Agriculture in Action — Weekly Pulse (Nov 10–16, 2025)

From rice paddies to rights: a week of practical progress across the SAN network

This week’s updates show a network moving in sync: field-first agroecology, traceable and resilient supply chains, community livelihoods, and a notable human-rights milestone.

Regeneration in practice

Hands-on learning and nature-positive agronomy were on full display. CABI spotlighted organic farming’s role in healthier soils and long-term food security, while training Maasai communities in Tanzania to control Prosopis juliflora—a fast-spreading invasive that threatens grazing lands and wildlife corridors. They also broke down whitefly risks and lifted up women leaders in Africa’s insect food/feed value chain.

“In Tanzania’s Lake Natron basin, communities are standing up to the spread of Prosopis juliflora. Together with local Maasai pastoralists, we’re building the skills to cut, uproot, and safely burn invasive trees — protecting grazing lands, restoring balance for wildlife, and strengthening livelihoods. This is what collective resilience looks like. Photo: CABI

In Transylvania, Fundatia Adept kicked off experimental trials under LIFE DiverSEED, testing native seed viability to strengthen grassland restoration models across Central Europe. Fundación Global Nature connected restoration with rural jobs, soil productivity, and water security—reminding us that ecological repair is also smart regional development.

Local seeds, local solutions. Fundatia Adept’s team is testing seed viability to restore Transylvania’s meadows and protect its unique biodiversity. Photo: Fundatia Adept

Agriculture supply chains: from traceability to resilience

In the thick of harvest season, CottonConnect reported farmer trainings on clean, safe cotton picking and emphasized that prosperity for smallholders comes from three pillars: traceability, climate resilience, and inclusive chains. Their TraceBale platform continues to underpin “farm group to garment” transparency. Preferred by Nature carried the momentum into rice, curating insights from the International Sustainable Rice Forum 2025 (ISRF 2025) on collaboration, finance, and standards for climate-resilient rice systems.

Circular Bioeconomy Alliance shared results from Italy’s Apulia Regenerative Cotton Project—pairing regenerative agroforestry with evidence on what works in cotton landscapes. Green Net Foundation literally got muddy boots at rice harvest, showing what partnership looks like when staff join producers in the field.

Communities leading the way

Women’s livelihoods took center stage as Chipembere Community Development Organization trained 20 entrepreneurs in soya processing and soap-making in Thyolo. Fundación Natura Colombia wrapped six months of co-design with fisher, artisan, nursery, and livestock associations around the Zapatosa Marsh, building a shared route to territorial sustainability.

New skills, new opportunities: women in Thyolo are learning income-generating trades with support from CCDO. Photo: Chipembere Community Development Organization

Governance & human rights

A significant turn in Ecuador: Fundación Pachamama will appear before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regarding its 2013 closure, and a judge ordered the unfreezing of its bank accounts—important steps for civic space and community-led Amazon protection.

Regional collaboration & expertise

CORAF welcomed ECOWAS’s new Commissioner for Economic Affairs & Agriculture and promoted its Experts Directory—an open call to strengthen West and Central Africa’s bench of specialists who drive climate-smart innovation. Pelum Uganda invited partners to a COP30 side event on financing and institutionalizing agroecology for adaptation.

Why it matters (and what SAN brings)

Across these threads runs a simple idea from SAN’s brand promise: make sustainability simple, scalable, and real—cutting through complexity, delivering proof, and scaling what works where it works. That’s radical collaboration in action: communities, experts, and market actors turning differences into shared outcomes—faster learning, fairer decisions, credible results.