Agriculture in Action: forums, innovation and creativity in the SAN Network (20-26 October)

From West Africa’s innovation fairs to community-led restoration in the Amazon, SAN members spent last week turning big ideas into field-ready action. Across the network, we saw science and policy pull together around resilient production; restoration framed with measurable outcomes; markets and standards pushed toward transparency and value-sharing; rights defended so communities can steward their landscapes; and agroecological know-how shared from farm plots to public forums.

Innovation & farmer capability

In West and Central Africa, CORAF’s Market of Innovation and Technology for Agriculture (MITA 2025) energized an innovation corridor where researchers, extensionists, and policymakers explored integrated soil management and debated how to industrialize the rice sector without losing sight of farmer realities.

At the farm edge, CABI kept integrated pest management front and center—sharing practical guidance from mango mealybug to chilli black thrips—while elevating digital literacy initiatives for women farmers and mapping career pathways through a seven-level agronomy skills framework.

MELCA Ethiopia added a governance lens, convening a national workshop on AI and gene editing so emerging technologies advance agriculture and biosafety together.

REEDS Pakistan and Cotton Connect are collaborating in a series of trainings for farmers. The topics include an overview of the cotton supply chain, technical advice on the best handling of the product to ensure quality and the identification of features that are preferred by buyers.

Nature restoration & biodiversity

Complementary stories anchored the week’s nature agenda. Fundación Global Nature rallied a broad coalition to urge EU leaders toward targeted, transparent biodiversity funding and insisted that restoration be monitored and compared to verify real ecological recovery.

On the ground in Caquetá, Fundación Natura Colombia showcased community-led restoration—replanting an area equivalent to dozens of football fields—and carried those lessons to the IUCN World Conservation Congress. Meanwhile, in Romania, Fundatia Adept amplified the productivity case for biodiversity, spotlighting how natural pollinators underpin both healthy ecosystems and farm prosperity.

Community knowledge & agroecology

RAAA Perú connected food safety to soil health through hands-on practices—compost teas, bocashi, humus—while raising public awareness on pesticide residues and moderating dialogues on agroecological territories and Participatory Guarantee Systems. The throughline: practical, locally owned knowledge that strengthens both households and territorial leadership.

Another fruitful week of collaborating

Taken together, this week’s stories trace a coherent arc: innovation that is people-centered and policy-aware; restoration that proves its impact; markets that reward transparency and share value fairly, and community knowledge that scales. That’s the SAN network in motion—aligning science, justice, and markets to grow food systems that restore nature and livelihoods in tandem.