Panel Session on “Agroecology for Resilient and Sustainable Food Systems”

Sixth Annual Conference of the Ghana Association of Agricultural Economists, 2023

This Panel Session is organised by the CIRAWA team in Ghana, and implemented by our partners from the West African Centre for Water, Irrigation and Sustainable Agriculture of the University for Development Studies (WACWISA-UDS), Tamale and FIDEP Foundation, Kumasi.

There has been significant interest in agroecological strategies in both developed and developing countries lately, mainly as a response to climate change effects and consequences, but also because of increasing consciousness of the production and consumption of “chemicalized” foods and food products. There has also been a big push towards other sustainable agricultural production practices due to increasing climate change and several other environmental problems. Some of the practices include climate-smart agriculture, conservation agriculture, regenerative agriculture, permaculture, zero-till agriculture and others. How are all these practices related to or different from agroecology? There is need for a synthesis of these practices to reduce conflicting sustainable agricultural extension messages that are shared with farmers and stakeholders.

Also, the High-Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) on food security and nutrition published the 13 principles of agroecology in 2017 and they are being used by researchers, NGOs and CSOs. How practical are these principles for food systems transformation? A debate on the role of agroecology in food systems transformation and the practicability of the 13 principles can provide information on the usefulness of agroecological strategies in the process of transitioning to sustainable food systems.