This paper analyzes how peasant movements scale up agroecology. It specifically examines Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), a grassroots peasant agroecology movement in Karnataka, India. ZBNF ends ...reliance on purchased inputs and loans for farming, positioning itself as a solution to extreme indebtedness and suicides among Indian farmers. The ZBNF movement has achieved massive scale not only because of effective farming practices, but because of a social movement dynamic - motivating members through discourse, mobilizing resources from allies, self-organized pedagogical activities, charismatic and local leadership, and generating a spirit of volunteerism among its members. This paper was produced as part of a self-study process in La Via Campesina, the global peasant movement.
Agroecology as a transformative movement has gained momentum in many countries worldwide. In several cases, the implementation of agroecological practices has grown beyond isolated, local experiences ...to be employed by ever-greater numbers of families and communities over ever-larger territories and to engage more people in the processing, distribution, and consumption of agroecologically produced food. To understand the nonlinear, multidimensional processes that have enabled and impelled the bringing to scale of agroecology, we review and analyze emblematic cases that include the farmer-to-farmer movement in Central America; the national peasant agroecology movement in Cuba; the organic coffee boom in Chiapas, Mexico; the spread of Zero Budget Natural Farming in Karnataka, India; and the agroecological farmer-consumer marketing network "Rede Ecovida," in Brazil. On the basis of our analysis, we identify eight key drivers of the process of taking agroecology to scale: (1) recognition of a crisis that motivates the search for alternatives, (2) social organization, (3) constructivist learning processes, (4) effective agroecological practices, (5) mobilizing discourses, (6) external allies, (7) favorable markets, and (8) favorable policies. This initial analysis shows that organization and social fabric are the growth media on which agroecology advances, with the help of the other drivers. A more detailed understanding is needed on how these multiple dimensions interact with, reinforce, and generate positive feedback with each other to make agroecology's territorial expansion possible.
To truly understand the current status of tropical diversity and to forecast future trends, we need to increase emphasis on the study of biodiversity in rural landscapes that are actively managed or ...modified by people. We present an integrated landscape approach to promote research in human-modified landscapes that includes the effects of landscape structure and dynamics on conservation of biodiversity, provision of ecosystem services, and sustainability of rural livelihoods. We propose research priorities encompassing three major areas: biodiversity, human-environment interactions, and restoration ecology. We highlight key areas where we lack knowledge and where additional understanding is most urgent for promoting conservation and sustaining rural livelihoods. Finally, we recommend participatory and multidisciplinary approaches in research and management. Lasting conservation efforts demand new alliances among conservation biologists, agroecologists, agronomists, farmers, indigenous peoples, rural social movements, foresters, social scientists, and land managers to collaborate in research, co-design conservation programs and policies, and manage human-modified landscapes in ways that enhance biodiversity conservation and promote sustainable livelihoods.
An urgent call for deep food system change Gliessman, Steve; Ferguson, Bruce G.
Agroecology and sustainable food systems,
01/2021, Letnik:
45, Številka:
1
Journal Article
We explore potential and limitations for agroecological scaling through formal education, using the LabVida school gardens program in Chiapas, Mexico as a case study. Through LabVida training, ...educators gained an appreciation of agroecology and learned to apply agroecological practices, although their understanding of agroecological principles and scientific process remained limited. The greatest program impact was on educators' eating habits, and their perception of the value of local knowledge and its relevance to school work. The case study demonstrates the potential of garden and food-system work to leverage institutional resources in ways that can improve educational outcomes, including agroecological literacy. Increased awareness of agroecology and the value of local knowledge may intersect with other drivers of scaling, including markets, organizational fabric, and policy.
Opportunities for achieving long-term conservation using an integrated landscape approach in Mesoamerica are discussed. An overview of the potential for agricultural landscapes and traditional ...smallholder farming to conserve biodiversity is provided. An urgent action agenda is proposed to guided conservation in agricultural landscapes and stem the loss of biodiversity and traditional farming systems. The new approach recognizes farmers as stakeholders in conserving biodiversity and actively solicits farmers as partners to create resilient landscapes that foster wildlife and preserve rural livelihoods and local knowledge. The action agenda provides strategies for reconciling farming and conservation and identifies key socioeconomic, legal, and political actions that can enable their adoption.
Celebrating 10 Years of Agroecology Gliessman, Steve; Ferguson, Bruce G; Montenegro de Wit, Maywa ...
Agroecology and sustainable food systems,
01/2024, Letnik:
48, Številka:
1
Journal Article
A persistent problem in the dominant agricultural development model is the imposition of technologies without regard to local processes and cultures. Even with the recent shift towards sustainability ...and agroecology, initiatives continue to overlook local knowledge. In this article we provide analysis of agroecological soil management in the Maya-Achi territory of Guatemala. The Achí, subject to five decades of interventions and development, present an interesting case study for assessing the complementarities and tensions between traditional, generally preventative practices and external initiatives which tend to be curative. Our findings reveal a complex farming system that continues to rely on ancestral knowledge and practices, many of which display a high potential for sustainability and are deeply embedded in local culture. While some new practices have been incorporated into the traditional system, abandonment rates are high, and some extension methods have been paternalistic. The Achí are thirsty for new ideas to help them confront their current, unprecedented challenges. However, future collaborations should be built on existing local knowledge, which has contributed to the development of preventative and restorative practices still in use. Introduced technologies must coincide with local needs and socioecological context in a manner that encourages beneficial synergies, as well as horizontal learning/teaching processes.
In coming years society will be forced to adapt to lower energy levels due to projected declines in non-renewable energies. This will increase the challenge to ecological engineers to design ...sustainable ecosystems, driven by renewable energies to benefit society and the environment. This paper introduces the field of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) as an important source of ideas, inspiration and designs to help our profession meet this challenge. TEK refers to ecological knowledge and practices of indigenous and local cultures. Because these practices originated and evolved prior to the era of fossil-fuel dominance, they were designed and have continuously adapted to utilize renewable energies and resources. TEK is also well suited to sustainable design due to philosophical differences with Western science and culture. While Western culture views society as apart from and controlling ecosystems, indigenous cultures routinely see themselves as embedded within ecosystems. Because TEK has declined as the influence of Western culture has spread, there is an urgent need to identify and apply this knowledge for future benefit. Collaboration with scientists can help raise the social standing of indigenous people and of TEK within their own communities, thus contributing to cultural survival while maintaining this information. Applications of TEK relevant to ecological engineering including water management and agriculture in the Americas are highlighted.
PDF
