guide: a tool for evaluating and monitoring funding for agroecology

This tool allows you to evaluate projects, initiatives, and calls for proposals based on their support for agroecological transformations, by assessing their contribution to the implementation of each of the 13 principles of agroecology.

How can this tool be used? 

• It can be used to evaluate individual projects or initiatives, or entire project portfolios.
• It can also serve as a guide for developing agroecological projects or proposals by providing examples of actions that contribute to the implementation of each of the 13 principles.
• It will be accessible to any institution wishing to use it to evaluate its own projects or portfolios. Any donor, investor, or implementation manager will be able to upload information related to their investment.

How does the tool manage data? 

• This tool is based on the widely used open-source Laravel framework. The source code, developed specifically for this tool, will be available on GitHub under a free and permissive license. Sophisticated security measures ensure data integrity.
• Although the tool is open-source, no institutional data will be accessible outside the institution that entered the data without the explicit and formal consent of that institution, through an authorized representative.
• Reports based on aggregated analysis will be published regularly to track investment trends in agroecology.

Who created and developed this tool? 

This online tool was developed by Statistics for Sustainable Development (Stats4SD). The innovative methodological framework used, stemming from an initial proposal by the Centre for Agroecology, Water, and Resilience at Coventry University, was developed by a community of practice on tracking financial flows to agroecology, comprising the following organizations: Fund for Agroecology, Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA), Kenya Biodiversity and Biosafety Association, Biovision Foundation, Center for Agroecology, Water, and Resilience, CIDSE, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), European Commission, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Statistics for Sustainable Development (Stats4SD), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Voluntary Service Organization (VSO).

The development of this framework was subsequently led by the Finance and Investment Working Group of the Coalition for Agroecology, bringing together a diverse group of 20 experts from various organizations and backgrounds, including researchers, donors, and civil society actors.

The Origins of the Agroecology Coalition

The multiple, interrelated crises affecting food, climate, and biodiversity present both an urgent need and an opportunity to bring together diverse forces and sectors to support a bold proposal put forward by a wide range of actors: transforming food systems through agroecology.  

In 2021, the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) highlighted the need for concerted action to rethink food systems.  

The Coalition for Agroecology was established in this context to provide a mechanism enabling countries and organizations to collaborate on transforming food systems through agroecology to simultaneously address multiple crises.  

The work of the Coalition for Agroecology is guided by the 13 principles of agroecology defined by the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE-FSN) of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), which are aligned with the 10 elements of agroecology adopted by the Council of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in December 2019. 

The Coalition for Agroecology Today Today, the Coalition for Agroecology has established itself as a key voice for agroecology in various forums, including high-level policy dialogues. Its work and this strategy aim to amplify voices that need to be heard and taken into account more widely, and to strengthen the impact of its members through collective action.The Coalition for Agroecology supports accelerating the transformation of food systems through agroecology and the implementation of national strategies centered on five objectives: