Good people,

The month of May is here and yet the rains show no signs of reducing...what do SEEDS have to do with floods and droughts, you may ask? Everything! Seeds give life and with life, the ecosystem, in all its diversity and resilience, has evolved organically, over millennia.

• Seeds are an important entry point for development interventions, including achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Seeds, in their most diversified and natural form, can deliver an array of benefits for smallholder farmers and consumers;These benefits range from improved nutrition and food security to better livelihoods and resilience to climate change.
• There is a serious threat to diversified seed: Corporate multinational’s disrespect for seed diversity and their insatiable greed for profits and the ensuing monopolistic food system is a threat that is contributing to deteriorating environmental and human health: There are, however, concerted efforts to change this narrative: Professor Olivier De Schutter, the former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food(2008 – 2014) and the co-Chair of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems(IPES-Food), has , recently written on the need for a shift from Uniformity to Diversity and for Consumers to Citizens: A dual transition. SEED democracy and diversity is at the heart of this paradigm shift: http://www.ipes-food.org/images/CoreDocs/BEmag2_Prof.-Oliver-De-Schutter_article_-p-11-13.pdf
• What does seed diversity have to with improved livelihoods and food security? Here is a self-explanatory video featuring the Masai of Kenya and how they are coping with weather extremes, with the assistance of pastoralist friendly technology. https://www.pciglobal.org/afriscouthttps://www.pciglobal.org/afriscout/
• And did you know that ITPGRFA is the only international legally binding instrument that recognizes Farmers’ Rights? The United Nation’s Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources in Agriculture (ITPGRFA) both acknowledge the contribution of farmers in the development and conservation of agricultural diversity (including seeds) and set up mechanisms to facilitate the flow of genetic materials that are important for agriculture. Seed is the most important agricultural INPUT.
• Are there policy frameworks to protect our seed biodiversity? Are there African based policy frameworks to address protection of seed variety and FMSS? YES: http://www.aripo.org/services/traditional-knowledge
• What is the way forward towards preserving, protecting and saving our diversified seeds? ”At the pan-African level farmers, support organizations, consumers, experts and a wider range of social movements and stakeholders must come together in a long-term consultative process to critically discuss the state of Farmer Managed Seed Systems(FMSS) on the continent, elaborate a shared vision and the potential policy frameworks or mechanisms to effectively support and develop resilient FMSS. http://afsafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SEED-POLICY-ENG-ONLINE-SINGLE-PAGES.pdf

March is here and with it the beginning of the rains; this has double significance...

• Firstly, in the recent past, i have hardly woken up a happier person…I heard and “smelt” the rains last night.. and this morning, saw the evidence…finally, the month old paspalum grass, in my front lawn, can start shooting, upwards...as if to say, “thank you to God” or it is “thank you Mother Nature”: the second reason is that the start of the rains marks a significant closure to the life and times of Sue Edwards who passed on the 14^th of February, last month,…a great warrior, a great matriarch: This month’s blog article is a dedication to her tireless efforts in the advancement of the agro-ecological Movement…a befitting tribute to Sue Edwards…her spirit lives on…
• Who was Sue Edwards? Some of us prefer to remember her, for lack of better works as a gentle visionary, a trail blazer, a pioneer, who believed in agro-ecological food systems… who demonstrated it in practice…and who encouraged many of us, with some of those quotes: “take over from where we have reached”…”when I see people like you in the movement, I feel confident and happy that the Movement is in safe hands…” here is a link to some of her words of wisdom and teachings: African can Feed itself:
  the video captures her sharing an overview of the Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD), which she helped establish and how she successfully applied Indigenous Knowledge to increase food production in Ethiopia.
• One of the Movement followers explains, from a public health physician’s point of view, reasons as to why Ecological Organic Agriculture is the future of agriculture and food security/sovereignty; and why we should advocate for policy review to reduce and finally, eliminate the use synthetic fertilizers and chemicals in the food chain: Dr. Mokaya, of Organic Consumers Alliance, explains why “Your health is your First Wealth” and that the “The Future is Organic”:
• What are some of the most serious threats and challenges to the adoption of agro-ecological organic and related food systems? It is gene editing and related synthetic biology technology: The architects of dangerous and unsafe technologies are hell-bent to “adulterate” the gene pool, through the reckless use of GMO like technology aka gene editing: Gene editing in the newest threat and enemy of biodiversity and Nature, as we know it today: Here is the evidence: http://www.etcgroup.org/content/reckless-driving-gene-drives-and-end-nature
• It this threat real? YES. It is already happening in Burkina Faso: Here: https://acbio.org.za/press-release-no-benefit-imminent-release-risky-gm-mosquitoes-burkina-faso/?
• And in Brazil:https://www.brasildefato.com.br/2018/02/06/governo-brasileiro-quer-impor-a-liberacao-de-novos-transgenicos-sem-nenhum-controle/ (there is an English translation)…the regulators seem to have conspired to ignore UN protocols!

What are some homegrown solutions which Sue Edwards would have recommended?

• Firstly, we identify the problem: That is, unsafe and unhealthy agro-chemically produced foods, under the current Industrial-Chemical system and related food production systems; this is harmful to the environment, the soil and human health: Here is the evidence showing how the pesticide residues affect children’s’ IQs and harm pregnant women, disproportionately. http://www.gmwatch.org/en/news/latest-news/17661-organic-foods-backed-by-landmark-report-warning-pesticides-far-more-dangerous-than-was-thought
• Secondly, we recommend a homegrown solution: To adopt agro-ecological food systems to produce(and consume) organic foods, mostly vegetables, as recommended by WHO and supported by the latest studies, which show a reduction on non-communicable diseases(NCDs), among other nutritional and health benefits: http://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/177778/eating-more-fruits-vegetables-prevent-millions/ and here the scientific publication: https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/46/3/1029/3039477
• Closer home, are there any local African studies supporting what Sue Edwards promoted and believed in? Yes: That indigenous knowledge, especially of African Indigenous Vegetables can not only protect and nourish the soil but can also produce enough nutrient rich and safe vegetables to sustainably feed its people: Dr. Onyango et al, of Organic Consumers Alliance(OCA), http://organicconsumers.co.ke/about-us/leadership-profiles.html discusses two African indigenous vegetables; Spider Weed and African Nightshade and makes, evidence based, recommendations on the way forward: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271658566_Current_status_on_production_and_utilization_of_spider_plant_Cleome_gynandra_L_an_underutilized_leafy_vegetable_in_Kenya and here: for African Nightshade: http://www.sciencedomain.org/abstract/15480

The month of April is here and with it the torrential floods seem to have subsided or have they?

• What is contributing to these alternating droughts and floods and what is the solution?
• Who may be contributing to these negative climate changes and knowingly (or unknowingly) contributing to increased vulnerability of those who sustainably feed the world; the small scale farmer? The World Bank and allies perhaps? Here is the evidence: http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/2018/03/wrongdoings-business-rankings-corporate-take-agriculture/

• Are there sustainable and climate friendly alternatives to feeding the world with safe, nutritious and healthy foods while at the same time improving the livelihoods of small scale farmers and mitigating climate change? Yes: Regeneration Agriculture, which applies the science of agro-ecology is one such farming system: http://regenerationinternational.org/why-regenerative-agriculture/
• Who else is promoting unsustainable industrial chemical agriculture that is based on high external inputs and that impoverishes the family farmer while protecting the interests of multinationals in what can only be described as an “unholy alliance”? https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/unholy-alliance-five-western-donors-shape-pro-corporate-agenda-african-agriculture
• France, has since then, re-evaluated its position and pulled out the “unholy alliance” platform of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition (NAFSN)) and, instead, support agro-ecology and related agro-ecological farming systems: https://www.globalagriculture.org/whats-new/news/en/33010.html
• Is there any recent evidence that multinationals and corporate interests are “pushing” for MORE use of chemicals in agriculture, including those which are linked to negative health (and environmental effects), like glyphosate? Yes: Here; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajim.22811
• Other than Regenerative Agriculture, is there recent evidence that organic agriculture, which is based on the science of agro-ecology, can improve incomes and yield, sustainably? YES. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2765969

• Do we have evidence that agro-ecological farming and food consumption systems are a viable alternative to the current industrial chemical food system? YES: https://foodtank.com/news/2018/04/jose-graziando-da-silva-agroecology-path-sustainable-development/