agro-ecology

After losing 80 percent of its crop value to Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico's farmer brigades are not only helping their neighbors rebuild, but steering the island toward agro-ecology as a sustainable way to farm in the face of a changing climate, reports Audrea Lim in FERN's latest piece, published with The Nation. No paywall

PARIS – Due to an initiative launched by France, there is now an international framework that for the first time brings agricultural soils into climate negotiations. Called “4 per 1000,” this new proposal aims to protect and increase carbon stocks in soil.

At the Paris climate negotiations, authorities are starting to pay attention to agriculture as a way to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Food production accounts for about one-third of all emissions, yet prior climate conferences have focused almost exclusively on energy production systems such power plants. In an interview, Hans Herren, who co-chaired the UN’s International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development—nicknamed the IPCC report for agriculture—in 2008, spoke about agro-ecology as a climate mitigator.

Around the globe, "food systems need to be more sustainable, inclusive and resilient," says the head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. In a speech in Paris, Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva said...