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Implementing the leverage points
Case studies and links
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Planning for agroecology transitions
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The PLUP aims for detailed land classification and zoning at the village level, while the PALM provides specific plans for agricultural land, adding detail to the PLUP. In 2020, district authorities conducted PLUP/PALM for the first time in Nanom Village, Xone District in Lao PDR. Prior to this, no grazing land was designated. Through the Agriculture Future Land Use Management Zoning, 37 hectares were allocated as grassland for livestock. Forest conservation areas also increased from 113 to 327 hectares through Forest Land Use Management Zoning. By 2022, all 34 villages in Xone District had land use plans, leading to a District Land Use Plan.
Examples from Lao PDR, including this one, demonstrate several positive impacts of PLUP/PALM: reduced land conflicts, conservation of natural resources, improved land tenure security, sustainable land use, and increased rural income. Additionally, regulated land use has supported nationwide land registration and titling, boosting public revenue through taxes and fees and encouraging investment in rural development.
Success factors of PLUP/PALM for the realisation of positive impacts include:
Capacitate Government Authorities: Ensure authorities have sufficient financial resources, equipment, and training in participatory procedures and modern technology (e.g., GIS tools, UAV drones) for effective PLUP/PALM activities.
Integrate Competent Authorities: Involve various sectors in the planning process, provide spatial data for socio-economic development, and ensure provincial authorities support districts with technical assistance and continuous monitoring of land use plans.
Ensure Community Participation: Engage villagers in the planning process, inform them of their land rights, and involve them in decision-making, with special consideration for women and vulnerable groups. Strengthen local ownership for ongoing management and compliance with land use plans.
For example, the Targeted Awareness Raising (TAR) methodology has been developed to foster local participation. Specifically, the Lao Women´s Union is actively involved to promote the active participation of women.
Link Plans to Follow-Up Actions: Connect land use plans to subsequent measures such as land registration, forest conservation, agricultural extension, and investment allocation to ensure sustainable impacts on income generation and environmental protection at the local level.
Planning for agroecology transitions
MASIPAG is a national network of 518 small farmer organizations, 60 NGOs, and 18 scientists from the Philippines, promoting agroecological farming and farmers' rights. Despite being farmer-led, it has expanded partnerships with scientists and various sectors to advocate for food security, agroecology, farmers’ and women's rights, and sustainable rural development. Over the past decade, scientists and students have worked with MASIPAG to enhance farmers' skills in participatory planning, leadership, and advocacy for sustainable agriculture. In 2019, MASIPAG collaborated with two high schools in Quezon Province to teach organic farming, leading to the schools adopting organic gardening as an extracurricular activity.
"Let us be the voice for farmers and all marginalized individuals who contribute to our country without recognition.”
The Rights-based Agroecological Initiatives for Sustainability and Equity in Peasant Communities (RAISE) project by SEARICE has a youth engagement component. The project conducts workshops on peasant rights and helps youth appreciate agroecology. The workshops were facilitated by the Philippine Educational Theatre Association (PETA) to strengthen youth engagement and train their creative expression, including video production and agroecology songs performance. The momentum created was sustained through a chat group a chat group and a Facebook page for information exchange among youth, which resulted in the formation of the Youth Advocate for Agroecology and draft Bill on Magna Carta for Young Farmers, which aims to establish a Young Farmers Council to empower and support young farmers.
Adopted in 2017 with SEARICE support, the Sustainable Agriculture Code of Arakan in North Cotabato, Philippines, emphasizes organic agriculture, community seed banks, access and benefit sharing, livestock, agroforestry, aquaculture, and farmers' rights. It regulates activities, including banning genetically modified crops, and involves stakeholders in policy-making.
Despite challenges, strong political will and lobbying led to its adoption. Farmers and the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist (OMA) played key roles in formulating and implementing the Code, making it an election issue and ensuring candidates supported it. The Code now serves as a model for municipalities aiming for sustainable agriculture.
Timeline of the formulation of the Sustainable Agriculture Code of Arakan:
2012: Development of partnership between SEARICE and the Office of Municipal Agriculturist (OMA)
2013: 4-day multi-stakeholder workshop to formulate sustainable agriculture code, presentation and validation of the code during the celebration of Farmers Day
2014: Filing of the code for deliberation during the 8th Session of the Municipal Council but was not acted upon; Conduct of public hearing and other campaign activities to support the Code
2015: Lobbying the Municipal Agriculture and Fisheries Council (MAFC), a multisectoral body attached to the Department of Agriculture, to endorse the Code. MAFC held a series of consultations with the local officials for the Code
2016: Conduct of exposure trips cum training to JADAM Integrated Nature Farm and OMA learning farm; The Committee on Agriculture acted on the Code
2017: Adoption of Municipal Ordinance No. 371, Series of 2017: An Ordinance Enacting the Sustainable Agriculture Code of the Municipality of Arakan
2018: Work on the approval of the budget for the code
2019: Conduct of multi-stakeholder workshop to formulate implementing rules and regulations (IRRs) of the Code; Development of 10-year plan for the full implementation of the Code; Massive information and education campaign
2020: Complementation of the code with municipal ordinances on tourism, protected areas, solid waste management and market enterprises
Working with farmers
The Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) movement in China has rapidly expanded, with over 1000 projects involving more than 100,000 farmers and consumers. Unlike the origins of the movement in the US and Japan, the Chinese CSA concept encompasses diverse elements such as farmers markets, farm stays, local food branding, rural development, and local seed conservation. Technology is being integrated into food distribution, payment, traceability, and certification within the Chinese CSA movement. The initiative has strong political and academic support, seeking to align with government policies and promote eco-friendly agriculture and food safety. The movement aims to encompass all business opportunities that strengthen ties between farmers and consumers while ensuring sustainable agriculture and food safety.
One of the leading farms of the CSA movement in China is a 54-acre (22 ha) woman-led organic farm in the Tongzhou and Shunyi districts of Beijing, Shared Harvest. It is promoting a local, fair and nourishing food economy – welcoming farmers and interested parties to learn about better farming practices and bringing consumers into her world.
The Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) implemented the Improving Market Opportunities for Women (IMOW) project in Myanmar, enhancing women's access to financial management, leadership, decision-making training, and sustainable agricultural techniques to boost household incomes. The project focused on rice and vegetable value chains in Kayin State and the vegetable value chain in Shan State, strengthening market linkages for women and supporting MSMEs in partnership with local organizations.
Key strategies included savings groups (SGs), women sales agents (WSAs), and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). SGs provided forums for women to discuss farming, financial matters, and save for farm inputs. WSAs connected women directly with market actors, inspiring others to engage with the private sector. GAP training increased production and income, and women farmers achieved local and international certifications from the Ministry of Agriculture.
In PGS Vietnam started in 2008 with support from the ADDA-VNFU project and included in 2023 17 PGS models throughout Vietnam with varied partners driving them, including Farmers’ Unions, Women Union, State agencies and organic traders. PGS Vietnam has developed a system including manuals, standards, inspection and certification procedures (where control by pairs and sharing of experiences among farmers is at the heart), regulations, logo/ seal and a website: vietnamorganic.vn. It endeavours to foster shared responsibilities and benefits between farmers, traders and consumers in ensuring quality.
Comprising 60 committed farmers, the Ecofarm Group implements a PGS -established with support from the APICI project- to ensure product quality and environmental sustainability, eliminating the need for expensive external certification. By collectively setting standards and conducting internal inspections, the group aims to boost visibility of local quality products, enhance consumer trust and traceability, and reward farmers transitioning to agroecology.
Through PGS, Ecofarm members uphold standards that prohibit chemical pesticide usage and minimize chemical fertilizer use, aligning with their commitment to sustainable agriculture. This initiative responds to farmers' needs for improved practices and product quality, empowering them to meet market demands and embrace sustainable agriculture.
► Contact person for APICI project Elise PERNICENI <perniceni@gret.org> Sokharith TOUCH<touch.cambodia@gret.org>
Introduced by the Malaysian government and became mandatory in 2019, the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil (MSPO) Certification Scheme was created as the national standard for oil palm plantations, including independent and organized smallholdings, and palm oil processing facilities.
Managed by the Malaysian Palm Oil Certification Council (MPOCC), the scheme covers principles and criteria (P and C) that address environmental, social, and economic aspects of oil palm plantation management, milling, and supply chain traceability. It includes certification for independent smallholders, organized smallholders, plantations, and all processing facilities. This demonstrates Malaysia’s dedication to a credible certification system, ensuring that all field practices and milling operations are audited against set standards by accredited third-party certification bodies (CBs).
For nearly 15 years now, the ECHO Asia Regional Impact Center has engaged in the research, co-creation, and dissemination of seed saving and seed banking best practices in the Southeast Asia region.
Using low-cost, appropriate tech approaches, ECHO has promoted the establishment of small-scale Community Seed Banks in dozens of remote communities currently underserved by the informal seed systems of the region. These Community Seed Banks make available seeds of high quality, diverse and improved genetics, and of improved viability. Since the establishment of a regional seed bank hub in Chiang Mai, Thailand, ECHO has moved towards a strategy of building a network of community seed banks across the region, offering a seed bank manager training internship program and a collection of technical resources and written reference publications. Since April 2024, ECHO Global has also identified Community Seed Banking as a key thrust of its latest 5-year strategic plan as an organization, setting the organization for scaling of these best practices to a wider audience.
►For more information, contact Patrick TRAIL : ptrail@echocommunity.org
Promoting transitions across the agrifood value chains
FFS was continuously promoted in Indonesia not only by the government but also by a number of NGOs such as the FIELD Indonesia Foundation (Farmer Initiatives for Ecological Livelihoods and Democracy - Indonesia).
It was founded in 2001 by the alumni of the technical assistance teams of the different IPM programs. The core of its members came from the network of local farmer organizations and the Indonesian IPM Farmers Association.
FIELD played a pivotal role in taking the FFS model and its principles to help address broader challenges and problems affecting farmers livelihoods in Indonesia. They have learned that farmers could only implement IPM and other agricultural development programs once they had acquired the ability to carry out their own analysis, make their own decisions and organise their own activities. The empowerment process, rather than the adoption of specific IPM techniques, is what produces many of the developmental benefits of the FFS.
Following the First National Seminar on System of rice Intensification (SRI) held in 2012, a group of academics, government officials, civil society organizations and farmers came together to establish SRI-MAS, a non-profit organisation working to enhance food security in Malaysia through the adoption of agroecology-based practices by local farmers.
Instead of the traditional top-down approach which views farmers merely as beneficiaries of new technologies, SRI-MAS adopts a social learning approach for agricultural extension and innovation. It fosters Farmer Field Schools to create an experiential learning environment and regularly conducts consultative workshops for farmers on a variety of agroecology-related topics. SRI-Mas runs the SRI Farm Network between five states in Malaysia for SRI communities to share struggles and exchange ideas. It is also connected to the greater Asia SRI Network.
Over the past two decades, Cambodia has seen significant growth in Conservation Agriculture (CA) and Agroecology activities. Notably, the Bos Khnor experimental station led by the General Directorate of Agriculture (GDA) and the Department of Agricultural Land Resources Management (DALRM) serves as a pivotal hub on:
Designing and assessing agroecological cropping systems, including diversification patterns.
Preserving a genetic bank of cover/relay crops, comprising 45 species and around 100 cultivars.
Conducting long-term experiments (over 15 years) to evaluate agroecological systems' impacts on soil health, biodiversity, and water retention.
Providing training for farmers, development operators, and research partners.
These efforts, documented in peer-reviewed articles, demonstrate Bos Khnor's efficacy in supporting evidence-based land management, policy making, and donor decisions. This has fostered a scientific community, particularly in understanding soil dynamics and water management.
The Cambodian Conservation Agriculture Research and Development Center (CARDEC/DALRM) strategic plan aims to elevate Bos Khnor into a Center of Excellence for Agroecology and Regenerative Agriculture, focusing on research, genetic resource conservation, skill development, and infrastructure enhancement through national and international collaborations.
Green Extension is an umbrella term used to describe rural advisory services which support the scaling up of sustainable agriculture. The concept and practice of Green Extension has been developed and implemented in Lao PDR within the framework of the Lao Upland Rural Advisory Service (LURAS) since 2015.
The below table shows the five steps of the green extension process and the figure shows its multiplying impacts.
The Agroecology Learning alliance in South East Asia (ALiSEA), is an open coalition of stakeholders promoting agroecology transition. Initiated in 2015, it aims to enable local and regional agroecology stakeholders to leverage one another’s expertise to produce evidence-based studies and share them broadly to support a regional transition towards agroecology. It has 3 folded objectives:
Strengthening knowledge and experience sharing among agroecological initiatives and actors,
Increasing visibility and credibility of agroecological movement towards policy makers and consumers and
Scaling up the development and adoption of agroecological practice among farmers.
ALiSEA Network gathers over 180 member organizations being quite unique by its diversity of stakeholders (CSOs and NGOs, Farmer organizations, Research & Academia, Private Sector) and its member-driven governance model. ALiSEA currently counts five countries: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
It aims to answer the need for a knowledge exchange and to share the wealth of experience from different regions; and intends to strengthen its members by testing innovations in different contexts; conducting joint study, sharing results and drawing lessons collectively. Member organizations join forces to document field initiatives and propose recommendations.
Through fostering a wide dissemination and understanding of the principles of agroecology, it aims to facilitate their concrete incorporation in the practices of farmers and in public policy. ALiSEA helped to create a safe space for stakeholders to engage and learn from each other in regards to agroecological transition. Furthermore, ALiSEA network contributed to raise the visibility of agroecology at national and regional levels through growing media support and diverse means of communication.
►Contact person: Lucie REYNAUD, reynaud@gret.org, PAT Sovann pat.cambodia@gret.org
Capacity building and knowledge sharing
Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Intensification (CA & SI) activities have been implemented in Cambodia since 2004, yet due to the lack of participation from the private sector and other stakeholders, its activities have not been scaled up widely. In this context, CASIC was established as a national platform, governed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, for members to create network among public sector, private sector and other organizations aiming to promote Conservation Agriculture, Sustainable Intensification (CA/SI) and Agroecological practices in Cambodia. See below for CASIC’s approach:
The Philippine Partnerships for Sustainable Agriculture (PPSA) is a regional multi-stakeholder platform initiated by Grow Asia, and catalysed by World Economic Forum and the ASEAN Secretariat, with an aim to empower and transform smallholder farmers and fishers to be self-reliant and resilient. PPSA applies a strategic matching approach in brokering partnerships for project development. It also provides guidance on data, project design, stakeholder mapping and technical support based on partners’ commitment, capacities and sectoral needs.
Since its establishment in 2015, PPSA has brought together more than 120 organizations and reached more than 120,000 smallholders through commodity working groups focusing on coconut coffee, corn, vegetables, rice and fisheries as well as thematic groups such as Agri-Financing, Digital Agriculture and the Learning Alliance. The core members are nine companies engaged in enterprises and industries within agricultural value chain in the Philippines.
Multistakeholder engagement
Developing a research agenda
The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for Agriculture and Food (TEEBAgriFood) initiative was developed to apply whole systems thinking to the economics of agriculture. The initiative seeks to provide a comprehensive economic evaluation of the “eco-agri-food systems” complex, - from supporting ecosystems, to productive farms, to intermediaries such as aggregators, wholesalers and retailers, to food and beverage manufacturers, to distributors and consumers.
In Thailand, the TEEBAgriFood assessment focused on the Northeast region and aimed to measure and highlight the various costs and benefits of rice production. The assessment includes a scenario analysis to demonstrate the potential trade-offs associated with the expansion of organic rice production practices in Thailand from 2019 to 2035. The study emphasizes the importance of quantifying the often-invisible flow of benefits from ecosystems to food systems and human well-being, and it identifies the connections between nature and rice food systems. The analysis indicates that organic rice production generates benefits for human well-being, society, food, and culture. It also emphasizes the need for a transition towards fully sustainable rice production and sustainable landscape management to align with the Bio, Circular, and Green Economy model in Thailand. The TEEBAgriFood assessment in Thailand provides valuable insights into the potential benefits and challenges associated with the expansion of organic rice production. It underscores the importance of aligning rice production with sustainable growth and environmental responsibility, while also highlighting the need for supportive policies and measures to facilitate the transition towards organic farming systems.
Participatory, multi-level ToC have informed the whole ASSET project and helped coordinating actions of heterogeneous actors comprising farmer organisations, government agencies, NGOs, development specialists and research centres. Shared visions of the desired future were combined with action plans collectively deployed from territorial interventions within Flagship sites up to national and regional levels in line with ALiSEA network development and policy engagement.
The resulting action plans focus on how to support systemic changes for the actors involved, i.e. in practices, behaviours, interactions, capacities, knowledge, motivation and opportunities, as well as clarifying the way in which these changes would emerge for these actors, in the context within which they operate. The collective ToC building relied on pooling multiple sources of knowledge: academic literature, data from the field, expert and informal knowledge, etc. The ToC also served to design the monitoring and impact assessment system of the project, and shape the learning loops that action research implementation is informing.
Incorporating the knowledge, perception and experience from varied stakeholders, participatory ToC helps transform knowledge into action, forging concrete connections between different actors, sectors and levels of intervention. By breaking down silos, it can make solutions feel tangible. The project Theory of Change and Monitoring Evaluation Learning is original as it provides a common vision for the future of agroecology at both the flagship and the national levels. It creates synergies among project partners and provides a rich picture of the potential of agroecology from multiple perspectives.
A ToC should be seen as a compass for planning actions, acknowledging that actions evolve as actors engage with them and as their understanding of how change happens is tested against reality. Foresight combined with ToC allow to better identify risks and assumptions underlying potential pathways and can be used for monitoring key variables shaping these pathways (Blundo Canto et al., 2023).
►Contact: Genowefa Blundo Canto <genowefa.blundo_canto@cirad.fr> and Jean-Christophe Castella j.castella@ird.fr
As part of the ASSET project, a participatory action research on crop-livestock integration was conducted in Northern Vietnam. It engaged farmers, community leaders, extension workers, and researchers in identifying shared challenges and testing innovative solutions to diversify forage production, enhance forage conservation, and boost organic fertilizer production on farms.
A collective action plan was created to organize the tests, identify volunteer farms, and share responsibilities. Each participating farmer received technical training and necessary equipment as part of an incentive package to encourage adoption. Farmers needed access to seeds and cuttings, and forage management techniques. New forages, including legumes, were introduced and tested in various setups, diversifying forage production, as well as silage improved forage conservation for periods of scarcity. After training, farmer needs for silage bags and effective microorganisms and collective forage chopper to produce high quality silage were specified and attended to.
Enhanced animal feeding practices facilitated stabling, a critical step in organic fertilizer production on farms. Through targeted training and the proper use of effective microorganisms, farmers were empowered to produce high-quality organic fertilizers.
Regular follow-ups were conducted to monitor implementation progress, identify constraints, devise solutions, and assess the performance and quality of forage, silage, and organic fertilizer under real farm conditions. Extension agents and leading farmers from other communities organized demonstrations to facilitate farmer-to-farmer knowledge exchange, address adoption barriers, and advocate for the scaling up of successful models.
►Contact person: Mélanie Blanchard <melanie.blanchard@cirad.fr>
The Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization (CSAM), part of the UN ESCAP, promotes sustainable agricultural mechanization through knowledge exchange, R&D, technology transfer, and agro-business development, emphasizing South-to-South cooperation.
CSAM's Asian and Pacific Network for Testing of Agricultural Machinery (ANTAM) has established regional standards for testing three types of machinery. Pilot projects on straw residue management have reduced CO2 emissions, increased farmer income, and improved milk production. CSAM aided Cambodia in establishing its first National Agricultural Machinery Association, facilitating agroecological transitions.
Financing agroecology transtions
Dei Meas is a pioneering sustainability finance initiative in Cambodia, focused on helping smallholder farmers transition to agroecology rather than rewarding specific carbon or sustainability targets.
In its 3-year pilot stage, led by SmartAgro, CIRAD, and Swisscontact under CASIC, with support from ASSET and ISA projects, Dei Meas bridges sustainability finance and local farmer support and provides the following:
Transition Support
Registered farmers gain access to agroecology resources (cover crop seeds, mechanization) and training. They receive financial support ($35 to $100/ha/year) based on their transition progress.
Impact Quantification
The project uses tools like Biofunctool®, spectroscopy, carbon modeling, and remote sensing to measure impacts on soil carbon, GHG reduction, and ecosystem services. These tools help create a cost-effective monitoring protocol for Cambodia.
Financing and Certification
AE impacts are quantified and certified for various markets (VCM, eco-credits, food labels), attracting funding from sustainability investors. A practice scoring system and field inspections verify AE implementation, with rewards distributed to farmers.
Government Alignment
Managed by the Department of Agricultural Land Resources Management (DALRM), Dei Meas supports Cambodia’s National Action Programme, National Strategic Plan on Green Growth, National Forest Program, and other national commitments to UN conventions on biodiversity, desertification, and climate change.
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