East Africa, like many other regions in Africa, is experiencing food insecurity due to prolonged droughts, soil erosion, and changes in rainfall seasons caused by climate change and extreme weather conditions. The Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing global disputes further exacerbate the food security problem, adding to the fragility of the food system in the region. A transition towards a more climate-resilient, transparent, and sustainable food system is highly needed.
Agroecology is seen as a strategy to address the current situation, although little is known about its impacts on labor, incomes, and food security. To address this gap and assist smallholder farmers with their agroecological transition in East Africa, the PrAEctiCe project will focus on quantifying the impacts of current agroecological practices to determine their socio-economic viability.
The project has reached significant milestones with the design and construction of living labs completed in three East African countries. This crucial development provides a dynamic environment for hands-on experimentation and real-world validation of the Decision Support Tool.
The Decision Support Tool, aimed at agroecological advisors, will assess socio-economic and environmental indicators to aid farm-level decision-making. It will support the selection of optimal agroecological practices, helping farmers mitigate and adapt to their specific conditions.
The project brings together 16 consortium members from Europe and Africa, adopting a multi-stakeholder approach to develop a novel agroecology indicator set. It focuses on the circular water-energy-nutrient systems of integrated aqua-agriculture while keeping the smallholder farmer’s needs at the center.
