Building Resilient Food Systems Repository and Survey

Haida Gwaii Local Food to School Programme

Country / Region: Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada

Haida Gwaii is home to the Haida Nation and is a remote archipelago on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada, with a population of approximately 4,500 people. The Haida Gwaii Local Food to School (LF2S) programme was established in 2010 and uses learning circles as a form of governance to bring together community members and elders to discuss food security challenges, ideas, and pathways forward.

To avoid dependence on outside food shipments, schools participating in the programme integrate local, culturally significant foods into school meals, including game, seafood, plants, and foods grown in school gardens. The programme includes food literacy education for children, such as learning how to catch and process fish and seafood, harvest and process deer, grow food in school gardens, and learn about Indigenous plant medicines. Food harvested from school gardens is used in school meals, and food scraps and organic waste are processed through composting systems and returned to the gardens.

A key component of the programme is the “Pantry,” which functions as a food hub where food processing equipment is made available to the community, food is prepared for school meals, and canned salmon, deer, and vegetables are stored for distribution.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Haida Gwaii Local Food to School programme played a central role in coordinating an emergency food plan. In addition to school meals, food was distributed to the broader community, particularly to elders, during disruptions to ferry services that supply food to grocery stores on the archipelago. Partnerships between the Haida Nation and the Government of British Columbia support ongoing food processing infrastructure and long-term food system resilience.

The Haida Gwaii Local Food to School Programme demonstrates how Equitably Transformative Resilience (ETR) can be advanced in practice across multiple, interconnected dimensions of food systems. Its relevance to the four thematic areas of the Building Resilient Food Systems framework is outlined below.

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The Local Foods to School (LF2S) Learning Circle, Haida Gwaii, British Columbia

Incorporating traditional foods

Implementation of the Learning Circle: Local Food to School Initiative in the Island Communities of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada—a Descriptive Case Study

Participatory and locally led decision-making

The Haida Gwaii Local Food to School programme uses learning circles as a form of governance that brings together community members and elders to discuss food security challenges, ideas, and pathways to address them. These learning circles provide a space for collective discussion and decision-making related to food systems and are used to guide programme activities and responses within the community.

Directing resources toward food system resilience

The programme has been supported through partnerships between the Haida Nation and the Government of British Columbia. In 2023, the Government of British Columbia announced funding to work with the Haida Nation to support the installation of two smokehouses. These smokehouses are intended to increase the processing of traditional foods while supporting employment and training within the community.

Disaster-resilient infrastructure and policy measures

The Haida Gwaii Local Food to School programme includes local food processing and storage infrastructure that supports food security in a remote island context. The “Pantry” functions as a food hub where food processing equipment is available to serve the community, food is produced for school meals, and canned salmon, deer, and vegetables are stored for distribution.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, ferry service disruptions affected food supply to grocery stores on the archipelago. In response, the community came together under the leadership of the Haida Gwaii Local Food to School programme to coordinate an emergency food plan. Moving beyond school meals, the programme distributed food to the wider community, with particular attention to elders. The availability of locally processed and stored foods supported this response during disruptions to external food supply chains.

Support for culturally diverse food options

Schools participating in the programme integrate local, culturally significant foods into school meals, including game, seafood, plants, and foods grown in school gardens. Children learn how to harvest, process, and prepare these foods as part of food literacy education, including knowledge of Indigenous plant medicines.

Empowering marginalized groups; and small scale, diversified farms and/or farmers

The Haida Gwaii Local Food to School programme centres Indigenous community participation in local food systems by integrating locally harvested, culturally significant foods into school meals and community distribution. Through school gardens and community food processing and storage, the programme supports small-scale, place-based food production and strengthens community capacity to harvest, prepare, and share food within a remote island context.

Support for local and territorial trade

The programme strengthens local food provisioning by reducing reliance on external food shipments and increasing the use of locally harvested foods for school meals and community distribution. The Pantry supports the preparation, processing, and storage of local foods, contributing to local food availability and reinforcing territorial food systems within Haida Gwaii.

Agroecological research, innovation and technologies

The Haida Gwaii Local Food to School programme supports food diversification by integrating locally harvested, culturally significant foods into school meals, including game, seafood, plants, and foods grown in school gardens. Children learn how to harvest, process, and prepare these foods, contributing to diverse diets grounded in local food systems and Indigenous foodways.

Supporting education to support food system resilience

Schools participating in the programme provide food literacy education that teaches children how to catch and process fish and seafood, harvest and process deer, grow food in school gardens, compost organic waste, and learn about Indigenous plant medicines. These activities support informal, experiential learning that builds skills related to food security, food system resilience, and local self-reliance.

The programme connects education with practical food system skills, strengthening the capacity of youth to understand and engage with local food systems and ecosystems.

Valuing and harnessing marginalized and/or traditional knowledge systems

The programme explicitly incorporates Indigenous and traditional knowledge, including food harvesting, processing, preservation practices, and knowledge of Indigenous plant medicines. Elders and community members participate through learning circles and school-based activities, supporting intergenerational knowledge transmission.

The “Pantry” functions as a shared community space where food processing equipment is made available, food is prepared for school meals, and preserved foods are stored for distribution. This space supports collective access to food infrastructure and knowledge related to food processing and preservation.

Partnerships between the Haida Nation and the Government of British Columbia support traditional food infrastructure. In 2023, funding was announced to support the installation of two smokehouses to increase the processing of traditional foods, while supporting employment and training within the community.

TSURO Trust: Agroecology and Resilience in a Climate Crisis

Country / Region: Chimanimani District, Zimbabwe

For nearly 25 years, the Towards Sustainable Use of Resources Organization (TSURO) Trust has worked with farming leaders in Chimanimani District, Zimbabwe, to transform agricultural landscapes and livelihoods by promoting agroecological practices, and to empower rural communities to engage in sustainable and profitable agriculture and proper natural resource management. TSURO Trust applies a bottom-up, village-based, multi-stakeholder and socially inclusive approach to strengthen the capacity of rural communities to engage in sustainable and profitable agriculture and natural resource management.

For example, the organization’s Nature Plus (Nature Positive Food Systems) project aims to reach nearly 5,000 individuals (875 families) and focuses on improving livelihoods through income diversification, including apiculture, and gender-responsive solution building. The project supports agroecological practices such as maintaining 365-days-a-year crop cover, minimal soil disturbance, and sowing diverse crops. It also supports farmer-led seed systems and efforts to strengthen seed sovereignty, ecosystems, and groundwater protection.

The Nature Plus project focuses on developing inclusive land-governance structures in consultation with communities and local policymakers. These governance practices emphasize climate resilience and biodiversity while supporting vibrant and prosperous communities. By actively engaging women in decision-making processes, TSURO Trust seeks to lower the vulnerability of women and their families in the context of increasing climate uncertainty.

To scale up these practices, TSURO Trust is building relationships with government departments at local and national levels and expanding its work with individual farmers. This work is supported by strong organizational capacity for extension, partnerships and networks of trust, empowerment across individual, household, community and regional levels, and the support of funders.

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TSURO Trust Organization

Directing resources toward ETR

TSURO Trust uses support and funding to guide resources and efforts towards ETR. For example, the WFD Project is supported by Weltfriedensdienst e.V (WFD) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). This project has been using this support to bring back biodiversity and groundwater by scaling agro-ecological practices for food and nutrition security, resilience, and environmental protection. The project is being implemented through strategic and complimentary partnerships between Participatory Ecological Land Use Management Zimbabwe (PELUM Zimbabwe), Participatory Organic Research Extension and Training (PORET), and Towards Sustainable Use of Resources Organisation (TSURO) Trust. A sub-objective of the project is improving sustainable livestock and land management according to the concept of holistic land and pasture management (HLLM) and agro-ecology. The project did just that with the help of resources as can be seen through the practice of communal collective herding under the guidance of trained herders. This simple yet powerful practice is bringing back biodiversity, regenerating grasslands, and recharging underground water bodies.

Participatory and locally led decision-making

TSURO Trust adopts a bottom-up, village-based, and socially inclusive approach that centers community leadership in decision-making. Through the Nature Plus project, communities, farming leaders, and local stakeholders co-design land-governance structures in collaboration with local policymakers, ensuring that governance systems reflect local priorities while supporting climate resilience and biodiversity.

The project actively embeds gender-responsive participation by strengthening women’s roles in leadership and decision-making processes, reducing vulnerability and building resilience at both household and community levels. By integrating inclusive governance, community cohesion, and locally driven nature-based solutions, the initiative supports marginalized groups in achieving food and nutrition security, accessing markets and business opportunities, and shaping sustainable, climate-resilient livelihoods grounded in the sustainable use of agriculture.

Proactive or anticipatory action planning

TSURO Trust’s work reflects proactive planning by investing early in long-term, community-led systems that reduce climate and livelihood risks before shocks escalate. For example, the WFD/BMZ-supported project is structured around forward-looking sub-objectives like strengthening Holistic Land and Livestock Management (HLLM), improving water catchment and ecologically sensitive area management, expanding value addition and market access, and advancing shared learning and policy dialogue. Communities can anticipate drought stress, land degradation, and income volatility through coordinated action.

Similarly, Nature Plus builds anticipatory capacity by planning across nature-based solutions, landscape governance, and gender-responsive leadership, including conservation agriculture, landline design and civil works (e.g., contouring, swales, water-harvesting structures), and diversified livelihoods (e.g., aquaculture, beekeeping, mushrooms). Baseline assessments (e.g., the May 2024 Rusitu cluster study) and community implementation structures (e.g., committees with agreed rules for shared assets like solar driers) further support planned, preventative decision-making to ensure interventions are designed in advance, locally owned, and resilient over time.

Coordination and/or collaboration across sectors

TSURO Trust’s approach is grounded in multi-sectoral coordination, bringing together civil society, government, research institutions, and community actors to deliver integrated resilience outcomes. For example, the WFD/BMZ-supported project (2024–2028) is implemented through a structured partnership between TSURO Trust, PELUM Zimbabwe, and PORET, with clearly defined and complementary thematic roles across livestock and land management, water and ecological resource management, market access and value creation, and shared learning and policy engagement, ensuring alignment across environmental, livelihood, and governance sectors.

Cross-sector collaboration is also embedded in the Nature Plus Project, which works with local communities, district-level institutions, government structures, and academic partners (including CELUCT, the University of Zimbabwe, Bindura University, and Fambidzanai School of Agroecology) to integrate science, policy, and local knowledge in the design of nature-based solutions and climate-resilient livelihoods.

Initiatives such as the Seed & Knowledge Initiative and the GEF-supported aquaculture and restoration activities link farmers to government training systems, market infrastructure, and community governance structures, showing how coordination across agriculture, environment, water, education, and markets enables more coherent, scalable, and resilient food system transformation.

Gender responsive approach to emergency preparedness and contingency planning

TSURO Trust integrates gender responsiveness into resilience planning by embedding women’s leadership, participation, and decision-making into preparedness structures, rather than treating gender as a parallel or add-on theme. For example, the Nature Plus Project explicitly centers gender-responsive nature-based solutions and strengthens women’s roles in governance and leadership as part of climate adaptation planning, helping women shape preparedness, response priorities, and community contingency strategies.

In the WFD/BMZ-supported project, proactive risk reduction through Holistic Land and Livestock Management (HLLM), water resource management, and livelihood diversification reduces household vulnerability to climate shocks in ways that directly benefit women, who are often disproportionately affected by drought, food insecurity, and water scarcity. 

Across projects, community structures such as farmer committees, seed systems, shared infrastructure governance, and market groups provide platforms where women actively participate in planning, resource allocation, and decision-making. This ensures that emergency preparedness and contingency planning reflect gendered risks and livelihood realities, building resilience strategies that are socially inclusive, locally grounded, and structurally transformative rather than reactive.

Rehabilitation and ecological restoration of productive systems

TSURO Trust advances the rehabilitation of degraded landscapes and productive systems through ecologically regenerative, community-led practices that restore ecosystem function while strengthening livelihoods. For example, the WFD/BMZ-supported project uses Holistic Land and Livestock Management (HLLM) and communal collective herding to regenerate grasslands, restore soil structure, enhance biodiversity, and recharge groundwater systems.

The Nature Plus Project supports ecological restoration through conservation agriculture, agroforestry, and landline design and civil works, including soil conservation measures, water-harvesting structures, contouring, and landscape protection systems that reduce erosion, improve soil fertility, and stabilize water tables. These interventions actively rehabilitate farmland while safeguarding ecosystem services essential for long-term food production.

The GEF-supported project in the Rusitu cluster contributes to restoration through Indigenous tree nurseries, reforestation, aquaculture systems, and farmer-led land regeneration.

The Seed & Knowledge Initiative strengthens ecological resilience via community seed banks, Open Pollinated Varieties (OPV) seed systems, and locally adapted crop diversity. Together, these initiatives demonstrate how TSURO Trust restores productive systems by aligning ecological regeneration with sustainable livelihoods, biodiversity recovery, and long-term landscape resilience.

Empowering marginalized groups; and small scale, diversified farms and/or farmers

TSURO Trust’s work is grounded in empowering marginalized groups and strengthening small-scale, diversified farming systems as the foundation of resilient food systems. Across its programmes, interventions are designed to reduce barriers to participation and expand access to resources, skills, and decision-making for women, youth, and other vulnerable community members.

The Nature Plus Project targets marginalized households by promoting diversified, climate-resilient livelihoods, including aquaculture, beekeeping, mushroom production, small livestock rearing, and piped water schemes, ensuring that small-scale farmers can build multiple income streams rather than relying on single-crop or high-risk production systems. Gender-responsive programming also supports women’s leadership, economic participation, and access to markets and governance spaces.

In the WFD/BMZ-supported project, smallholder farmers are strengthened through agroecological practices, Holistic Land and Livestock Management (HLLM), regenerated pastures, improved water access, and market integration, enabling diversified production systems that enhance food security, ecological sustainability, and income stability.

The Seed & Knowledge Initiative and GEF-supported programmes empower farmers through household and community seed banks, Open Pollinated Varieties (OPV) seed systems, farmer-built aquaculture infrastructure, Indigenous nurseries, and community-governed value-addition assets (e.g., solar driers). These approaches reinforce farmer autonomy, knowledge sovereignty, and diversified production, helping small-scale farmers become leaders of transformation in resilient, regenerative food systems.

Support for local and territorial trade

TSURO Trust strengthens local and territorial trade systems by building community-based market infrastructure and farmer-led value chains. For example, through the Seed & Knowledge Initiative, farmers exchange and sell locally adapted Open Pollinated Varieties (OPV) seeds and grain through community seed outlets and the ChimaniManiBeu Seed Market Day, strengthening local seed economies and food sovereignty.

The WFD/BMZ-supported project and GEF-supported projects enhance market access and value addition through community-managed infrastructure (e.g., solar driers, local farmers’ markets, and village-based enterprises), helping small-scale producers to trade within local and territorial markets.

Support for culturally diverse food options

TSURO Trust supports culturally diverse and locally rooted food systems by strengthening production practices and food sources that reflect local traditions and diets. Through initiatives such as the Seed & Knowledge Initiative, communities preserve and exchange locally adapted Open Pollinated Varieties (OPV) seeds, which promotes indigenous crop varieties that are central to cultural food practices and traditional cuisines.

Transparent and open access knowledge sharing

TSURO Trust advances agroecological research, innovation, and locally adapted technologies through practice-based learning, participatory research, and community-led involvement. For example, the WFD/BMZ-supported project and the Nature Plus Project integrate innovations such as Holistic Land and Livestock Management (HLLM), conservation agriculture, collective herding systems, landline design, water-harvesting structures, and regenerative grazing techniques that combine traditional knowledge with ecological science. This is supported through partnerships with local universities, research institutions, and agroecology training centres (including the University of Zimbabwe, Bindura University, Fambidzanai School of Agroecology), to ensure that knowledge is co-produced and shared with communities and grounded in local regions.

Supporting education to support food system resilience

TSURO Trust strengthens food system resilience by embedding education, training, and knowledge-sharing. Through the WFD/BMZ-supported project and the Nature Plus Project, farmers, herders, and community leaders receive ongoing training in agroecology, conservation agriculture, Holistic Land and Livestock Management (HLLM), water and land stewardship, and nature-based solutions, which builds long-term adaptive capacity rather than short-term dependency. This is supported through collaboration with educational and research institutions (including the University of Zimbabwe, Bindura University, and Fambidzanai School of Agroecology), as well as community-based learning spaces such as rural knowledge centres, demonstration farms, and farmer-led training hubs. 

Valuing and harnessing marginalized and/or local knowledge systems

TSURO Trust centers local, indigenous, and marginalized knowledge systems. Across its programmes, agroecological practices, land management strategies, and livelihood systems are co-developed with communities, drawing directly on traditional ecological knowledge, land-use practices, and farmer innovation. For example, the Seed & Knowledge Initiative preserves and mobilizes locally adapted Open Pollinated Varieties (OPV) seeds, community seed banks, and indigenous farming knowledge, while the WFD/BMZ-supported project and Nature Plus Project integrates community-led grazing systems, conservation farming methods, and landscape stewardship practices rooted in local knowledge. These approaches ensure that resilience strategies are locally grounded, culturally embedded, and community-owned.

State Partnered Community Natural Farming in Andhra Pradesh, India

Country / Region: Andhra Pradesh, India

The Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) initiative in India demonstrates how effective governance and policy can drive large-scale ecological transitions. APCNF is built on decades of work with local communities and is now recognized as the world’s largest agroecological transition, engaging nearly one million farmers. The programme promotes innovative natural farming practices that improve soil health, increase yields, and strengthen resilience to climate shocks such as floods and droughts.

Governance is central to this community-led natural farming project. Initiated and funded by the Andhra Pradesh state government in 2016, Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (translating to the Farmer Empowerment Organization in English), a not-for-profit organization, links community capacity and agency with enabling structural change in government. The governance and expansion of APCNF relies on the engagement of women’s groups across Andhra Pradesh and farmer-to-farmer learning, with most adopters focusing first on a small part of their fields and gradually transitioning the entire farm.

To empower the farmers behind the transition and bridge a gap in consistent, available, high-quality data for decision-makers, the Global Agroecology Academy and the Farmer Scientist Programme have created pathways for community leaders to earn a degree through a combination of classroom and field activities, including pest identification, crop planning, mentorship, and data collection. The farmer scientists are also harnessing the collective power of APCNF to demonstrate aggregated results of agroecological transitions through consistent and high-quality data on yields, livelihoods, nutrition, pests, soil quality and other socioecological factors. Through policy support, local participation, and knowledge sharing, APCNF shows how inclusive and coordinated governance enables ETR by aligning ecological practices, social empowerment, and institutional reform.

The adoption of natural farming is voluntary, and while some farmers have adopted the APCNF practices, others have yet to transition. As such, chemical inputs are still available. Rather than a federal ban on chemicals, farmers learn how to transition from costly inputs towards integrated, ecological farming practices that enhance yields and livelihoods. This transition is happening through - and relies on - networks based on trust, local empowerment, farmer scientists, and demonstration farms.

These state-led transitions are also driving national change. In 2024, the Government of India announced a national effort to support agroecology. The India-wide Mission on Natural Farming supports a shift that follows local agroecological principles rooted in local knowledge, location-specific technologies, and practices evolved through local ecological contexts.

Learn More:

Natural Farming Through A Wide-Angle Lens: True Cost Accounting Study of Community Managed Natural Farming in Andhra Pradesh, India

Towards redesign at scale through zero budget natural farming in Andhra Pradesh, India

Evidence of potential impacts of a nutrition-sensitive agroecology program in Andhra Pradesh, India, on dietary diversity, nutritional status, and child development

Natural farming improves crop yield in SE India when compared to conventional or organic systems by enhancing soil quality

Sustainable Development Attributes of Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) to Agricultural Practices

Shaping policy to uphold the Right to Food

The Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) programme contributes to shaping policy frameworks that uphold the Right to Food by structurally aligning food production, public governance, and social equity objectives. Initiated and funded by the Andhra Pradesh state government, APCNF embeds agroecology, nutrition, health, and livelihood security into state-level development pathways, reframing food systems policy away from productivity-only models toward holistic resilience, well-being, and access to nutritious food. The programme strengthens household food security through diversified production systems, year-round cropping, improved dietary diversity, and integrated household–market farming models that enhance both availability and access to nutritious foods. Community-generated data systems on nutrition, health, livelihoods, and agroecosystem performance inform governance and policy learning, enabling evidence-based adaptation of development strategies. The scaling of APCNF has further influenced national policy direction through India’s 2024 Mission on Natural Farming, which formally commits public policy to agroecological principles rooted in local knowledge, location-specific technologies, and community-led ecological practices. Through these governance pathways, APCNF advances ETR by embedding food security, nutrition, ecological integrity, and social equity within state and national policy frameworks, contributing to the realization of the Right to Food as a structural policy outcome. 

Directing resources toward ETR 

The Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) programme demonstrates a large-scale redirection of public resources toward equitably transformative resilience (ETR) through state-led investment in agroecological transitions. Initiated and funded by the Andhra Pradesh state government in 2016, APCNF is implemented through Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS), a not-for-profit institution that links community capacity-building with structural change at the government level. Public resources are strategically directed toward farmer training, agroecological extension systems, community learning infrastructures, and locally rooted production systems that replace costly chemical inputs with farm-derived natural inputs. This includes investment in education platforms such as the Global Agroecology Academy and the Farmer Scientist Programme, which build technical capacity, data systems, and long-term leadership pathways for farmers and community organizers. Through this model, state support is not focused on input subsidies or extractive productivity models, but instead on resilience-building infrastructures that strengthen livelihoods, soil health, biodiversity, nutrition, and climate adaptation simultaneously. The scaling of APCNF has further influenced national policy direction, contributing to India’s 2024 Mission on Natural Farming, which formally commits public investment toward agroecological systems rooted in local knowledge, location-specific technologies, and community-led ecological practices, embedding ETR principles within national development pathways.

Participatory and locally led decision-making

Participatory and locally led decision-making is a foundational governance feature of the APCNF model. The transition to natural farming is voluntary and community-driven, relying on trust-based networks, farmer-to-farmer learning, women’s self-help groups, and demonstration farms rather than top-down enforcement or regulatory bans on chemical inputs. Farmers typically begin by transitioning small portions of their land, gradually expanding adoption through experiential learning and peer exchange, ensuring that decision-making remains rooted in local realities, risk perceptions, and livelihood priorities. Governance structures intentionally center community agency by pairing state-level institutional support with grassroots leadership, allowing communities to shape both implementation pathways and knowledge systems. The Farmer Scientist Programme and Global Agroecology Academy further enable local participation by empowering farmers and community leaders to become researchers, educators, and data producers through integrated classroom and field-based training. These farmer scientists generate high-quality, community-owned data on yields, soil health, nutrition, pests, and livelihoods, ensuring that knowledge production, monitoring, and evaluation remain locally embedded. Through these participatory governance mechanisms, APCNF furthers ETR by placing those most affected by environmental, economic, and climate stresses at the center of planning, learning, and transformation processes, creating a scalable model of resilience grounded in local leadership, collective agency, and community knowledge systems.

Proactive or anticipatory action planning

The APCNF model operationalizes proactive and anticipatory action planning by embedding resilience directly into agroecosystem design, governance structures, and livelihood systems rather than responding to crises after they occur. The programme focuses on long-term ecological regeneration through diversified cropping systems, continuous soil cover, integration of trees and perennials, natural input systems, and year-round production models that strengthen resilience to climate variability. These practices improve soil structure, root systems, water retention, biodiversity, and ecosystem stability, enabling farms to withstand environmental shocks before they escalate into crises. Empirical evidence from Andhra Pradesh shows that APCNF farms have demonstrated greater capacity to withstand cyclones, flooding, and drought compared to conventional systems, indicating that resilience is being built in advance through system design rather than emergency response mechanisms. Anticipatory planning is further reinforced through long-term investments in farmer education, community knowledge infrastructures, and data systems, including the Farmer Scientist Programme and the Global Agroecology Academy, which build forward-looking capacity for risk management, climate adaptation, and agroecological transition. Together, these structures create a preventive resilience model that aligns with ETR by shifting food systems from reactive crisis management toward anticipatory, systems-based transformation.

Coordination and/or collaboration across sectors

APCNF is structured around coordinated, multi-sectoral collaboration that integrates governance, agriculture, education, community development, research, and public policy into a unified resilience framework. The programme links state-level governance structures with community-based organizations through Rythu Sadhikara Samstha, creating integration between government institutions, local communities, and farmer networks. APCNF also connects farmers, women’s groups, educators, researchers, civil society actors, and knowledge institutions through learning platforms such as the Global Agroecology Academy and the Farmer Scientist Programme. This coordination enables shared data systems, participatory research, joint monitoring frameworks, and collective learning processes that span agriculture, nutrition, climate resilience, public health, and livelihoods. Local agroecological transitions also inform state governance structures and contribute to national policy shifts, as seen in the alignment with India’s Mission on Natural Farming. Through this integrated governance architecture, APCNF embodies ETR by aligning multiple sectors and institutional levels around shared resilience goals, ensuring that ecological regeneration, social empowerment, and policy reform evolve together rather than in isolation. 

Gender responsive approach to emergency preparedness and contingency planning

The APCNF embeds a gender-responsive resilience model by positioning women as central actors in governance, knowledge systems, and community coordination structures that shape preparedness and adaptive capacity. Women’s groups play a foundational role in the governance and expansion of APCNF, contributing to farmer-to-farmer learning networks, community organization, trust-based systems, and social capital formation across rural landscapes. Women significantly influence knowledge sharing, community cohesion, and collective action, strengthening community-level capacities to manage environmental, economic, and climate stresses. By embedding women’s leadership within agroecological transitions, data generation systems, and local governance structures, APCNF strengthens social resilience and adaptive capacity at the community level, which are critical foundations for effective contingency planning. Its governance model ensures that women are key agents in resilience-building processes. This approach aligns with ETR principles by integrating gender equity into the foundations of resilience governance, preparedness capacity, and long-term transformation pathways. 

Rehabilitation and ecological restoration of productive systems

The APCNF model is fundamentally structured around the ecological restoration of productive landscapes through regenerative agroecological practices. Natural farming systems within APCNF prioritize soil regeneration, biodiversity enhancement, water retention, and ecosystem restoration by replacing chemical-intensive inputs with farm-derived natural inputs and diversified cropping systems. Practices such as continuous soil cover, integrated crop planting, multicropping, perennial integration, and the incorporation of fruit trees, vegetables, herbs, and legumes within field systems actively rebuild soil structure, improve root systems, restore soil microbiology, and enhance agroecosystem functionality. These practices strengthen nutrient cycling, reduce runoff, improve water infiltration, and increase ecosystem stability, transforming degraded conventional farmlands into resilient, productive agroecological systems. Empirical evidence from Andhra Pradesh demonstrates that these restored systems are more resilient to environmental shocks such as flooding, drought, and cyclones, showing that APCNF also operates as a large-scale ecological restoration process. Through this approach, APCNF advances ETR by aligning food production with long-term ecosystem regeneration.

Empowering marginalized groups; and small scale, diversified farms and/or farmers

APCNF directly empowers small-scale and diversified farmers by centering smallholder production systems, community knowledge, and collective governance within its transition model. Small and marginal farmers have been early adopters of natural farming across Andhra Pradesh, demonstrating that farm size has not been a barrier to participation in the agroecological transition. The programme strengthens farmer agency through farmer-to-farmer learning networks, community leadership structures, women’s self-help groups, and participatory education systems that enable farmers to become educators, researchers, and decision-makers. Diversified farming systems, such as integrated cropping, mixed production systems, and year-round household and market production, reduce dependency on external and, often, volatile markets, improving livelihood stability and economic resilience for small-scale producers. By embedding knowledge production, training, and governance within communities, APCNF shifts power away from businesses and corporations, toward locally rooted, farmer-led production models. This approach furthers ETR by structurally empowering smallholder farmers and marginalized rural communities as agents of transformation.

Addressing market power imbalances and concentration

While APCNF does not directly intervene in formal market regulation or competition policy, it indirectly addresses market power imbalances by reducing farmer dependence on corporate-controlled markets and centralized supply chains. By replacing chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and external inputs with farm-derived natural inputs and locally managed production systems, APCNF weakens structural dependencies on agricultural businesses. Diversified production systems and household-market integration models reduce vulnerability to price volatility and exploitative market dynamics. APCNF transforms power relations by shifting control over production inputs, knowledge systems, and farming practices back to farmers and communities. In this way, the programme contributes to ETR by redistributing power within production systems.

Support for culturally diverse food options

APCNF actively supports culturally diverse food systems through the preservation and use of indigenous seeds, diversified cropping systems, and locally adapted agroecological practices. Farmers cultivate a wide range of traditional crop varieties, including indigenous rice strains, legumes, vegetables, herbs, and medicinal plants, supporting dietary diversity rooted in local food cultures. Integrated farming systems and household market gardens strengthen access to culturally appropriate foods while shifting diets toward more nutritious and locally valued food options. By prioritizing local knowledge, traditional practices, and regionally adapted production systems, APCNF sustains food cultures that are ecologically and socially embedded within local contexts. This approach aligns with ETR by protecting food sovereignty, cultural food systems, and community-defined dietary practices as core components of resilience and transformation.

Responsible data collection and governance

APCNF embeds responsible data collection and governance through community-based knowledge systems that place farmers and local leaders at the center of data generation, ownership, and use. The Farmer Scientist Programme and the Global Agroecology Academy create structured pathways for farmers to become trained data collectors, researchers, and analysts through combined classroom and field-based learning. Data is generated at the community level on yields, soil quality, pests, nutrition, livelihoods, and agroecosystem performance, ensuring that information systems are locally rooted, ethically produced, and socially accountable. This model shifts data governance away from extractive research practices toward participatory, community-owned knowledge infrastructures that support decision-making at local, state, and national levels. By embedding data production within community leadership structures, APCNF ensures that monitoring and evaluation systems serve farmer empowerment, policy learning, and resilience planning rather than external institutional extraction, aligning with ETR principles of equitable knowledge governance and accountability.

Agroecological research, innovation and technologies

APCNF functions as a large-scale hub for agroecological research, innovation, and technological development grounded in ecological design rather than industrial inputs. The programme integrates scientific research, participatory experimentation, and farmer-led innovation through natural input systems, diversified cropping technologies, integrated agroecosystem design, and regenerative soil management practices. Agroecological technologies include farm-derived natural inputs, integrated cropping systems, perennial integration, continuous soil cover, diversified seed systems, and ecosystem-based pest management approaches. Innovation is further institutionalized through structured research platforms such as the Global Agroecology Academy and Farmer Scientist Programme, where farmers engage in applied research, experimentation, monitoring, and system adaptation. This model advances ETR by reframing innovation away from extractive technologies toward regenerative, community-embedded agroecological systems that enhance resilience, productivity, and ecological integrity simultaneously.

Transparent and open access knowledge sharing

Knowledge sharing within APCNF is organized through open and participatory structured learning systems that prioritize accessibility, peer exchange, and community leadership. Farmer-to-farmer learning networks, demonstration farms, women’s group networks, and community training platforms enable continuous knowledge circulation across villages and regions. The Farmer Scientist Programme further supports transparent knowledge sharing by producing community-generated data that is aggregated to demonstrate collective outcomes in yields, soil health, nutrition, and livelihoods. These systems ensure that knowledge is distributed across communities, enabling learning to flow between farmers, educators, researchers, and policymakers. Through trust-based networks and open learning infrastructures, APCNF upholds ETR by treating knowledge as a shared public good.

Supporting education to support food system resilience

Education is a core structural pillar of APCNF’s resilience model. The Global Agroecology Academy and Farmer Scientist Programme create formal education pathways that combine classroom learning with field-based practice, mentorship, data collection, and applied research. These programmes enable farmers and community leaders to gain technical, ecological, and analytical capacities in pest management, crop planning, soil systems, data monitoring, and agroecosystem design. Education is treated as a continuous community-embedded learning process that builds long-term adaptive capacity and leadership. By institutionalizing education within farming systems, APCNF strengthens food system resilience through intergenerational learning, skills transfer, and community knowledge infrastructures that persist beyond project cycles. This aligns with ETR by embedding resilience within human capital development and community learning systems.

Valuing and harnessing marginalized knowledge and/or traditional knowledge systems

APCNF explicitly values and mobilizes local, traditional, and farmer-based knowledge systems as the foundation of agroecological transition. Natural farming practices are rooted in indigenous seed diversity, locally adapted farming techniques, and ecological knowledge embedded within rural communities. The programme prioritizes local agroecological principles, location-specific technologies, and community-generated knowledge over externally imposed production models. Farmer scientists, women’s groups, and community leaders function as knowledge holders and educators, ensuring that traditional ecological knowledge is structurally integrated into governance, education, and innovation systems. By centering marginalized rural knowledge systems as legitimate sources of science, data, and policy learning, APCNF advances ETR by redistributing power and restoring community authority over food system knowledge.

Monitoring and assessment systems for resilience

APCNF has established structured monitoring and assessment systems that track resilience outcomes across ecological, social, economic, and livelihood dimensions. Community-generated data systems document changes in yields, soil quality, biodiversity, nutrition, health, livelihoods, pest management, and agricultural and ecosystem performance. These monitoring systems are produced through participatory data collection via farmer scientists and community leaders, ensuring that assessment processes remain locally grounded and socially accountable. Data is used to demonstrate system-level outcomes of agroecological transitions and inform policy learning and governance decisions. This creates an integrated resilience assessment framework that moves toward holistic evaluation of socioecological resilience. Through these systems, APCNF advances ETR by embedding long-term monitoring, learning, and adaptation into the governance architecture of food systems transformation.

Increased Resilience and Food-system Capacity Building Through City-region Food System Networks in Antananarivo, Madagascar 

Country / Region: Antananarivo, Madagascar 

In the early 2000s several initiatives were implemented that later enabled the City of Antananarivo, Madagascar and its surrounding regional food system to be more agile in adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic. Vegetable gardens in schools and other areas that had been established by the Urban Agriculture Department, an existing central distribution point that eliminated intermediaries, and the creation of strategically located direct access points throughout the city translated into more stable market access for farmers and the availability of better food for consumers. These initiatives were layered on top of work done the previous decade to protect land in Antananarivo as a strategy to mitigate flooding and landslides and to address food security and nutrition. Despite shorter market hours as COVID-19 unfolded, the decision of the national government to process perishable food, in particular milk, poultry and eggs, meant that food loss was minimized and people could still access healthy food. A prior multistakeholder engagement process had resulted in a network of food-system actors that were brought together as COVID 19 emerged, which facilitated this agile reaction. Existing food-flow maps informed planning and action in response to COVID-19 and provided an example of more diversified, locally integrated food systems developed around city regions as a complement to existing food chains. Forward planning provided both resources and capacity to understand and address food-security and livelihood challenges, helping to avoid more catastrophic results. COVID-19 made it clear that human networks, physical infrastructure and supportive policies and programmes are key to resilience. In Antananarivo, multiple stakeholders who were engaged across the food system found relevant solutions that enabled a multisector food strategy, contributing to a more sustainable, economic and social approach for the benefit of the food system of Antananarivo city region and the whole national territory.

This example shows how diversity in production, markets, and governance, supported by participatory planning and local infrastructure, can foster ETR by enabling rapid adaptation, improving food access, and building long-term capacity within city-region food systems.

Learn More:

Urban agriculture as a climate change and disaster risk reduction strategy

Antananarivo defines priorities to develop a concrete action plan for improved food system resilience 

Shaping policy to uphold the Right to Food

The Antananarivo city-region food system initiatives contribute directly to shaping policy pathways that uphold the Right to Food by embedding food security, nutrition, and equitable access into urban planning and governance frameworks. Long-term investments in urban agriculture, direct farmer–consumer market systems, protected productive land, and diversified distribution infrastructure have structurally strengthened access to fresh, nutritious, and affordable food across the city region. During the COVID-19 crisis, policy decisions to continue processing perishable foods (including milk, poultry, and eggs) prevented food loss and maintained access to healthy foods, demonstrating state commitment to safeguarding food availability during systemic shocks. Multistakeholder consultations and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) supported processes further contributed to the development of a multisector food strategy for Antananarivo that prioritizes year-round access to healthy food, local supply chains, ecosystem protection, and social equity. Through these integrated governance processes, food access is treated as a public responsibility embedded in policy design, aligning the initiative with ETR principles and the structural realization of the Right to Food. 

Directing resources toward ETR

Public institutions in Antananarivo have strategically directed resources toward resilience-building food system transformation through long-term investment in urban agriculture, local food infrastructure, and city-region food system networks. Since the early 2000s, municipal support for school and community gardens, local distribution hubs, and direct access markets has strengthened local food economies and diversified supply chains. Urban planning investments to protect land from flooding and landslides further redirected resources toward ecological resilience and food system stability. National policy support during COVID-19, including continued processing of perishable foods, reflects adaptive public investment to protect food access and livelihoods. FAO-supported city-region food system processes, multisector consultations, and coordinated action planning further demonstrate institutional commitment to long-term transformation rather than short-term crisis response. Together, these investments redirect public resources toward resilient and socially inclusive food system infrastructures, advancing ETR objectives at the city-region scale. 

Participatory and locally led decision-making

Participatory and locally led decision-making is embedded within the Antananarivo city-region food system model through multistakeholder governance, community engagement, and inclusive planning processes. Long-standing collaboration between municipal authorities, community organizations, farmers, market actors, national institutions, and the FAO created a distributed governance network that was rapidly mobilized during the COVID-19 crisis. Multi-stakeholder consultation workshops brought together actors across production, processing, distribution, consumption, waste management, and governance to collectively define a shared vision for the food system and identify priority actions. Community-level initiatives such as school gardens, local access points, and urban agriculture training sites further embed local participation within food system governance. This model ensures that food system transformation is shaped through collective planning, community knowledge, and cross-sector dialogue, aligning with ETR principles of inclusive governance, shared agency, and locally rooted resilience. 

Proactive or anticipatory action planning

The Antananarivo city-region food system demonstrates strong proactive and anticipatory action planning through long-term investments made well before the COVID-19 crisis. Since the early 2000s, the Urban Agriculture Department had supported school and community vegetable gardens, established direct farmer–consumer access points, and developed a central food distribution system that eliminated intermediaries. Urban planning initiatives to protect land from flooding and landslides further strengthened the city’s adaptive capacity by preserving productive spaces within the city region. These forward-looking interventions created resilient food infrastructures, diversified supply pathways, and strengthened local market systems that enabled rapid adaptation during the pandemic. Existing food-flow maps, local production networks, and governance structures allowed decision-makers to anticipate vulnerabilities, coordinate responses, and prevent more severe food security and livelihood impacts. This demonstrates a clear anticipatory resilience model, where preparedness, planning, and system design were embedded prior to crisis rather than developed reactively. 

Coordination and/or collaboration across sectors

The Antananarivo case is structured around strong multisectoral coordination and cross-sector collaboration. A pre-existing multistakeholder engagement process had already established a network of food-system actors spanning agriculture, urban planning, distribution, governance, education, and public institutions, which was rapidly mobilized as COVID-19 emerged. Collaboration occurred across municipal authorities, the national government, the FAO, urban planning bodies, community organizations, and food system actors, enabling a coordinated response to market disruptions and supply challenges. The continuation of perishable food processing (milk, poultry, eggs), urban agriculture initiatives, distribution systems, and land-use planning illustrates integrated action across food production, infrastructure, governance, and public policy sectors. This coordination enabled the development of a multisector food strategy for the Antananarivo city region, demonstrating how cross-institutional collaboration strengthens resilience, accelerates response capacity, and supports long-term food system transformation through integrated governance.

Disaster-resilient infrastructure and policy measures

Disaster-resilient infrastructure and policy measures are a defining feature of the Antananarivo city-region food system approach. Urban planning policies to protect land from flooding and landslides preserved productive agricultural spaces while reducing disaster risk, directly linking food security with climate adaptation infrastructure. The establishment of local distribution points, central food hubs, and direct access markets strengthened physical food system infrastructure, improving stability during crisis periods. Urban agriculture initiatives functioned as living resilience infrastructure, integrating food production into flood-prone and vulnerable urban spaces while supporting water management, land protection, and ecosystem services. Policy decisions during COVID-19, including the continuation of perishable food processing, further demonstrate the role of adaptive policy in protecting food access and minimizing food loss. Together, these measures illustrate a resilience model where physical infrastructure, spatial planning, and policy interventions are integrated to reduce vulnerability to shocks and strengthen long-term food system stability.

Rehabilitation and ecological restoration of productive systems

The Antananarivo city-region food system initiatives contribute to the rehabilitation and ecological restoration of productive systems through the integration of urban agriculture into land-use planning, disaster risk reduction, and environmental protection strategies. Urban planning efforts to protect land from flooding and landslides preserved productive agricultural spaces while restoring ecological functions such as water infiltration, flood regulation, and soil stability. School and community gardens, protected agricultural zones, and urban agriculture initiatives function as regenerative landscapes that reconnect food production with ecosystem services. These productive systems simultaneously support food security, climate adaptation, and environmental restoration by transforming vulnerable urban spaces into multifunctional ecological assets. This approach aligns food production with landscape restoration, demonstrating how productive systems can be rehabilitated to serve both ecological resilience and human well-being.

Legal, legislative and regulatory means

Legal and regulatory mechanisms are embedded in the Antananarivo city-region food system through urban planning policies, land-use regulation, and territorial governance frameworks. Policies to protect land from flooding and landslides function as regulatory instruments that preserve productive agricultural spaces while reducing disaster risk. Urban planning decisions integrating agriculture into city development, school infrastructure, and public land use represent regulatory approaches that formalize food production within urban governance systems. National policy decisions during COVID-19, including the continuation of perishable food processing, further demonstrate regulatory intervention to safeguard food access and system stability. These measures show how legislative and regulatory tools are used to structurally embed food security, resilience, and sustainability into governance systems rather than relying solely on voluntary or informal mechanisms.

Empowering marginalized groups; and small-scale, diversified farms and/or farmers

The Antananarivo initiatives empower small-scale producers and marginalized urban and peri-urban communities by strengthening local food systems, urban agriculture, and territorially embedded production networks. School and community gardens, local access points, and direct farmer–consumer connections support small-scale production and diversified food systems while improving livelihood stability. The creation of direct market access structures reduces dependency on intermediaries and strengthens the economic position of small producers. Multistakeholder planning processes and community-level initiatives embed local actors as active participants in governance and food system transformation. This approach aligns with ETR by strengthening agency, resilience, and economic participation of small-scale producers and vulnerable urban populations within diversified, locally rooted food systems.

Support for local and territorial trade

Support for local and territorial trade is a core feature of the Antananarivo city-region food system model. The establishment of local access points, central distribution hubs, and direct farmer–consumer connections strengthens territorially embedded markets and short food supply chains. These systems improve local market integration, stabilize farmer incomes, and increase access to fresh food for urban consumers. Urban agriculture initiatives and city-region food networks reinforce local distribution of food, resources, and value within the territorial economy. This localized trade model enhances resilience by reducing dependence on external supply chains and strengthening city-region food sovereignty and economic stability.

Support for culturally diverse food options

The Antananarivo initiatives support culturally diverse food systems by strengthening local production, urban agriculture, and territorially embedded food networks that reflect local dietary practices and food cultures. Community gardens, school gardens, and local food markets enable the production and consumption of culturally appropriate foods rooted in local traditions and preferences. Diversified production systems and improved access to fresh foods strengthen dietary diversity while maintaining culturally relevant food practices. By embedding food production within local, social and ecological contexts, the initiative supports food systems that reflect cultural identity, local knowledge, and community-defined nutrition priorities, aligning with ETR principles of food sovereignty and cultural sustainability.

Consumer education and information

Consumer education and information are supported through school gardens, community agriculture initiatives, training sites, and participatory planning processes that build food literacy and awareness. School-based gardens function as learning spaces for urban agriculture, nutrition, and sustainable food practices, while community initiatives strengthen knowledge of local food systems, nutrition, and resilience. Multistakeholder consultations and city-region food system planning processes further promote public awareness of sustainable production, consumption, and food system transformation. These initiatives contribute to informed consumer participation, dietary awareness, and engagement with local food systems, strengthening long-term food system resilience through education and knowledge sharing.

Responsible data collection and governance

The Antananarivo city-region food system approach integrates responsible data collection and governance through the use of food-flow mapping, territorial planning tools, and coordinated information systems that inform decision-making across institutions. Existing food-flow maps were actively used during the COVID-19 crisis to guide planning, identify vulnerabilities, and coordinate responses across the food system. These data tools supported evidence-based governance by enabling authorities and stakeholders to understand supply routes, production–distribution linkages, and system dependencies. Data was embedded within multistakeholder governance processes, ensuring that information served public planning, resilience building, and coordinated action rather than isolated institutional control. This demonstrates a governance model where data functions as a shared public resource for resilience planning and food system transformation.

Transparent and open access knowledge sharing

Knowledge sharing in the Antananarivo city-region food system is structured through open, multisectoral networks and participatory planning platforms. Multistakeholder engagement processes brought together actors from production, processing, distribution, consumption, waste management, and governance to share information, co-develop strategies, and coordinate responses. Food-flow maps, consultation workshops, and joint planning exercises enabled shared understanding of system dynamics and collective problem-solving. These processes ensured that knowledge circulated across institutions, sectors, and community actors rather than remaining siloed within single agencies. Through these open and collaborative knowledge systems, the initiative supports transparent information exchange as a foundation for coordinated resilience building and food system governance.

Supporting education to support food system resilience

Education is embedded in the Antananarivo initiative through school gardens, community agriculture spaces, and training-oriented urban agriculture programs that function as learning sites for food production, nutrition, and sustainability. Public primary schools are actively engaged in converting land into vegetable gardens that supply school canteens and serve as training sites for urban agriculture practices. These spaces support food literacy, ecological awareness, and skills development while strengthening local food production capacity. Community gardens and urban agriculture initiatives further serve as informal education platforms that build long-term adaptive capacity within the city-region food system. This integration of education into food system infrastructure strengthens resilience by embedding learning, skills transfer, and knowledge building within everyday food practices.

Monitoring and assessment systems for resilience

Monitoring and assessment are embedded within the Antananarivo city-region food system through structured planning tools, resilience assessments, and food system mapping processes. The use of food-flow maps, vulnerability assessments, and FAO-supported city-region food system frameworks enables ongoing evaluation of system performance, resilience capacity, and adaptive response mechanisms. Multistakeholder consultations and policy development processes further support continuous learning and system assessment. These mechanisms allow actors to identify risks, evaluate system weaknesses, and adjust strategies to strengthen food security, livelihoods, and resilience over time. This reflects a dynamic monitoring model that integrates learning, planning, and governance into long-term resilience building.