A/HRC/16/49 carbon sequestration in soils, storing carbon as soil organic matter (humus), something which can be done through agroecology.55 E. Farmer participation: an asset for the dissemination of best practices 32. The participation of farmers is vital for the success of agroecological practices. So far, agroecology has been developed by grassroots organizations and NGOs, and it has spread through farmer field schools and farmers’ movements, such as the Campesino a Campesino movement in Central America.56 Experience with agroecological techniques is growing everyday within peasant networks such as La Via Campesina and the AgriCultures Network (former LEISA) globally; Réseau des Organisations Paysannes et des Producteurs Agricoles de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (ROPPA), Eastern & Southern Africa Farmers' Forum (ESAFF), and PELUM (Participatory Ecological Land Use Management) network in Africa, MASIPAG network in the Philippines (Magsasaka at Siyentista Tungo sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura), or Assessoria e Serviços a Projetos em Agricultura Alternativa (AS-PTA) and Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra (MST) in Brazil.57 33. Farmer field schools have been shown to significantly reduce the amounts of pesticides use, as inputs are being replaced by knowledge. Large-scale studies from Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh recorded 35 to 92 per cent reduction in insecticide use in rice, and 34 to 66 per cent reduction in pesticide use, combined with 4 to 14 per cent better yields recorded in cotton production in China, India and Pakistan.58 Farmer field schools have also proven to be empowering by helping farmers to organize themselves better, and stimulating continued learning. The successful dissemination of the push-pull strategy (PPS) in East Africa, promoted by the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), is largely due to the demonstration of fields managed by model farmers, which attracts visits by other farmers during field days, and to partnerships with national research systems in Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and other countries that have made research and development efforts to bring about the necessary adaptations such as choice of maize cultivars.59 The growth of the Campesino a Campesino movement in Cuba relied on technical advisers and coordinators supported by the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAB). Between 2001 and 2009, the number of “promotores” increased 55 56 57 58 59 14 Ulrich Hoffmann, “Assuring food security in developing countries under the challenges of climate change: Key trade and development issues of a profound transformation of agriculture,” Discussion Paper No. 201, UNCTAD, November 2010, p. 11. On the mitigation potential of agriculture, see also FAO, Food security and agricultural mitigation in developing countries: options for capturing synergies, Rome, 2009. A. Degrande, et al., Mechanisms for scaling-up tree domestication: how grassroots organisations become agents of change, ICRAF, 2006, p. 6; E. Holt-Giménez, Campesino a campesino: voices from Latin America’s farmer to farmer movement for sustainable agriculture, Oakland, Food First Books, 2006; P. Rosset et al. Revolución agroecológica: El Movimiento de Campesino a Campesino de la ANAP en Cuba, Havana, La Via Campesina and ANAP, 2010. E. Holt Giemenez, “Linking farmers’ movements for advocacy and practice,” Journal of Peasant Studies, 37:1, 2010, pp. 203-236. Henk Van den Berg and Janice Jiggins, “Investing in Farmers. The Impacts of Farmer Field Schools in Relation to Integrated Pest Management,” World Development, 35:4, 2007, pp. 663-686. David M. Amudavi, et al., “Evaluation of farmers’ field days as a dissemination tool for push-pull technology in Western Kenya,” Crop Protection, 28, 2009, p. 226.