🌱 Agriculture in Action: SAN Member Highlights for May 2025

Over the past month, SAN member organizations have made impressive strides toward building a more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive agricultural future. Through community engagement, biodiversity initiatives, climate-smart practices, and systemic innovation, their work exemplifies SAN’s mission to transform agriculture into a force for regeneration and equity. Below is a summary of the latest member contributions from late April through May 23, 2025—each a reflection of SAN’s Strategic Goals for 2025–2030.

Stay connected to our blog for more updates from our global impact network!

🌿 Climate-Smart Agriculture and Biodiversity at the Forefront

CABI has demonstrated leadership in ecosystem protection and pest management. In the UK, they continued their fight against invasive species by releasing a specific rust fungus to control Himalayan balsam (Facebook) and promoting the psyllid to tackle invasive knotweed (Facebook). In Kenya, they introduced new Kinale kale varieties resistant to pests (Facebook) and emphasized the importance of IPM to protect declining pollinator populations (Facebook; LinkedIn).

They also expanded regional trainings, such as helping Iraqi experts combat fall armyworm (Facebook; LinkedIn) and highlighting pest risk training for Kenyan crops (Facebook).

CORAF celebrated biodiversity through the lens of agriculture, highlighting that “the diversity in our fields means health on our plates” (Facebook). They spotlighted fruit and vegetable biodiversity, seed sovereignty, and certified seed production as central to food security in West and Central Africa (Facebook).

Preferred by Nature, in partnership with IKEA and the European Forest Institute, launched a new research initiative to improve forest management amid climate change and biodiversity loss (Facebook).

👩🏾‍🌾 Empowering Communities and Women in Agriculture

CottonConnect addressed systemic gender inequality through their Gender-Based Violence Awareness and Response Programme, which promotes safe environments for women in cotton-growing communities (LinkedIn).

Pelum Uganda reflected on how to measure agroecology, referring to FAO's monitoring frameworks (Facebook). In Burundi, CABI spotlighted the inequality in labor burdens faced by women farmers and explored ways to increase male participation in unpaid care work (Facebook; LinkedIn).

RAAA Perú conducted three days of agroecology training with Islas de Paz Perú, building the technical and leadership capacity of agroecological networks (Facebook).

Chipembere advanced food security and gender equity in Malawi through its Piggery Pass-on Project, where women in Thyolo and Mulanje are trained to raise livestock for income and nutrition (Facebook).

🐝 Agroecology and Nature-Based Solutions

Fundatia Adept promoted Farmbionet, a tool to help farmers assess and improve biodiversity on their farms without compromising productivity (Facebook). They also proposed activities for restoring habitats and developing land management agreements with farmers (Facebook).

Fundación Natura Colombia signed conservation agreements with local communities in Colombia's Totoró and Toribío regions to protect river basins essential for water supply to major cities (Facebook).

Amebosco launched the "More Lungs for the Huasteca" program in Veracruz, Mexico, integrating vanilla production and edible forests to enhance forest cover and livelihoods (Facebook).

🌍 Knowledge-Sharing and Advocacy

Circular Bioeconomy Alliance released a report on Living Lab 1.0 in Ghana, spotlighting ecological restoration and agroforestry to boost community resilience (LinkedIn).

Rainforest Alliance launched a bold campaign against greenwashing, clarifying misleading sustainability claims and advocating for credible certifications and transparency (Facebook).

🌾 Local Action, Global Impact

The updates from SAN members across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America are a testament to what’s possible when collaboration meets commitment. Whether through advancing agroecology, restoring forests, empowering women farmers, or combating invasive species, these organizations are not just responding to global challenges—they are reshaping the future of agriculture.

Together, our network is cultivating change from the ground up, helping agriculture become a solution to the intertwined crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and inequality.

Stay connected with the Sustainable Agriculture Network to learn how local initiatives are scaling global impact. Follow our LinkedIn and Facebook pages for real-time updates from our members, and explore more success stories on our website.

Together, we can grow a future where agriculture heals and nourishes our extraordinary planet.