From Cotton Fields to Agroecology Villages: SAN Members Drive Change This Week

Every week, across dozens of countries and farming landscapes, SAN members are doing the work that matters most — training farmers, restoring ecosystems, shaping policy, and proving that sustainable agriculture is not a distant ideal but a daily practice. This week is no exception. From regenerative cotton trials in Egypt to agroecology training sessions in Uganda, from seed system strengthening in East Africa to a global sustainability summit in Bangkok, the SAN Global Impact Network is alive with action. Here is a look at what members accomplished this week — and why it matters.

Regenerative Agriculture Takes Root in Egypt's Cotton Sector

One of the standout stories this week comes from CottonConnect, whose long-standing partnership with UNIDO is gaining global recognition. Featured in UNIDO's Annual Report 2025, CottonConnect has served as a technical partner for the Egyptian Cotton Project – Phase II, which recently brought global brands and stakeholders to demo plots in Qalin to showcase regenerative cotton farming in action. This is public-private partnership delivering results at scale.

The organization is also sounding a broader alarm on soil health. CottonConnect's CEO Alison Ward has been vocal about the urgent need to shift toward regenerative practices that restore soil, promote biodiversity, and conserve water — treating soil not as an input, but as a living foundation for food systems.

Scaling Agroecology Through Farmer Training in Uganda

Pelum Uganda had an exceptionally active week on the ground. Across multiple sessions in Seganga, Masulita Subcounty, Wakiso District, farmers deepened their understanding of banana management and water harvesting techniques to build resilience against dry spells. Earlier sessions tackled the relationship between soil salinity, soil fertility, and crop yield, with practical solutions for managing these challenges in real farming contexts.

A significant milestone came on April 17, when farmers in Seganga came together for a practical integration session that brought together all the skills and knowledge built across the training week into hands-on field practice. Pelum Uganda also hosted an inspiring field visit to the Rugarama Agroecology Model Village in partnership with the Biovision Foundation — a hub of agroecological innovation demonstrating what transformative, locally grounded farming systems look like in practice.

Earlier in the week, Pelum Uganda's team, led by Country Coordinator Josephine Phiona Akia, held a successful meeting with Uganda's Ministry of Agriculture (MAAIF) officials to share learnings and plan next steps for scaling up agroecology interventions nationally. Meanwhile, Day 2 of the Seganga training saw farmers sharing indigenous knowledge of local food plants, with smallholder farmer Barigya Innocent demonstrating the nutritional benefits of combining local crops.

On the policy and youth engagement front, Pelum Uganda announced that registrations are now open for the Africa Regional Youth Summit on Agroecology Business and CAADP Kampala, scheduled for April 24–26. The organization also issued a call for side event proposals for the summit, inviting youth-led organizations and stakeholders to shape the agenda.

Forests, Seeds, and Science: CIFOR-ICRAF Advances on Multiple Fronts

CIFOR-ICRAF continued its wide-ranging work this week. Through the Quality Tree Seed for Africa project, work in Kenya and Rwanda is strengthening seed systems and access to well-documented native seed sources — critical for long-term ecological restoration and landscape resilience.

In the realm of policy and science, CIFOR-ICRAF co-authored a new Policy Outlook in Frontiers in Science examining what a genuine Nature Positive future actually requires. Drawing on frameworks like Planetary Boundaries and Doughnut Economics, the piece connects large-scale ecological thinking to CIFOR-ICRAF's landscape approach, which holds that forests, farms, and ecosystems must be governed as interconnected systems — not managed in isolation.

Innovating for Impact: CORAF Launches Agricultural Innovation Award

CORAF is mobilizing the agricultural innovation ecosystem across West and Central Africa this week. The organization launched the call for nominations for the 3rd edition of the Abdoulaye Touré Award, offering $30,000 to support high-impact agricultural innovations. For those working in livestock and technology-driven solutions, CORAF is also promoting participation in #MITA2026, offering innovators a platform to showcase solutions with regional and global reach.

Deforestation-Free Supply Chains and a Global Sustainability Summit

Preferred by Nature is heading to Bangkok this week for its Global Sustainability Summit, bringing together its global community from April 23–27 to reflect on three decades of field experience and prepare for the challenges ahead. The meeting signals a moment of both stocktaking and forward planning, as pressures on the natural world intensify.

Preferred by Nature is also preparing practitioners for the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), with a full-day seminar in Berlin on June 24 focused on assessing deforestation, degradation, and legality risks using real data and digital tools — exactly the kind of practical, implementation-focused capacity that the sector urgently needs.

Measuring Biodiversity Gains: Evidence from the Field

Fundación Global Nature is demonstrating this week that biodiversity recovery is measurable, achievable, and fast. Evidence from their agricultural stewardship projects shows that pollinator populations can triple within just two years when supported by robust scientific monitoring — a compelling proof point for the business case for biodiversity investment, and a reminder that nature can bounce back when given the right conditions and support.

Restoration, Territory, and Peacebuilding in Colombia

Fundación Natura Colombia is weaving together ecological restoration with social healing in the Orinoquía region. Their work this week highlights participatory, territory-based restoration approaches that integrate community knowledge — and uniquely, link ecological recovery with peacebuilding in post-conflict landscapes. New decision-making tools, including a restoration manual, are supporting practitioners and local communities in navigating complex restoration choices at multiple scales.

Restoring Native Species in Mexico

Pronatura Sur continues its meticulous work on native species propagation and long-term reforestation monitoring in Mexico. Their approach emphasizes adaptive management and ecological connectivity — ensuring that restored landscapes are not just planted, but genuinely functioning ecosystems embedded in the broader landscape.

A Network Acting on What the World Needs Most

From cotton fields in Egypt to agroecology villages in Uganda, from seed systems in East Africa to sustainability summits in Bangkok, this week's activities reflect the breadth and depth of what SAN's Global Impact Network makes possible. These are not isolated projects — they are interconnected efforts to tackle the most pressing challenges in agriculture: climate resilience, biodiversity loss, soil degradation, deforestation, and equity. Through radical collaboration for people and planet, SAN members are turning commitment into action, week after week.