Agroecological Principles to Guide Transition Pathways Towards Food Security

THIRD WORLD NETWORK INFORMATION SERVICE ON SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

 

Dear Friends and Colleagues

Agroecological Principles to Guide Transition Pathways Towards Food Security

Agroecological approaches have gained prominence in scientific, agricultural and political discourse in recent years, suggesting pathways to transform agricultural and food systems. A consolidated set of 13 principles constructed from the literature on agroecology manifested as a science, a set of practices and a social movement are found to be well aligned and complementary to the 10 elements of agroecology developed by the FAO, which emerged from a global multi-stakeholder consultation and synthesis process.

The principles, while generically formulated are locally applied, generating diverse, locally adapted agroecological practice through co-creation of knowledge with stakeholders. They are relevant both to transitioning agricultural and food systems to achieving global food and nutrition security and to building resilience of agriculture by adapting to climate change.

The 13 consolidated agroecological principles are: recycling; input reduction; soil health; animal health; biodiversity; synergy; economic diversification; co-creation of knowledge; social values and diets; fairness; connectivity; land and natural resource governance; participation. The four key entry points associated with the 10 elements are: diversity; circular and solidarity economy; co-creation and sharing of knowledge; and, responsible governance to enable plausible pathways of transformative change towards sustainable agriculture and food systems.

To fully embrace the systems approach, future agroecology research needs to include much more interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary work and consider multiple entry-points and transition trajectories, in particular including social, cultural, political and economic issues. Furthermore, to transition to a just and inclusive food system will require changes in economic policies that support local and regional food systems, raising questions of how to address power dynamics in order to shift the dominant narrative. The social and political principles of participation, fairness, connectivity and land and natural resource governance all highlight the need for research and advocacy related to these changes, required for a true transformation of food systems to be resilient, equitable and sustainable.

 

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AGROECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES AND ELEMENTS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR TRANSITIONING TO SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS: A REVIEW

Alexander Wezel, Barbara Gemmill Herren, Rachel Bezner Kerr, Edmundo Barrios, André Luiz Rodrigues Gonçalves, Fergus Sinclair
Agronomy for Sustainable Development (2020) 40: 40
8 Oct 2020
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-020-00646-z
https://bit.ly/3fwxlz4

Abstract

There is consensus that the global food system is not delivering good nutrition for all and is causing environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity, such that a profound transformation is needed to meet the challenges of persistent malnutrition and rural poverty, aggravated by the growing consequences of climate change. Agroecological approaches have gained prominence in scientific, agricultural and political discourse in recent years, suggesting pathways to transform agricultural and food systems that address these issues. Here we present an extensive literature review of concepts, definitions and principles of agroecology, and their historical evolution, considering the three manifestations of agroecology as a science, a set of practices and a social movement; and relate them to the recent dialogue establishing a set of ten iconic elements of agroecology that have emerged from a global multi-stakeholder consultation and synthesis process. Based on this, a consolidated list of principles is developed and discussed in the context of presenting transition pathways to more sustainable food systems. The major outcomes of this paper are as follows. (1) Definition of 13 consolidated agroecological principles: recycling; input reduction; soil health; animal health; biodiversity; synergy; economic diversification; co-creation of knowledge; social values and diets; fairness; connectivity; land and natural resource governance; participation. (2) Confirmation that these principles are well aligned and complementary to the 10 elements of agroecology developed by FAO but articulate requirements of soil and animal health more explicitly and distinguish between biodiversity and economic diversification. (3) Clarification that application of these generic principles can generate diverse pathways for incremental and transformational change towards more sustainable farming and food systems. (4) Identification of four key entry points associated with the elements: diversity; circular and solidarity economy; co-creation and sharing of knowledge; and, responsible governance to enable plausible pathways of transformative change towards sustainable agriculture and food systems.

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