Session moderator: Mila Sell, LUKE
Session keynote speakers: Christine Chege, CIAT and Quirico Migheli, UNISS

Session panelists: Celine Termote, Bioversity-CIAT (Kenya); Amritbir Riar, FiBL (Switzerland); Shem Kuyah, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (Kenya)

This session explores how agroecological practices and sustainable plant protection offer complementary strategies to enhance food security, nutrition, and resilience in food systems. Agroecology emphasizes biodiversity-based solutions, aligning with FAO’s 10 elements and  Agroecology Europe’s13 principles, particularly those promoting food diversity, culture, values, and fariness. Agrobiodiversity strategies play a key role in improving nutrition by supporting indigenous seed systems and scaling up underutilized species. Engaging local actors in nutrition-sensitive agriculture is essential, while ensuring awareness and education are pursued through a justice lens. Scientific evidence must be co-designed with grassroots movements to develop locally relevant solutions that enhance both food security and food safety.

Sustainable plant protection (SPP) represents the other side of the same coin, encompassing diverse agroecological practices to sustainably manage pests while maintaining environmental and human health. This includes biological control methods, cultural practices like intercropping and crop rotation, and the selection of resilient crop varieties, particularly underutilized species adapted to local conditions. Participatory research has validated traditional knowledge-based biopesticides, strengthening their role in sustainable farming. These strategies collectively enhance biodiversity, soil health, and natural pest regulation, reinforcing the sustainability of food production systems.

Back to full programme