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From Grassroot Level for Global Influence – Climate and Food Systems
Climate resilience holds a significant role in all FFD projects, but the projects located in Honduras, Uganda, and Tanzania have climate action as their key objective. In general, all our forest-related projects make substantial contributions to climate action, as planted trees not only sequester carbon and mitigate erosion but also offer shade for specific crops protecting them against too high temperatures. Close relations with research institutions ensure that our targets are science-based even if the science should not overrun farmers own, traditional knowledge.
The AFOLU-sector (Agriculture Forestry and Land Use) is an important source of greenhouse gases (GHG) but also one of the few sectors which can increase its mitigation potential through biological processes. While all the farmers need to adapt to climate change, they can also contribute to mitigation. FFD has developed a small-holder driven carbon sequestration scheme in Vietnam and has studied different type of models in use. While there are several types of models being developed, inclusion of smallholders as equal partners in them, remains a challenge.
Carbon markets have generated plenty of interest among tree growers and FFD established its carbon scheme. This trial has demonstrated different kinds of challenges that smallholder-centric mitigation projects aiming at the carbon market can face. There is still a long way to ensure that smallholders who plant and manage their trees in developing countries can fully benefit from the carbon market but FFD together with other agri-agencies look for ways to facilitate the integration.
In climate action, we also want to help farmers to raise their voices at the higher level – among the local actors but also at the national and international levels. The impact of climate change is already being felt by farmers and they are still largely excluded from climate finance. We believe strongly that this requires more attention but even more, urgent action.
“From the FFD project we have learnt that forest users really want to contribute to the climate and environment sector, and along with this they also need to start some agroforestry business for their financial sustainability
- Kadel Biddya Raj, Project Coordinator at ASEC, Nepal.
Droughts, but also heavy rains are among the climate challenges that farmers face in their work. Forests and trees are important to prevent erosion. Even individual trees can make a difference in soil fertility. Thus, we should plant more trees in the fields. In Kenya as in Finland, forestry is a cross-generational endeavor, which I tried to transfer to my peers in Kenya. Regeneration of forests and thinning of young forests contribute to the next generation. Nurseries and their certification were one of the best and most concrete achievements of the project. Thousands of seedlings produced in the nursery build faith in the future.
- Mikko Syri, MTK twinning partner of FF-SPAK, Kenya
The active involvement of farmers on action research initiatives has become increasingly common in Europe. The EIP-AGRI Network (now under EU CAP Network) with its ‘Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems’ (AKIS) not only considered the involvement of farmers to address future challenges at the national level, but also the sharing of experiences and know-how among European farmers and organizations supporting farmers. In the Global South, improving Farmers’ capacities for sustainable climate-resilient crop production intensification and diversification, is often hindered by complex “technology-creation/transfer” processes. Complex agroecological concepts usually require numerical or textual data which can become entre barriers for farmers with low literacy level. Thus, locally tailored strategies are needed to allow their participation.
In Southern highlands area of Tanzania, FFD is supporting NADO and TTGAU to test integration of trees in their farms. This is done in collaboration with the Sokoine Agricultural University which supports farmers to define their research questions and collect data. Using the AgriCord’s Building Resilience Tool, more than 300 farmers were consulted in five districts to define farmers’ climate priorities for research. Among these, the farmers included: biochar production and testing trees with maize and beans, bee-keeping experiments, management alternatives for small woodlots and management alternatives for local tree species at nurseries. Farmers would also like to explore options for the prevention and monitoring of forest fires.“e potential for potato yields in the Southern Highland area in Tanzania from the present 7 tons/ ha is up to 50tons/ha. Climatewise this would be a great achievement: producing seven times more per hectare with the same inputs and labor. Potato is a great crop whose climate footprint per kilogram is one of the lowest and yields per hectare can be one of the largest ones. It has been a pleasure to work with NADO’s team on this and I still keep the contact with Ernest and Faraja. The twinning has brought me different perspectives on my life, humbleness, and thankfulness.”
The potential for potato yields in the Southern Highland area in Tanzania from the present 7 tons/ ha is up to 50tons/ha. Climatewise this would be a great achievement: producing seven times more per hectare with the same inputs and labor. Potato is a great crop whose climate footprint per kilogram is one of the lowest and yields per hectare can be one of the largest ones. It has been a pleasure to work with NADO’s team on this and I still keep the contact with Ernest and Faraja. The twinning has brought me different perspectives on my life, humbleness, and thankfulness.
- Juha Sohlo, ProAgria twinning partner of NADO, Tanzania
In Uganda, we support two cooperatives: one which supports farmers cultivating coffee, potatoes and maize, ZODFA, and another one, Nyaravur, which is a savings and credit cooperative. One of the critical actions strengthens linkages with credit options which support climate resilient activities. With another funding, FFD shares the lessons learned with other actors at the national level as a part of implementation of Uganda’s national food system strategy.
Land use planning and management is in the central role in the FFD collaboration In Northern Tanzania with MVIWAARUSHA, Pastoral Women’s Council (PWC) and Ujamaa Community Resource Team (UCRT). The aim of support is to improve land use management and climate resilience in a coordinated manner. While UCRT focuses on land use planning and management, PWC supports inclusion and empowerment of women and MVIWAARUSHA provides services for value chain development. Trias is our close sister in arms to carry out the activities and to ensure coordination with other NGOs in the region.
Acting Local – Aiming at Systemic Change
While a lot of our work focuses on a local level, we realize that the global food system needs to be transformed and climate change imposes changes to all farming. Thus, our approach can be synthesized by the motto: Acting for farmers at the local level but aiming at transformative changes at a systemic level.
The needs, aspirations but also limitations by smallholder farmers are often very different from larger farmers. They represent, nevertheless, a large group and in some developing countries produce up to 80% of food. The sector offers also an important source for jobs even if younger generation doesn’t always see it as attractive.
Larger impact is sought through the collaboration with other agri-agencies, which are members of the AgriCord Alliance and with the Forest and Farm Facility (a partnership between FAO, AgriCord, IUCN, and IIED). FFD has been coordinating the AgriCord climate action since 2018. One of the most concrete action is the development of the Building Resilience toolkit (BR).
AgriCord Building Resilience Toolkit –Guiding Farmers in Locally-led Adaptation
Building Resilience Part I aims at guiding farmers through the effects of climate change in their surroundings to identify their vulnerabilities. Consequently, farmers design adaptation activities which are based on their priorities. In the process, they learn to understand and deal with climate change which empowers them as independent climate actors. Building Resilience Part II focused on farmers’ organizations and allow the FOs to build a climate resilience plan based on their members’ needs. Now FAO in Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) program has adopted the toolkit as integral part of its climate work.
So far, more than 200 farmers trainers in 28 countries have participated in the BR Training of trainers to learn to facilitate this process. At the beginning of 2023, more than a thousand farmers had been empowered in the BR workshops in 6 different countries.
Building Resilience training of trainers workshops in Nepal and Vietnam.
“No other training or tool has brought such clarity to the adaptation related concept, such as exposure and climate risk, and what it means to farmers” Geofrey Bakanga, FAO facilitator for Forest and Farm Facility program in Tanzania.
What makes the AgriCord Building Resilience Tool so special?
Adaptation planning is often considered technocratic, and the process externalized to consultants. The AgriCord Building Resilience approach is different: It puts farmers and other smallscale producers in the center of climate action. The methodology simplifies concepts and highlights farmers’ expertise in assessing climate risks and designing adaptation action relevant to their own production, value chains and assets. Farmers’ organizations also contribute
to constant improvement of the toolkit through training evaluation forms and other feedback. “The Building Resilience workshops provide small-scale producers with a list of adaptation actions that are feasible to implement and address all their main climate concerns. This creates hope amongst the hardships, and gives direction to collective and concrete climate action in farmers’ organizations”, notes Noora Simola, forestry and climate expert of FFD.
