to aggregate their produce and find assured markets in the neighboring areas of Tamil Nadu and other south Indian states. It will also provide training for farmers on agroecological practices. Collaborative partners will work very closely with the Horticulture Department and universities to better access the existing government programs.