Sustainable agriculture
Arundhati Roy
Current situation
Around one third of the planet's land surface is used for agriculture. Nitrates, phosphates and pesticides are making the land infertile – land that can be fertile and productive when it is respected through sustainable farming practices. Never have the world's natural resources been under so much pressure. Crop and livestock production is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases and the main cause of biodiversity loss worldwide. Rather than feeding humanity – all of humanity – crop and livestock production could instead lead to its demise. Unless ...
Scope of the projects funded
In this focus sector, the Foundation aims to participate in addressing the environmental, social and economic challenges involved in a sustainable agriculture that focuses on the needs of the world's poorest populations. The projects we fund are in areas where the environment is most degraded or under greatest threat, and where local populations are most at risk.
The projects funded by the Foundation take the following factors into account:
1. development of good farming practices (crop diversification; solutions that respect water resources; elimination of chemical inputs; agroecology; agroforestry, etc.)
2. capacity building for representative bodies
3. scaling up through a serious implication of local and/or national authorities, and support and advocacy actions to promote policies favorable to the replication of these sustainable approaches
4. local recognition of the right of populations to develop their land, from public awareness initiatives to practical applications
5. development of community entrepreneurship (small business and crafts activities; organization of production, distribution and sales networks, etc.)
6. greenhouse gas mitigation and/or adaptation to climate change
7. other cross-cutting themes highlighted by the Foundation in its Selection Criteria, such as a rights-based approach, innovation, scaling-up, a gender perspective, and sexual and reproductive health needs, particularly of women and girls.
