Our approach
1. Stimulate collaborations, projects and exchanges of information, knowledge, solutions and experience between the various stakeholders working to develop agroecology in the Mediterranean.
A unique community of professionals committed to the agroecological transition in the Mediterranean!
By bringing together actors from different types of institutions (research, education, technical institutes, development actors, farmers, consumers, private companies…), disciplines, horizons and scales, the MEDAE network aims to bridge the gap between contexts, policies, local, national and international knowledge, and empirical and scientific knowledge. Different stakeholders will be able to work together towards a systemic and cross-sectoral understanding of agroecology. The network will foster international collaborations and encourage interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research approaches to agroecology.
The MEDAE network will stimulate the sharing of knowledge and experience between the various stakeholders involved in agroecology in the Mediterranean. In this way, the MEDAE network will act as a knowledge transfer accelerator, promoting learning and capacity-building among peers and stakeholders. Exchanges may take the form of webinars, workshops, question-and-answer sessions, panel discussions, case study presentations, etc.
The network will also facilitate the exchange of information such as publications, financing opportunities, training or internship opportunities…
2. Represent Mediterranean agroecology stakeholders at national and international levels, and develop political and scientific advocacy for agroecology in the Mediterranean.
A strong, unified voice for those involved in the agroecological transition in the Mediterranean!
The MEDAE network will represent at local, regional and international levels the actors committed to agroecological transition in the Mediterranean, and will put into perspective the results obtained in members’ projects in order to pave the way for political decision-makers and developers. The MEDAE network will be able to analyze national and international policies that promote or limit the agroecological transition in the Mediterranean, and will be able to advocate and make recommendations to encourage the integration of agroecology into future policies relating to the environment and food systems.
The MEDAE network focuses on agroecological transition in the Mediterranean.
From an agricultural point of view, the regions of the Mediterranean basin are characterized by emblematic productions (viticulture, livestock farming, agro-pastoralism, arboriculture, olive growing, phoeniculture, market gardening, cereals and other field crops…), hosted within varied agroecosystems: cereal plains, valleys or irrigated plains, mountainous areas, peri-urban areas, and oasis and peri-oasis areas.
Mediterranean agriculture is facing a number of challenges, including exacerbated global warming, with diminishing water resources, an increase in extreme weather phenomena, particularly drought, as well as soil artificialisation and degradation, and heavy pressure on natural resources. Mediterranean agriculture is also impacted by strong demographic growth, an increase in the urban population, land pressure, and the high dependence of several countries on food imports.
The MEDAE network brings together organizations interested in agro-ecological transition in the Mediterranean, to exchange ideas and work together to find solutions to the ecological (drought, climate change, etc.) and socio-economic (urbanization, land pressure, etc.) challenges facing Mediterranean agriculture.
The regions of the Mediterranean basin most particularly targeted by the network and sharing these challenges are:
- Southern Europe: Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey
- North Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Tunisia
- Middle East: Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria
Our values
The MEDAE network promotes universal human values such as respect, openness, empathy, solidarity and benevolence. The network has no political or religious affiliations.
Each member is expected to respect these values and principles, and to act in a spirit of sharing and respectful collaboration with all network members.
Our vision of food system transformation in the Mediterranean
Faced with the environmental, economic and social challenges that threaten food security in the Mediterranean, it is urgent to rethink the food system.
The MEDAE network believes that the principles of agroecology can provide a relevant, multidimensional response to the need for a sustainable food system in the Mediterranean.
Definitions of agroecology and agroecological principles
Agroecology is a scientific discipline, a set of practices and a movement for social transformation.
It adopts a systemic and interdisciplinary approach to agriculture, considering the ecological, social, political and economic dimensions of food production with a view to building resilient food systems and ensuring food and nutritional security.
Agroecology values traditional and local knowledge, and encourages the co-creation of knowledge between different stakeholders (farmers, researchers, development players). It promotes a holistic, participatory approach involving a diversity of stakeholders and disciplines to propose solutions adapted to local contexts and specificities.
In short, agroecology enables us to rethink food systems, from farm to fork, to achieve ecological, economic and social sustainability, by adopting a multi-actor, contextualized approach.
Due to the diversity of stakeholders behind the concept and the diversity of approaches and contexts, there are many different definitions of agroecology. However, there are some common characteristics that enable us to identify the main principles of agroecology.
For example, the High-Level Panel of Experts of the Committee on World Food Security (HLPE, 2019) and the FAO (FAO, 2018) have drawn up sets of 13 and 10 “principles of agroecology” respectively.
All these principles can be summarized in three main families:
The 10 FAO principles (FAO)
The MEDAE network:
Common principles for sustainable food in the Mediterranean
The MEDAE network recognizes and integrates, through the diversity of its members, the plurality of visions of agroecology. It maintains that the principles of agroecology can provide an integrated, sustainable response to the future challenges facing the Mediterranean region, by ensuring food security, protecting the environment and promoting economic development.
By bringing together different stakeholders (researchers, farmers, development players, public institutions, etc.) from different horizons (Europe, North Africa, Middle East) and acting on a local, national or regional scale, the MEDAE network fosters the co-construction of knowledge and the co-design of agroecological innovations adapted to specific contexts. In the MEDAE network, the various stakeholders collaborate, exchange and promote agroecological principles in their research work (technical and research institutes), agricultural practices (farmers), agricultural and development advice (NGOs), territorial planning and public policies (local authorities and government institutions), consumption habits (consumers), advocacy actions…
Sharing experiences and building capacities between organizations of different types and levels of action, facing similar challenges, will help accelerate local agro-ecological transitions.
