As a young African with a farming background, like many out there, I cannot underestimate the contributions of agroecology to the sustainability of our fragile ecosystems. It is undeniable that African land is being destroyed by short sighted industrial monocultures. And it’s evident that agroecology works to preserve the important resources and communities that are destroyed by industrial agriculture.

Agroecology is gaining interest amongst many small scale farmers in Africa and especially in Uganda where they still mostly control agriculture and food production. They are finding in agroecology elements of traditional African systems, reversing the trend towards monocropping and feeding themselves during lean seasons. Production does not encroach upon the health of their families, communities or natural resources. Unlike the ‘production gospel’ that only benefits seed monopolies and agrochemical dealers, agroecology does not promote profit at the expense of the environment or other people. It is unfortunate that some young producers are swept into believing the propaganda of quick returns from their farms. They turn a blind eye to healthy production techniques and ignore calls for sustainability.

I appeal to all fellow young African farmers, agronomists and food activists to resist the seed of greed sown by multinational profit oriented agro-input dealers that force us to believe that the excessive consumption, waste and extreme destruction of resources we have today is normal and fair. Agroecology offers different ways of farming and eating that safeguard our future and that of those who will come after us.

Edward Mukiibi (ediemukiibi@gmail.com) is the national coordinator of Slow Food in Uganda and the Vice President of Slow Food International.

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I saw a film recently about the leftovers of war in Afghanistan’s northern province of Badakhshan. It is a beautiful film that shows the resourcefulness and strength of youth. But like most media and the stories we read about the region, its focus is on violence, the undeniable, under-the-skin truth of something that has been etched into the collective soul of a people. There is hope, but it is difficult to see where hope might cling to and how it will transform itself into something tangible in the lives of these young people.I wrote a book about Badakhshan, together with my friend Jamila Haider. We didn’t mention war as much – our book is about food and agriculture, and the culture and identity that spring from them. The war is now largely absent in the Pamir Mountains, the part of Badakhshan where we worked. When we began to write about Pamiri food, we wanted simply to document elders’ recipes. That way, we hoped their crops and unique varieties of fruit and grains would continue to be used in the future. But as we began to cook together and hear the old people’s stories, food revealed a quiet power: “look around,” a grandfather told us over a bowl of soup, “everything you see, the fields, the canals, the soil, the seeds, the stones of the mills… we made it ourselves. With our own hands. No help.” Where war and peacebuilding, and generally the efforts of development agencies, are external forces far beyond the reach of ordinary farmers, the making of local, traditional food, rooted in traditional crops and agricultural practices, is a source of strength, ability and culture – something to channel the energy of young Pamiris that is very different from war.

Seen in this broader way, food is a powerful tool for young farmers to make sense of the present, to explain drastic changes in landscape, trade, and social relations, and so to imagine a future of their own, unmarred by the unyielding presence of corruption, violence, and foreign markets. In the past two decades, as the role of markets increased, over two thirds of young Pamiri men have left their mountains in search of money. Farming is not an easy source of income. However, the Russian ruble crisis is now forcing many of them back to their land. Many have forgotten or never learnt how to farm. The knowledge they need is not in the hands of development agencies, it is with their elders within their communities. The coming years are crucial for young farmers to reconnect not only to their land, but also to the knowledge and crops of their elders.

Frederik van Oudenhoven (34) (fvanoudenhoven@gmail.com) is a co-author, with Jamila Haider, of ‘With our own hands’, a book in English, Dari and Tajik, about the cultural and agricultural history of the Afghan and Tajik Pamirs. The book was awarded 2016 ‘cookbook of the year’ by the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

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Between the 26th and 30th of October in Cluj Napoca, Romania, the second Nyéléni Europe Forum for Food Sovereignty will be held. Drawing together between 700 – 1000 older and younger participants from 42 countries throughout wider Europe, it will serve as a celebration of the full spectrum of the food sovereignty movement comprising peasants and small farmers, fishers, pastoralists, shepherds,indigenous peoples, trade unions, consumers groups, NGOs, local authorities, researchers and many others.

The richness and diversity of the movement shows how increasing numbers of people, organisations and networks are coalescing around the shared language of food sovereignty and agroecology. It is also testament to the vast knowledge that is being co-created by these groups on how to organise food and agricultural systems that work both for people and the environment. It is crucial that those who care for, work on, live on the land and produce plentiful and healthy food are at the centre of that system.

In contrast to the assumption that knowledge trickles down from above, the global Nyéléni movement starts from the grassroots level. We look at how knowledge can be built from the bottom-up, through exchanges between people with different backgrounds and experiences, and can contribute towards shared strategies for building a more food sovereign Europe. The creativity and energy of young people is key in this process. Without shying away form the contradictions, tensions and challenges that such a project brings with it, the Nyéléni process acts as a safe and inclusive space for the exchange of good practices, skills and experiences.

These kinds of spaces are constantly under threat by those who wish to practice a narrow, elitist form of knowledge creation. There are constant efforts to co-opt the core concepts of food sovereignty activists, such as the dangerous mingling between agroecology and climate smart agriculture or sustainable intensification. Under the mantra of ‘resist, build and transform’, the global Nyéléni movement thus seeks to put forward both defensive and proactive strategies for furthering food sovereignty based on horizontal knowledge sharing and creation. We believe that such a democratising approach to knowledge is essential to making the vision of food sovereignty a reality, in Europe and beyond. We warmly invite you to become a part of this exciting process.

Ludwig Rumetshofer and Sylvia Kay

Ludwig Rumetshofer (31) is a farmer and a member of ÖBV- Via Campesina Austria. Sylvia Kay (29) is a researcher with the Transnational Institute in the Netherlands.

They are part of the steering committee for the Nyéléni Europe Forum in October 2016. For more information: info@nyelenieurope.net.

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