Journal 19 - cultiver l'avenir

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Cultiver l'avenir
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cultiver l'avenir: vers des systemes alimentaires duravles et équitables

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Des solutions complémentaires et interconnectées pour un changement durable

Aujourd’hui, les défis posés par les changements climatiques varient considérablement entre les pays du Nord et ceux du Sud global, en raison des différences économiques, sociales et environnementales. Des solutions existent pour rendre les populations vulnérables, vivant principalement dans le Sud global, plus résilientes. Cela nécessite une approche systémique et inclusive, qui renforce les capacités locales et soutient des pratiques agricoles durables, tout en préservant l'environnement pour les générations futures.

Les systèmes alimentaires durables tendent à répondre à ces enjeux, en fournissant une alimentation saine tout en respectant les limites écologiques de notre planète. Pour renforcer la résilience des producteurs agricoles, il est aujourd’hui impératif de promouvoir des pratiques agroécologiques qui favorisent des systèmes de production à la fois productifs et durables. L'agroécologie permet de valoriser la biodiversité, d’améliorer la santé des sols, de réduire l'utilisation de pesticides et d'engrais chimiques, et de soutenir les savoirs et les pratiques locales. Elle intègre des aspects sociaux et économiques en cherchant à renforcer l'autonomie des exploitations agricoles familiales.

En adoptant des pratiques agricoles durables, en gérant efficacement les ressources naturelles, en renforçant les chaînes de valeur locales et en promouvant la justice sociale, il est possible de créer des systèmes alimentaires qui nourrissent la population mondiale tout en préservant l'environnement et en favorisant l'équité économique et sociale. La collaboration internationale, l'innovation technologique et l'engagement des communautés locales sont essentiels pour réussir cette transition vers des systèmes alimentaires durables.

Il est urgent de construire un avenir plus résilient, équitable et respectueux de l'environnement. Sans relâche, nos équipes et partenaires se battent pour cet idéal. Dans cet engagement, les systèmes alimentaires durables, les chaînes de valeur agricoles et l'agroécologie sont nos meilleurs alliés : des solutions complémentaires et interconnectées pour enclencher le changement.

Doriane Desclée
Référente thématique Systèmes Alimentaire Durable

 

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Chanmony Sean, a researcher at the Cambodia Development Research Institute, is currently doing a doctoral thesis on the agroecological transition in Cambodia, as part of our project “Agroecology and Safe food System Transitions (ASSET)”.

The overall objective is to build a tool and a methodology adaptable to local contexts, in order to evaluate agroecological systems in transition and support the actors of this transition. Chanmony has already conducted a critical review of current tools, their uses, their effects and their limits.

"The next steps in my work will be to identify the challenges and needs in terms of agroecological transitions and assessment and, finally, to develop adequate tools and methodologies to assess agroecological systems and support stakeholders in this transition," he explains.

Through this work, we hope to best support family farming and rice-growing systems in their transition to agroecology, in order to develop healthy and environmentally friendly production systems.

To address the major inequalities arising from the globalization of markets, Louvain Coopération has been working for several years to develop sustainable food systems. To achieve this, we are developing an integrated and systemic approach that aims to optimize each link and support each actor in the chain, from field to plate.

Did you know that in Togo, as in most African countries, Asian rice costs less than locally produced rice? This example, chosen among many others, illustrates the ineptitudes born from the globalization of our food systems. A globalization that creates great inequalities and tends to keep the countries of the South in a role of basic agricultural production with low yields, unprofitable and very dependent on the fluctuation of prices at the global level.

Louvain Coopération has been working for several years to develop sustainable food systems, i.e. those that respect the environment, producers and the health of consumers. To achieve this, we need to work holistically and territorially, on all the elements of the system and their interrelationships, because a food system includes all the elements, factors and activities related to a food product, from its primary production to its final consumption, including the externalities generated by these activities, including socio-economic and environmental impacts.

In a context where global food systems are facing major challenges, knowledge diversification becomes essential for their sustainable and equitable transformation. The article "Knowledge Democratization Approaches for Food Systems Transformation", co-authored by a group of researchers, including Amaury Peeters, Head of our Research & Development Department and published in May 2024 in the journal Nature Food, highlights the importance of integrating traditional, indigenous and local knowledge into decisions relating to food systems. It identifies several fundamental principles for democratizing knowledge and policy processes.

The article then illustrates various initiatives in different contexts that apply these principles, and proposes three key recommendations: epistemic justice, intercultural co-creation and mutual exchange of knowledge. These principles invite us to reconsider what is perceived as proof and aim to recognize the validity of unconventional knowledge, to foster its dialogue with science and to promote intercultural collaboration. The article is also part of a broader collective work, illustrated by the publication of the compendium "The Politics of Knowledge" in 2022.

From Peru to Cambodia, via Madagascar and Benin, our teams and partners support thousands of actors in food systems: agricultural producers, but also groups and entrepreneurs who make a living from the processing of agricultural products.

Our goal: to enable them to improve their yields, while preserving the land that feeds them. By experimenting and integrating new practices, they become more resilient to climate hazards, obtain fair compensation for the work provided and improve their living conditions.

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