The most effective and equitable agroecological approach needs to have many voices represented when shaping agricultural policy and agendas. Researchers need to ensure they include alternative voices, knowledge and experiences 👇 #Agroecology #Agriculture

The effective implementation of agroecological principles requires collaboration. Equitable partnerships—across academia, farmers, policymakers, investors, and civil society—are key to enabling innovation and impact. #WorldFoodDay 👇

As part of the UK-CGIAR funded iSPARK project, University of Leeds researchers are working with iShamba (producers of TV series Shamba Shape Up & a phone-in farm advisory centre) to deliver a service for farmers on intercropping options & current weather forecasts that are location-specific. 👇

This collaboration between research and service providers allows Kenyan farmers to be better informed by real-time and location specific data, leading to climate-resilient decision-making among the farmers. youtu.be/GY_E3YlIFQM?... 👇

We must also consider how accessible new technologies are to women, youth and low income households. Dr Mapenzie Tauzie's research focuses on the ways in which digital transformations of agriculture may reinforce social inequalities in #Malawi: link.springer.com/article/10.1... 👇

Effective collaboration extends to training & skills sharing across academics too. Through the FSNet Africa project, Uni. Leeds academics worked with 10 universities across 6 countries to provide mentorship, training & capacity building to early career African researchers. 👉 fsnetafrica.com

Under the FoSTA Health project, Hemant Tripathi & Steve Sait are working with international partners to explore the role of woodlands in maintaining natural predator populations. Woodlands within agricultural landscapes can reduce risk of pests (mosquitoes & ticks) within central Zambia. 👇

This research is important because it can help inform farmers' use of pest and disease control methods, especially in areas where agricultural land is expanding and harmful chemical pesticides are increasingly overused as a pest management strategy. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... 👇

Intercropping legumes within primary crops and using grasses at field margins can reduce crop pests because of the respective effects these plants have on target species. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Olufemi Adesina is working with International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology in Kenya on how the push-pull approach in agroecological practices can reduce crop pest pressure. 👇

A key focus of agroecological practice is understanding ecosystem functions. Researchers are studying how plant-level treatments, field-level crop compositions & landscape-scale structures & vegetation interact to influence crop pest & disease risks. fosta-health.eu/index.php/bl... 👇

Find out more about the work to drive civic change across local food systems: Effie's research profile environment.leeds.ac.uk/see/staff/14... Sara's research profile environment.leeds.ac.uk/geography/st... Sonja / FoodWise profile foodwiseleeds.org/about/

Dr Effie Papargyropoulou engages with policymakers at local & national level, providing research evidence to support food policy change. She co-developed a tool to measure social, environmental & economic impact of local food initiatives that transform urban food systems by empowering citizens 👇

Prof @sgonzalezsara.bsky.social focuses on transforming the food system by collaborating with local groups & policymakers to support civic change. She’s on the FoodWise Steering Group, which recently focused on public food procurement—schools & hospitals buying nutritious, locally produced food. 👇

Sonja Woodcock is the Coordinator at FoodWise Leeds. FoodWise collaborates with GFEI, Leeds City Council, & third sector & community partners to build a good food movement. Together we produced the Leeds Food Strategy – a citywide approach for health, food security, the economy, & net zero. 👇

Food justice: equitable access to healthy, sustainable & affordable food. Our researchers work with community-based partners to explore how research can have real terms impact on place-based, community-led food initiatives. We interviewed 2 researchers & a community-based partner to hear more 👇

Throughout October, we are spotlighting some of the ways our researchers are supporting agroecological transitions in Africa. Agroecology enhances food production resilience to extreme weather events & pest infestations, and improves biodiversity, soil health & nutritional properties of foods. 👇

Thirze Hermans explored farmer-led approaches to soil health in Malawi by co-developing soil health evaluation tools, blending local farmers' knowledge with on-farm research trials to improve understanding of contextualised soil nutrient processes. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 👇

The authors stress that success will require integrating farmers, policymakers, industry, & researchers in long-term, co-designed experiments with robust metrics to track progress. Read the issue: royalsocietypublishing.org/toc/rstb/202... Read the paper: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Measuring the socio-economic and environmental outcomes of regenerative agriculture across spatio-temporal scales | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Regenerative agriculture aims to produce food while simultaneously improving soil health, supporting biodiversity, reducing input costs and enhancing climate resilience. Evidence on its environmental and socio-economic impacts across different systems and ...

royalsocietypublishing.org

Staff & students met with employees & business owners across Whitby, Scarborough, & Hull, from growing seaweed off the Yorkshire coast, a Lobster Hatchery, a food bank, & an urban community garden in Hull. Find out more about the course: courses.leeds.ac.uk/j786/sustain...

As part of the course, students have access to world-leading University of Leeds researchers whose research spans the global food system. This film 👇, produced by Dr Rory Padfield, captures the 2024/25 cohort's summer 2025 fieldtrip to the Yorkshire Coast. youtu.be/4b9-UN5etCw?... 👇

MSc Sustainable Food Systems and Food Security Fieldtrip to Yorkshire Coast 2025

YouTube video by GFEI, University of Leeds

youtu.be

Did you know we offer an MSc course in Sustainable Food Systems and Food Security? The course offers an interdisciplinary and holistic systems-thinking approach to understand and evaluate the complexity of the food system. 👇

During our International Food Systems Research Week, we welcomed visitors from South Africa, Zambia, Malawi & Tanzania—spanning academia, industry & government. We focused on research & innovation collaboration opportunities across academia, industry & key policy themes medium.com/globalfoodle...

At the University of Leeds Research Farm, researchers work with UK farmers to co-design #RegenerativeAgriculture trials under the FixOurFood programme. These trials explore how regen ag impacts soil & crop health—and the real-world challenges farmers face 🌱 www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVDn... 👇

FixOurFood regenerative agriculture trials at University of Leeds Research Farm | Dr Ruth Wade (1)

YouTube video by GFEI, University of Leeds

youtube.com

"It goes back to those structural inequalities and how we have designed our cities, our towns, and where investment has gone in" says @effie25.bsky.social in the latest episode of our new podcast series "Hunger at your doorstep". Listen to the full episode here: www.tabledebates.org/podcast/epis...

In collaboration with the Food Ethics Council, we've co-authored a blog on the right to food in the UK. It explains what the right to food is, how we can achieve it, & emphasises that ensuring the right to food is the responsibility of UK Government, not the third sector. medium.com/globalfoodle...

The Right to Food in the UK: Moving from third sector solutions to Government action

By Beth Bell (Food Ethics Council), Clare James and Effie Papargyropoulou (Global Food and Environment Institute, University of Leeds).

medium.com

Check out the films by: - Inn Churches - Feeding Bradford and Keighley - Catholic Care - Horton Community Farm - Eyarun Nessa (Eden Association) 👉 Films: youtube.com/playlist?lis... 👉 More on the project: environment.leeds.ac.uk/dir-record/r...

GFEI spotlight: Dr Rory Padfield is an Associate Professor in Sustainability & Business. As an interdisciplinary social scientist, he explores themes of social & environmental justice, sustainability in business & organisations, and storytelling & communication. 👇

Discover how the new “Food Hub Impact Evaluation Toolkit” empowers food hubs such as food banks, social supermarkets, and community gardens, to measure and enhance their impact within their local communities. #FoodHubs #LocalFood #CommunityDevelopment Read the full study for free: shorturl.at/8oJa7

PhD funding opportunity 📢 Working with Leeds City Council and FoodWise Leeds, the project will focus on exploring the social value of sustainable food public procurement - A case study of Leeds. Find out more and apply: phd.leeds.ac.uk/funding/410-... Deadline: Fri 14th March