Making steps towards agroecology in rural and urban Finland

Agroecology in Finland is taking great steps thanks to the campaign by Friends of the Earth Finland / Maan Ystävät to promote more sustainable agricultural practices, from the grassroots to the EU level. In their food and agriculture campaigning, the organisation are demanding that the EU Common Agricultural Policy promote and support agroecological practices.

For many years, their local group in Helsinki has supported and collaborated with Oma Maa, a local food cooperative based on agroecology and community-supported agriculture. The collaboration has taken many forms, such as invited seminars and workshops, mobilising people to help at the farm, and investing in the cooperative’s shares.

The Friends of the Earth Helsinki group also engages in collective urban farming by cultivating a gardening plot, and its student group has participated in a campus farming initiative with the Student Union of the University of Helsinki.

Photo credit: Friends of the Earth Helsinki