Belén Arenas makes the case for an education that supports peasant youth to continue working on the land while maintaining their culture and dignity. I was born in Los Leones, a small community in the province of Mendoza, Argentina, about 300 km from Mendoza’s capital. The 15 families that form our community have lived there … Read more

Finnbjørn Vang is a fisher in Northern Europe working towards his vision of fair fish. My name is Finnbjørn Vang. I’m 38 years old and I help my dad run a small fishing business  in  Klaksvík  on  the  island  of Borðoy in the Faroe Islands. We have two boats and we are part of the … Read more

In India, pastoralists have long struggled to make their voices heard. Cultural and religious differences have exacerbated this situation. But a new initiative is allowing them to assert their identity, identify as a collective, and generate political momentum. The Pastoral Parliament represents a key space for pastoralists to meet, discuss and take decisions about the … Read more

Exodus of youth is one of the main problems of rural communities in Mediterranean Europe. The declining rural population is counterbalanced by migrants that have come to live and work in the countryside. Paradoxically, it is thanks to migrant shepherds that ancient pastoral traditions are kept alive and productive. But there are many challenges that … Read more

“After my university education I felt I had to work for change in my community.” Paine Eulalia Mako is a Masaai and a pastoralist in Tanzania. She works to connect grass roots and national level campaigns for pastoralists’ land rights. Much of her work is about empowering women to take the lead and claim what … Read more

In her last regular column for Farming Matters, Elizabeth Mpofu makes a plea for governments to listen to pastoralists, particularly the women among them. As a way of life that goes back thousand years, pastoralism has played a very important role in shaping societal relations and defining our diets, culture and religion. While always in … Read more

Willis Okumu highlights how young educated pastoralists are bringing a new paradigm of governance and peace building  to Northern Kenya. Several pastoralist groups inhabit the semiarid areas of Northern Kenya: the Samburu, Pokot, Turkana, Borana and Rendille. Since its independence in 1963, this part of the country and its people have been marginalised and routinely … Read more

My name is Pervin Çoban Savran and I am a pastoralist from Turkey. I am a member of Sarıkeçililer, which is an association fighting to improve pastoralists’ living conditions and to preserve pastoralist culture. In the past, there used to be other pastoralists in this part of the country, but they have long adopted a … Read more

Patrick Holden is a farmer and director of the Sustainable Food Trust, an organisation in the United Kingdom providing leadership, influencing research and policy and sharing information on the sustainable transition of food systems. In this article Holden tells his story of True Cost Accounting, an initiative that addresses the invisible costs of so called … Read more

Agroecology has come to stay within the northern Nigerian state capital city of Kaduna. The farmers now produce more diversified products all year round. Over the past two years, the practice of intercropping has spread from farmer to farmer. Although formal support for their practices are lacking, the farmers remain hopeful that this will change. … Read more