Resources on Agro-Ecology
(Biodiversity-based Ecological Agriculture)
Surin Declaration
"We understood that agroecology is an intrinsic part of the global answer to the main challenges and crises we face as humanity.
On the first place, small scale farming can feed, and is feeding humanity and can tackle the food crisis through agroecology and diversity. Despite the common misconception that agribusiness systems are more productive, we now know that agroecological systems can produce much more food per hectare than any monoculture, all the while making food healthier, more nutritious, and available directly to the consumers.
Secondly, agroecology helps confront the environmental crisis. Peasant agriculture, coupled with agroecology and diversity, cools down the earth; keeping carbon in the soil and providing peasants and family farmers with the resources for resilience to climate change and the increasing natural disasters. Agroecology changes the oil dependant energy and agriculture matrix, a main part of the systemic changes needed to stop emissions.
Third, agroecology supports the common good and the collective. While it creates the conditions for better livelihoods for rural and urban people, agroecology, as a pillar of Food and Popular Sovereignty, establishes that land, water, seeds and knowledge are reclaimed and remain as a patrimony of the peoples at the service of humanity.
Through agroecology we will transform the hegemonic food production model; permitting the recovery of the agricultural ecosystem, reestablishing the functioning of the nature-society metabolism, and harvesting products to feed humanity. As the Philippine farmers say “Kabuhanan, Kalusugan, Kalikasan” (for economy, for health, and for Nature).
For us, as peasant farmers and family farmers, agroecology is also an instrument to confront transnational agribusiness and the predominant agri-export model. We won't liberate farmers from the structure of oppression built up by the corporations unless we gain technological and economical autonomy from the current forms of agrarian and financial capital. Also, within the context of farm workers and other agricultural laborers as in the case of the U.S., if we do not recover this labor force that has been being enslaved by capital. Therefore, agroecology is an essential part of the construction of social justice in a new equal social system, not dominated by capital.
Agroecology is giving a new meaning to the struggle for agrarian reform to empower the people. The landless farmers who fought to reclaim back their land, and those who received land through land reform programs in Brazil and Zimbabwe, are implementing agroecology as a tool to defend and sustain their farming, not only for their families, but to provide healthier food for the community. Therefore, land reform, together with agroecology, has become the contribution of peasant and family farmers to give better and healthier food to our societies. In Argentina we stand behind this affirmation by saying “somos tierra para alimentar a los pueblos” (we are land, to feed the peoples)."
Source
"Agro-ecology emerged from the convergence of traditional knowledge, ecology and agronomy. It is the application of the ecological science to the study, design and management of sustainable agro-ecosystems. Agro-ecology integrates scientific understanding about how particular places work -- their ecology -- with farmers’ knowledge of how to make their local landscapes useful to humans. It focuses on the value of diverse and complex methods of land stewardship and the re-integration of livestock, crops, pollinators, trees, and water in ways that work resiliently with the landscape..."
Source
"We understood that agroecology is an intrinsic part of the global answer to the main challenges and crises we face as humanity.
On the first place, small scale farming can feed, and is feeding humanity and can tackle the food crisis through agroecology and diversity. Despite the common misconception that agribusiness systems are more productive, we now know that agroecological systems can produce much more food per hectare than any monoculture, all the while making food healthier, more nutritious, and available directly to the consumers.
Secondly, agroecology helps confront the environmental crisis. Peasant agriculture, coupled with agroecology and diversity, cools down the earth; keeping carbon in the soil and providing peasants and family farmers with the resources for resilience to climate change and the increasing natural disasters. Agroecology changes the oil dependant energy and agriculture matrix, a main part of the systemic changes needed to stop emissions.
Third, agroecology supports the common good and the collective. While it creates the conditions for better livelihoods for rural and urban people, agroecology, as a pillar of Food and Popular Sovereignty, establishes that land, water, seeds and knowledge are reclaimed and remain as a patrimony of the peoples at the service of humanity.
Through agroecology we will transform the hegemonic food production model; permitting the recovery of the agricultural ecosystem, reestablishing the functioning of the nature-society metabolism, and harvesting products to feed humanity. As the Philippine farmers say “Kabuhanan, Kalusugan, Kalikasan” (for economy, for health, and for Nature).
For us, as peasant farmers and family farmers, agroecology is also an instrument to confront transnational agribusiness and the predominant agri-export model. We won't liberate farmers from the structure of oppression built up by the corporations unless we gain technological and economical autonomy from the current forms of agrarian and financial capital. Also, within the context of farm workers and other agricultural laborers as in the case of the U.S., if we do not recover this labor force that has been being enslaved by capital. Therefore, agroecology is an essential part of the construction of social justice in a new equal social system, not dominated by capital.
Agroecology is giving a new meaning to the struggle for agrarian reform to empower the people. The landless farmers who fought to reclaim back their land, and those who received land through land reform programs in Brazil and Zimbabwe, are implementing agroecology as a tool to defend and sustain their farming, not only for their families, but to provide healthier food for the community. Therefore, land reform, together with agroecology, has become the contribution of peasant and family farmers to give better and healthier food to our societies. In Argentina we stand behind this affirmation by saying “somos tierra para alimentar a los pueblos” (we are land, to feed the peoples)."
Source
"Agro-ecology emerged from the convergence of traditional knowledge, ecology and agronomy. It is the application of the ecological science to the study, design and management of sustainable agro-ecosystems. Agro-ecology integrates scientific understanding about how particular places work -- their ecology -- with farmers’ knowledge of how to make their local landscapes useful to humans. It focuses on the value of diverse and complex methods of land stewardship and the re-integration of livestock, crops, pollinators, trees, and water in ways that work resiliently with the landscape..."
Source
Miguel Altieri:
Why is agroecology the solution to hunger and food security?
Food movements, agroecology, and the future of food and farming. Today, a billion people live in hunger. Peak oil and environmental degradation threaten the food security of billions more, particularly with half the world's population living in urban environments where they are dependent on industrially produced and imported food. A transition is urgently needed, but how? What alternative policies can enable communities to realise their own food security in the face of environmental challenges, while also improving livelihoods, building resilience, and conserving ecosystems? Many food-related movements have already emerged around the world, but what ongoing challenges do they face? (More)
Links on Agro-Ecology
>> Agroecology: A New Research and Development Paradigm for World Agriculture
>> La Via Campesina and Agroecology
>> Surin Declaration: First Global Encounter on Agro-ecology and Peasant Seeds
>> The Agroecologist Activist
>> Agroecology as a Science, a Movement and a Practice. A Review
>> Agroecology as a Transdisciplinary, Participatory, and Action-Oriented Approach
>> The Agro-ecological Revolution: The Farmer-to-Farmer Movement of the ANAP in Cuba
>> What is Agro-ecology ?
>> From Agribusiness to Agroecology? An Analysis of Venezuela’s Nationalization of AgroIsleña
>> Urban Agroecology: A Lighthouse of Sustainability
>> Institutionalization of the Agroecological Approach in Brazil: Advances and Challenges
>> Civil Society Statement on the Draft Agroecology Strategy for South Africa (Draft 7)
>> Agroecology vs. Ecoagriculture: Balancing Food Production and Biodiversity Conservation in the Midst of Social Inequity
>> Agro-ecology Media Toolkit
>> Agro-ecology and the Green Revolution
>> What Cuba Can Teach Us about Food and Climate Change
>> Ending African Hunger: GM or Agro-Ecology?
>> Cuba Shares its Experiences in Agro-Ecology
>> Lesson From Asia on Agro-Ecology
>> Agro-Ecology and Advocacy: Innovations in Asia
>> Going Beyond Organic: Agroecology as the Next Step
>> Agro-Ecological Zoning and Gis Applications in Asia
>> Sri Lanka Declaration: Asian Agroecology Encounter
>> First Regional Agroecology Learning Exchange, India
>> Watching Agroecology in Action
>> Agro-ecological Intensification for a Green Economy in Asia: Enhancing Productivity, Improving Rural Livelihoods, Securing Food Supply, and Reducing Environmental Footprint
>> Nicaragua: Three Decades Developing Agroecology
>> Characterisation and Importance of Agro-ecological Zones in South Asia
>> World's Small Farmers Meet to Promote Agroecology
>> Govt’s Urged to Adopt ‘Agroecology’ at Hanoi Conference on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change
>> Territories, Food Sovereignty, and Agroecology
>> Agroecological Alternatives to the New Green Revolution for Africa
>> Plumbing the Agroecology Zeitgeist
>> The Best of Agro-Ecology
>> How Agro-Ecology Offers Real Solutions to World Hunger
>> La Via Campesina and Agroecology
>> Surin Declaration: First Global Encounter on Agro-ecology and Peasant Seeds
>> The Agroecologist Activist
>> Agroecology as a Science, a Movement and a Practice. A Review
>> Agroecology as a Transdisciplinary, Participatory, and Action-Oriented Approach
>> The Agro-ecological Revolution: The Farmer-to-Farmer Movement of the ANAP in Cuba
>> What is Agro-ecology ?
>> From Agribusiness to Agroecology? An Analysis of Venezuela’s Nationalization of AgroIsleña
>> Urban Agroecology: A Lighthouse of Sustainability
>> Institutionalization of the Agroecological Approach in Brazil: Advances and Challenges
>> Civil Society Statement on the Draft Agroecology Strategy for South Africa (Draft 7)
>> Agroecology vs. Ecoagriculture: Balancing Food Production and Biodiversity Conservation in the Midst of Social Inequity
>> Agro-ecology Media Toolkit
>> Agro-ecology and the Green Revolution
>> What Cuba Can Teach Us about Food and Climate Change
>> Ending African Hunger: GM or Agro-Ecology?
>> Cuba Shares its Experiences in Agro-Ecology
>> Lesson From Asia on Agro-Ecology
>> Agro-Ecology and Advocacy: Innovations in Asia
>> Going Beyond Organic: Agroecology as the Next Step
>> Agro-Ecological Zoning and Gis Applications in Asia
>> Sri Lanka Declaration: Asian Agroecology Encounter
>> First Regional Agroecology Learning Exchange, India
>> Watching Agroecology in Action
>> Agro-ecological Intensification for a Green Economy in Asia: Enhancing Productivity, Improving Rural Livelihoods, Securing Food Supply, and Reducing Environmental Footprint
>> Nicaragua: Three Decades Developing Agroecology
>> Characterisation and Importance of Agro-ecological Zones in South Asia
>> World's Small Farmers Meet to Promote Agroecology
>> Govt’s Urged to Adopt ‘Agroecology’ at Hanoi Conference on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change
>> Territories, Food Sovereignty, and Agroecology
>> Agroecological Alternatives to the New Green Revolution for Africa
>> Plumbing the Agroecology Zeitgeist
>> The Best of Agro-Ecology
>> How Agro-Ecology Offers Real Solutions to World Hunger
Eric Holt-Giménez:
Food movements, agroecology, and the future of food and farming
Eric Holt-Giménez gave this talk at the University of Amersterdam in the Netherlands, on Tuesday 13 December 2011. The event brought together three prominent radical thinkers each with a long background of experience in activism and academic research on transdisplinary but interconnected themes such as conservation, agro-ecology and sustainable farming, political economy and the social sciences.
