No images? Click here CAWR Newsletter May 2020 Our monthly newsletters are an easy way to keep up-to-date with new developments at our research centre. From successful project bids to upcoming events, our newsletter informs you on how we are 'driving innovative transdisciplinary research on resilient food and water systems.' The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the contributors at the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (CAWR) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Coventry University. NewsOur response to COVID-19From new ways of working to providing practical assistance and preventing future Coronavirus pandemics, click here to read more about our response to COVID-19. Life After COVID-19: Decommodify Work, Democratise the WorkplaceSeveral CAWR researchers have recently supported a global call for deep institutional changes to address the impacts of the coronavirus crisis in the context of rising inequities, food insecurity, and rapid climate change. Work: Democratize, Decommodify, Remediate, was published as an Op Ed in The Wire, The Guardian as well as 40 other national newspapers, in 36 countries around the world, in 26 languages on 16 May. Click here to view the article. Highlighting the relevance of agroecology, territorial solidarity and the right to food for the European Farm to Fork StrategyOn 14 May, the Nyéléni Food Sovereignty Movement in Europe and Central Asia sent a letter to the Executive vice president of the European Commission (EC), Franz Timmermans, who is leading the European Green Deal. A week before the release of the new Farm to Fork Strategy and EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the letter called on the EC to address the need to transform the food system. Jessica Duncan, Marta Rivera-Ferre and Priscilla Claeys prepared an academic Brief on "The importance of Food Sovereignty for the Farm to Fork strategy and the New Green Deal. Insights and limits of the SAM and SAPEA reports", that was sent with the letter. Covid-19 has exposed even more limits and dysfunctions in our globalised food systems: from our reliance on under-paid farm and food sector workers operating in poor working conditions(most often women and migrants), the risks associated with intensive animal farming, including zoonoses, to barriers facing small-scale producers when trying to access local markets, to gender inequalities and the additional risks faced by people with pre-existing diet-related health conditions. The brief argues that agroecology, territorial solidarity and the right to food should be put at the heart of the new Farm to Fork strategy. Boosting the immune systems of medical works in MoldovaOn 2nd April 2020, equipped with gloves masks and sanitisers, three Moldovan agro associations delivered immune boosting health packages to Covid-19 frontline medical workers. The packages, consisting of teas, honey and hetero-oils were delivered to three hospitals in the Chisinau municipality. AROMEDA (The Association of Medicinal, Aromatic and Tea Plant Producers of the Republic of Moldova), APIS Codru (The Association of Beekeepers from Calarasi district) and APIS Melifera (The Association of Beekeepers from the Republic of Moldova) had met and established relationships through participation at meetings and activities organised by Proentranse within the BOND project. They decided to join forces again, this time with their own initiative, believing the fate of the entire nation depends on the condition of its doctors. A spokesperson for AROMEDA said: ‘In those moments we didn’t think of fear. We thought that the little drop of health we could bring would help those battling the virus in the frontline.’ ‘We definitely have plans for future collaborations. We would like to develop the agro-sector; have more association and cooperation, because only together we are a strong force and we can overcome any challenge life will throw at us.’ Click here to read the longer version of this article. New Project: Review of the evidence of outcomes and impact of Ruskin Mill Trust’s Practical Skills and Therapeutic Educational ProgrammeRuskin Mill Trust (RMT) provides specialist independent education for children and adults with complex needs. The unique three-stage process of their Practical Skills and Therapeutic Education (PSTE) helps learners overcome barriers to learning, become skilled and contribute to community. Through engaging with crafts and land-based activities, the learner is immersed in a therapeutic process, learning not only academic and functional skills, but also gaining transferable work skills and independent living skills. Most importantly, they learn to value themselves and others. This project aims to review the way RMT evidence the effectiveness of their PSTE programme and the impact on those involved. The project will be undertaken in two phases; initially the team will review the data that is currently held by RMT and arrange participatory workshops with learners, carers and RMT staff to explore, in a broader sense, the outcomes achieved. In the second phase (subject to agreement), the team will undertake a comprehensive review of the data sets highlighted as contributing most to evidencing the effectiveness of the programme and make recommendations on data that could be collected in future, on improvements in the data capturing processes and the promotion of the evidence of outcomes and impact to all stakeholders. Vulnerable Amazonian communities at severe risk of COVID-19Nina Moeller was interviewed by ABC Radio National in Australia on how indigenous people in the Amazon are coping with the pandemic. Click here to hear the interview. PhD successPaola Guzman Rodriguez successfully defended her thesis and passed her viva with minor corrections this month. The title of her thesis is: Sustainability Values in Alternative Food Networks: the Case of Box Schemes and CSAs. Congratulations Paola! Grounded aircraft could make weather forecasts less reliableMatthew Blackett wrote an article for The Conversation 'Grounded aircraft could make weather forecasts less reliable.' Click here to read the article. Long-term (43 years) tillage trials at Langgewens Research Farm in South AfricaDespite the COVID-19 pandemic, the long-term (43 years) tillage trials at Langgewens Research Farm in the Western Cape province in South Africa, started under strict social distancing and according to the set COVID-19 prevention protocols. The current research on the site is undertaken under the collaboration between CAWR and Stellenbosch University of South Africa. Seven tillage treatments are being investigated and the research partly aims to determine the effects of long-term tillage treatments on soil nutrient distribution down the soil profile. Furthermore, the research seeks to determine how tillage can be used to control weeds, reduce reliance on synthetic chemical pesticides and herbicides and help small grain and canola farmers to shift from reliance on synthetic chemicals to farming systems that are more environmentally friendly. The research is undertaken by PhD researcher Flackson Tshuma, under the supervision of Dr Francis Rayns and Dr James Bennett from CAWR, Dr Pieter Swanepoel from Stellenbosch University and Johan Labuschagne from the South African Western Cape Department of Agriculture. Field trials for peat alternatives continueDennis Touliatos, our new research assistant on the Organic-PLUS project, has adapted to our lock down working conditions by ‘moving’ one of the field trials for peat alternatives to a community peri-urban farm in Lancaster – where he is currently locked down with loved ones. The trial is comparing four different commercial peat alternatives: DaleFoot (Composted bracken mixed with Sheep's wool), Fertile Fibre (coir), Melcourt Sylvamix (pine and mixed conifer, coir and green compost) and Tolhurst Organic mix (66% woodchip compost with 33% vermiculite), with each other and against Moorland Gold peat compost. Cabbage is being used as the test crop and the trial, which is already showing interesting patterns, will be completed by the end of May – just in time to plant the cabbages in the farm’s no dig beds. The 2020 Sustainability and Stewardship in the Oil & Gas Industry Award for Europe/North Sea goes to Coventry UniversityDr Babatunde Anifowose has won the 2020 Sustainability and Stewardship in the Oil & Gas Industry Award for Europe/North Sea. Every year, the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) International issues Regional Technical & Professional Awards to bright, talented and committed engineers across the oil and gas value chain. According to the SPE Director for Europe, Jean-Marc DUMAS, this prestigious award is “an acknowledgement of Dr Anifowose’s outstanding contribution and significant accomplishments in this area” at the regional level. For an overview of the award winners of 2020, click here. Hear our voices: Understanding how ‘strength’ and ‘resourcefulness’ shape African-Caribbean Women’s experiences of ageing, health and well-being in CoventryCoventry has an established African-Caribbean community, who are part of a rapidly ageing society and identified as vulnerable to COVID-19. Funded by the City of Culture Partnership and working with Marva Al Ansaari a community practitioner, Dr Geraldine Brown (CAWR), Dr Ravi Thaira (Warwick University), and Annette Hay(CU), have embarked on a virtual project that engages with a group of older African Caribbean women in their own homes. The project is using a range of creative mediums; such photographs, video and written diaries, short stories to capture the women’s experiences of ‘lockdown’ ageing, health and well-being. Reducing the Plastic Footprint of AgricultureFrancis Rayns represented CAWR at the first meeting of the European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI) focus group ‘Reducing the Plastic Footprint of Agriculture’. The original intention was for the group to meet in Spain but because of the Coronavirus shutdown only an online meeting was possible. The topic of this focus group is highly relevant to the work of the Organic-PLUS project and CAWR’s work with Innovative Farmers Field Labs that seeks to find alternatives to weed suppressing mulches made from petroleum-derived plastic. At the meeting there was a discussion of the different ways in which plastic pollution can result from agricultural activities, either through materials deliberately brought on farm (e.g. mulches or silage wrap) or through the application of contaminated compost and other soil amendments. A series of mini-papers will be written over the coming months to identify practical ways in which the issues can be addressed. Women working in the Ready Made Garment in BangladeshThe Ready Made Garment (RMG) industry is a key contributor to South Asia’s fastest growing economy – Bangladesh. The industry is also the single largest employer of women. How has this employment improved the everyday lives and livelihoods of the essentially female labour force? CAWR researchers with local partners in Bangladesh, from the Bangladesh Agriculture University undertook an ethnographic study in Gazipur District, a peri-urban suburb of Dhaka city to enable the voices and experiences of women working in Gazipur’s Ready Made Garment factories to inform what appears to be a highly contested discourse around the increased participation of women in the RMG industry and their empowerment. Read this policy brief for an overview of the key findings of the study. The policy brief also includes a link to a video that was a recording of a participatorily produced theatre which shares the stories shared by the women RMG workers. Click here to read the policy brief. MSc in Agroecology, Water and Food SovereigntyIf you're interested in joining us in September on our Masters course and have any questions, please get in touch with our Postgraduate team who will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Watch this video to find out more about the course. 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