Farmer-led research on agroecology and nutrition in Malawi and Tanzania

Agroecology is a holistic approach to farming which takes into account social, environmental, and health concerns of food production. A long-term participatory research project with smallholder farmers in Malawi and Tanzania using agroecology will be discussed. In this research project, farmers experimented with different methods and carried out different community educational activities including theatre, sharing recipes and farmer exchanges. The overall goal is to improve farmer knowledge, families’ food availability, and nutrition all while ensuring healthy soils.

Presenter - Rachel Bezner Kerr, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in Development Sociology at Cornell University. She has published over 40 articles and book chapters in journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, World Development, and Food Policy. For the past 17 years, Dr. Bezner Kerr has worked with the Soils, Food and Healthy Communities organization in Malawi, and her work was highlighted by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food in her Malawi report.