Knowledge from Agroecological Experience

May 30, 2019
  • 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
  • Location:
    Liu Institute for Global Issues, xʷθəθiqətəm (Place of many trees), formerly the Multipurpose Room
    6476 NW Marine Dr
    Vancouver, BC

Abstract: Agroecology has received considerable attention in the last five years on global and regional levels. As such, governments are now requesting evidence-based analysis on how Agroecology performs compared to other “sustainable agriculture” systems. There is an increasing recognition that we leave off a vast scope of knowledge by ignoring or not validating diverse sources of information: the knowledge and experience of farmers, local communities, and many community-level initiatives with a depth of knowledge far beyond the bounds of experimental stations and controlled environments. In the context of providing a rapid review of this information to support the ongoing Committee on World Food Security High Level Panel of Experts project report on Agroecology, we plan to explore methods to facilitate better capturing of local experiences and impacts that ultimately reflect larger patterns, seeking to expand observations and inferences from individual case studies beyond their spatial and temporal boundaries.

Bio: Dr. Barbara Gemmill-Herren served as Delivery Manager for the Major Area of Work on Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Within the FAO, she coordinated the International Pollinator Initiative, building a global project on Pollination Services that was implemented in Brazil, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, India, Pakistan, and Nepal. She was also responsible for FAO’s work on Ecosystem Services in Agricultural Production and was engaged in FAO’s new focus on Agroecology. She currently serves as senior associate at the World Agroforestry Centre, supporting the United Nations’ work on agroecology and true-cost accounting in agriculture. In April 2018 she was appointed to the UN Committee on Food Security’s High Level Panel of Experts project team on ‘Agroecological approaches and other innovations for sustainable agrifood systems that enhance food security and nutrition’.

A reception with light refreshments will be held from 5:00 -6:00 pm. No registration is required.

A photo exhibit on agrobiodiversity and food security called “Nature and Nourishment: The Agrobiodiversity and Food Security Nexus” will also be on display.

Associated Programs