Goal 4: Champion Agroecology
Agroecology is a holistic and integrated approach that simultaneously applies ecological and social concepts and principles to the design and management of sustainable agriculture and food systems —systems that are fair and just.
Going forward we must not only address problems in crop production, but also human health, management of the land and animals, market systems, and more. Looking at crop production in a vacuum is unsustainable. Crop production must be considered alongside animal production, cuisine and foods and culture. This extends to looking at markets, market access, and the larger systems in which food is embedded.
In Asia, ECHO partners are regularly requesting options to better equip farmers in managing farms and knowledge of market systems.“We regularly come across the need for ‘post harvest’ innovations, specifically related to the challenges of record keeping, money matters, and marketing/value addition of agricultural product,” says Asia Director, Patrick Trail.
Agroecology serves as a comprehensive approach for ECHO’s core functions due to its holistic options for the network and its collaborative knowledge creation within a contextualized people-centered framework.
Goal 4 Key Approaches:
- Communicate agroecology principles and practices among ECHO staff, donors, volunteers, and the global network.
- Connect ECHO's agroecology practices across all other goals. The principles and concepts of agroecology must be considered and implemented into everything we do.
