The Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA) is bringing its Agroecology Roadshow to Armidale on October 14.
AFSA is a farmer-led civil society organisation of people working together towards socially-just and ecologically-sound food and agriculture systems that foster the democratic participation of Indigenous Peoples, smallholders, and local communities in decision making processes. The aim of the roadshow is to foster dialogue and collaboration among local farmers, food enthusiasts, and policymakers.
AFSA President Tammi Jonas, a small-scale farmer herself, says there is a great need for grassroots engagement in transforming Australia’s food landscape.
“AFSA has been supporting small-scale farmers across Australia for many years and the roadshow is an effort to come to these communities and support the efforts that are already happening on the ground.”
Each event will be a farm or town hall style dialogue where local farmers, eaters and policy makers can gather to talk about their concerns. Jonas says AFSA is committed to growing the agroecology movement in Australia and building momentum to empower local communities to take back control of food and agriculture systems.
“Something AFSA has been hearing for a long time is producers across Australia are losing access to community controlled infrastructure and processing facilities such as abattoirs, grain mills, butchers and dairy processors.”
“This intrinsic infrastructure of agroecology is crucial for small-scale farmers to remain viable, so we’re looking forward to discussions about keeping those facilities in local hands,” she said.
“We know communities are concerned about resilience in the face of climate change and pandemics. There were empty supermarket shelves during Covid, but farmers markets kept running because shorter supply chains are less susceptible to the effects of global disruption.”
“The work of AFSA is about supporting more small-scale growers to increase the resilience of local food economies through food sovereignty,” Jonas said.
The event in Armidale is not only about sharing knowledge but also about building connections among various stakeholders. Jonas will share what she has learned from building an on-farm butcher’s shop 11 years ago, and their current efforts to build a micro-abattoir that will be used by around ten other local farmers.
Given the long-standing and vibrant local sustainable living community in Armidale, and the well documented agrarian socialist roots of the New England more broadly, it’s likely the knowledge sharing will be a two-way affair.
For those interested in participating, tickets are available online and additional information is available on the AFSA website.
Top image: Tammi Jonas and team in her on-farm butchery (supplied)
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