TOWARDS A JUST AND CLIMATE-RESILIENT FOOD SYSTEM: AGROECOLOGY FOR FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND CLIMATE JUSTICE

This fact sheet from the Institute for Economic Justice argues that South Africa's food system requires a deep systemic transformation toward agroecology to achieve climate resilience and food sovereignty. It critiques 'false solutions' driven by corporate interests—such as GMOs and climate-smart agriculture—and proposes a bottom-up approach that integrates traditional knowledge with ecological science to reduce emissions, adapt production, and address social inequalities.

• The document identifies several 'false solutions' to climate change in the food system that are promoted by corporations to maintain existing power structures and profits. These include technological fixes like precision planting, big data, and genetically modified (GM) seeds, which the text claims ignore the complexity of living systems. Specifically, the GM drought-tolerance gene approved in South Africa is described as ineffective, and the use of climate smart agriculture (CSA) is characterized as a way to 'greenwash' the introduction of industrial inputs to smallholder farmers.
• Agroecology is presented as a transformative, bottom-up approach that combines the science of ecology with the traditional knowledge of smallholders and family food producers. It aims for food sovereignty—defined as the right of people to define their own food systems and access healthy, culturally appropriate food produced sustainably. This approach seeks to return control of land, seeds, biodiversity, and water to indigenous peoples and small-scale producers while promoting 'solidarity economies' based on local markets rather than corporate trade.
• To build climate resilience, agroecology employs specific practices focused on localism and ecological health. These include using locally adapted, genetically diverse seeds and breeds; improving soil health to increase carbon sequestration and water retention; and prioritizing local and regional markets to reduce energy use associated with transport and refrigeration. The document asserts that these practices avoid the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, which are noted for releasing greenhouse gases during manufacture and application.
• The document references the High Level Panel of Experts on Food and Nutrition (HLPE) of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), noting that agroecological approaches are more transformative than 'sustainable intensification'. It aligns the HLPE's 13 principles with three core elements essential for the South African context: environmental sustainability (e.g., soil health and biodiversity), social justice and redress (e.g., co-creation of knowledge and participation), and economic fairness and participation (e.g., economic diversification and connectivity).

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (n.d.). TOWARDS A JUST AND CLIMATE-RESILIENT FOOD SYSTEM: AGROECOLOGY FOR FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND CLIMATE JUSTICE. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/FactS-06-ENG-Towards-just-climate-resilient-food-system_Web.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. TOWARDS A JUST AND CLIMATE-RESILIENT FOOD SYSTEM: AGROECOLOGY FOR FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND CLIMATE JUSTICE. n.d. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/FactS-06-ENG-Towards-just-climate-resilient-food-system_Web.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=TOWARDS A JUST AND CLIMATE-RESILIENT FOOD SYSTEM: AGROECOLOGY FOR FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND CLIMATE JUSTICE |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/FactS-06-ENG-Towards-just-climate-resilient-food-system_Web.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjusticendtowards, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{TOWARDS A JUST AND CLIMATE-RESILIENT FOOD SYSTEM: AGROECOLOGY FOR FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND CLIMATE JUSTICE}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/FactS-06-ENG-Towards-just-climate-resilient-food-system_Web.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }