Africa’s Small-Scale Revolution Against Big Agriculture: Five Farmers Talk Greener, Better Food

From degraded fields being brought back to fertile life to community gardens flourishing as food co-operatives, a growing revolution is happening in countries across the African continent.

The climate crisis, conflict and the dominance of multinationals with industrial-scale production for export have popularised the concept of agroecology – promoting small-scale farming and farmers, protecting biodiversity and adapting traditional methods that do away with the need for chemicals and expensive fertilisers.

The Guardian spoke to five devotees of greener, better food.

Asmelash Dagne, Ethiopia

In a single year, a farm boasting little more than a pair of forlorn-looking coffee trees was transformed into a lush place of thriving and diverse crops, all playing a role in the mini ecosystem. Fennel protects the salad leaves from pests while sweet potato plants hold water in the soil. Soon, neighbouring farmers came knocking to find out what the secret was, says Asmelash Dagne, who trains farmers in Ethiopia in agroecology.