What is GCAN?

​

GCAN is an unofficial assemblage of CA experts and farm organizations from around the world. It has no physical building or headquarters.

 

It was formed in 2015 by a group of Conservation Agriculture (CA) supporters from different countries attracted to the same need of increasing understanding and adoption of CA around the world.  They agreed on a number of points.

 

1. Farmer organizations need to be heard in national and international policy development and to be involved in development and decision making of policies and priorities for agriculture, environment and research.

2. Agriculture needs to be seen as sustainable and responsible production through adoption of CA principles and practices.

3. CA farm organizations and experts need to connect to large initiatives of governments such as the IPCC – COP meetings as well as those of national government initiatives and the retail food sector (eg. Sustainable Round Tables).Often those initiatives are open to contributions from farm groups and pragmatic experts.

4. CA organizations from different countries and regions need a structure to come together for proactive actions to grow CA and vitalize or energize themselves.

 

How does it operate?

​

- Regular group Skype conferences and email..

- It has a simple webpage to serve as a communications node to members and interested parties.

- It does not charge membership fees.

- It has no funds and as a ‘virtual’ organization, it must rely on members to hold and disburse funds.

- It is not created to replace functions of any CA organization.Its goal is to support, strengthen and connect CA organizations where it can.

- It’s level of actions and support is limited by funding and the energy of volunteers.

​

​

​

The COP21 meeting in Paris (December, 2015) was forthcoming and the urgency to develop something catalyzed action of the group.  A concise document was developed of what CA is, what it can do and what the state of affairs was and then endorsed by a large number of groups from around the world.  A manifesto for action called “Farming Forward for Climate Change” was distributed at COP21 in support of other activies which were a CA booth that was maintained by CA farmers (from France) for the whole week, as well as a half-day symposium and panel discussion.

​

Manifesto's supporters (Farming Forward for Climate Change). 

​

- European Conservation Agriculture Federation, ECAF

- Association pour la Promotion d'une Agriculture Durable, APAD (France)

- African Conservation Tillage Network, ACT

- South Asian Conservation Agriculture Network, SACAN

- Conservation Tillage Research Centre, CTRC (China)

- Conservation Agriculture Australia

- Western Australian No-Tillage Farmers Association, WANTFA

- Confederation of American Associations for the Production of Sustainable Agriculture, CAAPAS

- Fundação Agrisus (Brazil)

- Federação Brasileira de Plantio Direto e Irrigação, (Brazil)

- Federación Paraguaya de Siembra Directa para una Agricultura Sustentable, Fepasidias (Paraguay)

- Asociación Uruguaya de Siembra Directa, AUSID (Uruguay)

- Asociación Argentina de Productores en Siembra Directa, AAPRESID (Argentina)

- Sequoia Farm Foundation (USA)

- Ohio No-till Council

- Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, C-MASC, (Ohio State Univ)

- Agronomy Dept of Universidade Estadual de Londrina, (UEL, Brazil)