To understand the context for our rural communities, the CANALLS project conducted a thorough analysis of needs, settings, and practices in our ALLs. This also included mapping of the food systems, value chains, and markets for agroecological products. Our analysis was informed by a literature review complemented by targeted surveys with local communities. These surveys involved focus group discussions, household surveys, and interviews with traders and decision-makers. The findings provided valuable insights into the biophysical characteristics of existing farming systems, the socio-economic conditions of our focal rural communities, indigenous knowledge and practices, the value chains and markets for coffee, cocoa, cassava, rice, and maize. In parallel, we examined policies, systemic factors, trade-offs, and synergies related to transitioning to agroecological farming through interviews and focus group discussions with policymakers and local decision makers in our four target countries.
The final step in our analysis involved evaluating available support services in these countries using the Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems (AKIS) framework. The knowledge generated from this analysis has informed our current activities and will continue to guide future planned activities in the project.
Concurrently, we developed an operational plan for our ALLs to guide their establishment and the formation of their multi-actor communities. This plan outlines the steps needed to set up an ALL and includes a monitoring and evaluation framework to ensure successful activity implementation. Agroecology training sessions were conducted at each ALL, and the multi-actor communities were established following a thorough selection process. The ALLs are now prepared to implement the agroecological practices (AEPs) chosen for each site, based on the co-creation process and methodology we developed.
In the phase of developing methodologies and tools to support the transition to agroecological farming practices, we began with a literature review of existing methods for co-creating optimal AEPs and assessment tools for agricultural and agroecological sustainability. This review established the baseline for co-developing methodologies, means, and tools to facilitate agroecological transitions. An initial version of a methodology for co-creating optimal agroecological combinations was created, and applied in our ALLs to select the first AEPs to test. Our review of agroecological sustainability assessment tools led to the selection of the Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE) as the most suitable for the CANALLS project. We have made necessary modifications to TAPE to meet our specific needs. In parallel, we are developing the first version of our Decision Support Tools (DSTs) based on discussions and feedback from expert workshops and the CANALLS Advisory Board.
Throughout the project, a series of management and coordination as well as dissemination activities have been completed highlighting the progress and activities of the CANALLS project.
