Tropentag, September 11 - 13, 2024, Vienna "Explore opportunities... for managing natural resources and a better life for all"

Supporting locally driven agroecological transformation through agroecological living landscapes (ALLs): A practical toolkit for implementation

¹The Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT, Germany
²The Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT, Kenya
³International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Natural Resources and Resilience Strategies Unit, Germany
⁴French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), Mexico
⁵The Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT, Italy
⁶The Center for International Forestry Res. and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), Kenya
⁷International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Sri Lanka
⁸The Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT, Colombia

Abstract

The identification, development, and scaling of agroecological solutions (technological and institutional) should be grounded in local needs, priorities, and constraints; informed by a comprehensive understanding of the agri-food system context; and guided by local stakeholders’ shared vision. A core challenge for agroecology researchers and implementing partners therefore involves how to effectively support and enable such locally led agroecological transformation. In pursuit of this, the CGIAR Transformational Agroecology Initiative developed the concept of Agroecological Living Landscapes (ALLs), which serve as multi-stakeholder structures for action research and co-design of solutions. In this digital toolkit, we explain the principles behind and provide guidance around the set-up of ALLs, which aim to organise local actors, identify needs, develop visions, and collaboratively craft and implement localised solutions that embrace agroecological principles. Through several modules, the kit provides practical guidance for researchers and implementing partners around principles of engagement, methods for assessing actor agency and behaviour change pathways, vision-to-action exercises, stakeholder and policy mapping, fair and inclusive business plan development, and methods for co-designing innovative agroecological practices and technologies. We draw on past ALL experiences in South America, Asia, and Africa to illustrate lessons learned, with attention to challenges around governance, gender sensitivity and social inclusion, power dynamics, and other topics. We also reflect and build on key action research methodologies. Methods documentation are supported with video testimony from ALL organisers and participants in locations around the world. With this toolkit, we aim to enable wider application of the ALL approach to supporting agroecological transformation led by local stakeholders and informed by scientific evidence.

Keywords: Action research, agroecology, co-design, knowledge co-production, living labs, toolkit

Contact Address: Rachel Voss, The Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT, Mittenheimer Straße 19, 85764 Oberschleißheim, Germany, e-mail: rcvossgmail.com