Food Security and Sovereignty Best Practices Guide Published

By Heather Putnam, Associate Director. Posted 9/02/2011 03:27 PM

The guide, published in Spanish, is the result of an alliance between CAN, CII-ASDENIC, and PRODECOOP Cooperative, partner organizations in the Las Segovias region of Nicaragua. The alliance sought to use the its guiding  principles of agroecology, cooperatives, gender and generational equity, local knowledge, farmer experimentation, food security, and sovereignty to organize the guide, which is published in five parts and seeks to make food security and sovereignty best practices easily available to organizations and farmers working to promote food security.

Many of the practices promoted in the guide were identified within the families and households already participating in CAN´s Food Security and Sovereignty in Las Segovias Project, through a participatory diagnostic study, farmer-to-farmer exchanges, a review of relevant literature, expert consultation, and field visits. 115 potential best practices were considered from within the 18 local cooperatives affiliated with PRODECOOP involved in this alliance, and 32 best local practices were identified. Best practices were also considered from local Campesino-a-Campesino projects, other experiences in Nicaragua, a trip to Honduras, and the accumulated knowledge the different members of the alliance. 

The information in these guides has already been used as CII-ASDENIC and PRODECOOP worked side by side to disseminate the results from the diagnostic study, as they developed cooperative-led food security and sovereignty action plans. They will now inform a two-year training plan in the Las Segovias Project, and will also be used by the UCA San Ramón, CAN´s partner organization in San Ramón, Nicaragua in the CAN/UCA Youth Leadership and Food Sovereignty Project, furthering efforts to eliminate seasonal hunger and improve nutrition in coffee growing regions. 

Download the guides:

1. Conozcamos sobre Seguridad alimentaria
2. Comprendiendo los meses de las vacas flacas
3. Aprendiendo y haciendo técnicas agroecológicas
4. Diversificación productiva y de los medios de vida campesina
5. Sembrando, distribuyendo y comiendo alimentación sostenible