The four-month course aims to train young producers and farmers on sustainable agriculture
Slow Food, in collaboration with its local networks in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo, has launched the Building Local Economies in East Africa through Agroecology project, funded by the Agroecology Fund. The initiative, which will run until February 2021, aims to support the development of agroecological food systems, improve knowledge and communication on agroecology and include agroecology in policy frameworks.
The first activity within the project is a Slow Food Academy on Agroecology, a four-month course organized by Slow Food Uganda and Slow Food Kenya, which will take place across both countries with the participation of some Tanzanian and DRC delegates.
The Academy aims to create a regional coordination linking all Slow Food projects and their practices on agroecology with the aim of reinforcing and spreading effective and cost-efficient agroecological solutions, in order to guide local producers and farmers toward a new agricultural system. Specifically, after an introduction on Slow Food and agroecology, the modules will focus on ecological, organic agriculture, education, and raising awareness of agroecology, the philosophy of good, clean and fair food, and effective advocacy and activism for a sustainable, ecological food system.
«The Academy represents an occasion to train a new leadership who will shape the future of agriculture in Africa and elsewhere. The participants will have the possibility to discuss solutions to contemporary challenges and lay the foundations for an economically-viable food system», comments Edie Mukiibi, Slow Food Vice-President. The participants are all young people aged between 18 and 35 years old, a mixture of farmers, agriculture professionals and indigenous peoples, who will meet four days per month from the end of January until May. 
The project
By spreading agroecological practices and strengthening farmers’ knowledge of agroecological farming, the project Building Local Economies in East Africa Through Agroecology funded by the AgroEcology Fund aims to boost local economies and improve the livelihoods of communities in Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania.
This will be done by enhancing market opportunities based on direct contact between producers and consumers, which generates higher incomes, more employment and well-being (as a deep multiplier effect) and contributes to a new narrative around agroecology. This narrative is essential for a wider cultural shift towards considering agroecology “the agriculture of the future” and in order to advocate for long-lasting change.
For further information on the Academy please contact
Edie Mukiibi – [email protected]
John Kariuki – [email protected]