Agroecology : a transdisciplinary, participatory and action-oriented approach

284 Pages·2016·4.833 MB·English

by  Bacon, Christopher M., Cohen, Roseann, Gliessman, Stephen R., Méndez, V. Ernesto

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A Transdisciplinary, Participatory and
Action-oriented Approach
Advances in Agroecology
Series Editor: Clive A. Edwards
Agroecology: A Transdisciplinary, Participatory and Action-oriented Approach,
V. Ernesto Méndez, Christopher M. Bacon, Roseann Cohen, Stephen R. Gliessman
Agroecology, Ecosystems, and Sustainability, Noureddine Benkeblia
Agroecosystems in a Changing Climate, Paul C.D. Newton, R. Andrew Carran,
Grant R. Edwards, and Pascal A. Niklaus
Agroecosystem Sustainability: Developing Practical Strategies, Stephen R. Gliessman
Agroforestry in Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Louise E. Buck, James P. Lassoie, and
Erick C.M. Fernandes
Biodiversity in Agroecosystems, Wanda Williams Collins and Calvin O. Qualset
The Conversion to Sustainable Agriculture: Principles, Processes, and Practices,
Stephen R. Gliessman and Martha Rosemeyer
Global Economic and Environmental Aspects of Biofuels, David Pimentel
Integrated Assessment of Health and Sustainability of Agroecosystems, Thomas Gitau,
Margaret W. Gitau, and David Waltner-Toews
Interactions between Agroecosystems and Rural Communities, Cornelia Flora
Land Use Intensification: Effects on Agriculture, Biodiversity, and Ecological Processes,
David Lindenmayer, Saul Cunningham, and Andrew Young
Landscape Ecology in Agroecosystems Management, Lech Ryszkowski
Microbial Ecology in Sustainable Agroecosystems, Tanya Cheeke, David C. Coleman, and Diana H. Wall
Multi-Scale Integrated Analysis of Agroecosystems, Mario Giampietro
Soil Ecology in Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Lijbert Brussaard and Ronald Ferrera-Cerrato
Soil Organic Matter in Sustainable Agriculture, Fred Magdoff and Ray R. Weil
Soil Tillage in Agroecosystems, Adel El Titi
Structure and Function in Agroecosystem Design and Management, Masae Shiyomi and Hiroshi Koizumi
Sustainable Agriculture and New Biotechnologies, Noureddine Benkeblia
Sustainable Agroecosystem Management: Integrating Ecology, Economics and Society,
Patrick J. Bohlen and Gar House
Tropical Agroecosystems, John H. Vandermeer
Advisory Board
Editor-in-Chief
Clive A. Edwards, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Editorial Board
Miguel Altieri, University of California, Berkeley, California
Patrick J. Bohlen, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
Lijbert Brussaard, Agricultural University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
David Coleman, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
D.A. Crossley, Jr., University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia
Adel El-Titi, Stuttgart, Germany
Charles A. Francis, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska
Stephen R. Gliessman, University of California, Santa Cruz, California
Thurman Grove, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
Maurizio Paoletti, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
David Pimentel, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Masae Shiyomi, Ibaraki University, Mito, Japan
Sir Colin R.W. Spedding, Berkshire, England
Moham K. Wali, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
AAggrrooeeccoollooggyy

A Transdisciplinary, Participatory and
Action-oriented Approach
Edited by
V. Ernesto Méndez
University of Vermont, Burlington, USA
Christopher M. Bacon
Santa Clara University, California, USA
Roseann Cohen
Community Agroecology Network,
Santa Cruz, California, USA
Stephen R. Gliessman
University of California, Santa Cruz, USA

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Contents
Prefacevii
Foreword ix
Acknowledgments xi
Editors xiii
Contributors xv
Chapter 1
Introduction: Agroecology as a Transdisciplinary, Participatory, and Action-oriented Approach 1
V. Ernesto Méndez, Christopher M. Bacon, and Roseann Cohen
Chapter 2
Agroecology: Roots of Resistance to Industrialized Food Systems 23
Stephen R. Gliessman
Chapter 3
Transformative Agroecology: Foundations in Agricultural Practice, Agrarian Social
Thought, and Sociological Theory 37
Graham Woodgate and Eduardo Sevilla Guzmán
Chapter 4
Political Agroecology: An Essential Tool to Promote Agrarian Sustainability 55
Manuel González de Molina
Chapter 5
Learning Agroecology through Involvement and Reflection 73
Charles Francis, Edvin Østergaard, Anna Marie Nicolaysen, Geir Lieblein,
Tor Arvid Breland, and Suzanne Morse
Chapter 6

Complexity in Tradition and Science: Intersecting Theoretical Frameworks in
Agroecological Research 99
John Vandermeer and Ivette Perfecto
Chapter 7
Agroecology, Food Sovereignty, and the New Green Revolution 113
Eric Holt-Giménez and Miguel A. Altieri
Chapter 8
The Intercultural Origin of Agroecology: Contributions from Mexico 123
Francisco J. Rosado-May
v
vi Contents
Chapter 9
Participatory Action Research for an Agroecological Transition in Spain: Building Local
Organic Food Networks 139
Gloria I. Guzmán, Daniel López, Lara Román, and Antonio M. Alonso
Chapter 10
Agroecology, Food Sovereignty, and Urban Agriculture in the United States 161
Margarita Fernandez, V. Ernesto Méndez, Teresa Mares, and Rachel Schattman
Chapter 11
On the Ground: Putting Agroecology to Work through Applied Research and Extension in
Vermont 177
Debra Heleba, Vern Grubinger, and Heather Darby
Chapter 12
Agroecology as a Food Security and Sovereignty Strategy in Coffee-Growing Communities:
Opportunities and Challenges in San Ramon, Nicaragua 193
Heather Putnam, Roseann Cohen, and Roberta M. Jaffe
Chapter 13
The Mesoamerican Agroenvironmental Program: Critical Lessons Learned from an
Integrated Approach to Achieve Sustainable Land Management217
Isabel A. Gutiérrez-Montes and Felicia Ramírez Aguero
Chapter 14
Analysis of Tropical Homegardens through an Agroecology and Anthropological
Ecology Perspective 233
Alba González-Jácome
Index 259
Preface
The spark that ignited this book, and other related publications, started with conversations
among Steve Gliessman, Ernesto Méndez, and Manuel González de Molina while teaching at the
agroecology graduate program of the International University of Andalucía (UNIA), Spain, in
2011 The discussions centered on how an increasing number of publications on agroecology were
starting to appear in the scientific and gray literatures, and our perception that not all agroeco-
logical perspectives were being adequately discussed This led to the idea of preparing a special
edited issue to inaugurate the launch of the renaming of the Journal of Sustainable Agriculture
with the new name of Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, the first international English
language journal with “agroecology” in the title After further discussions with Chris Bacon and
Roseann Cohen, they joined Ernesto as guest editors, and the special issue was published in 2013
Our second project was to produce an open access, Spanish translation of the special issue, which
appeared as a number in the Spanish journal Agroecología in 2014 This edited book represents the
third contribution of this conceptual project Steve Gliessman joined us as an editor with a goal of
bringing together fully revised contributions to the special issue as well as additional conceptual
and empirical chapters The motivations behind this collection of work are to (1) more explicitly and
critically discuss the different perspectives that are present in the growing field of agroecology and
(2) provide conceptual and empirical material of an agroecology that aspires to be transdisciplinary,
participatory, and action-oriented We hope that this volume will provide an inspiration for others
who are working to innovate and transform our current agri-food system into one that is more sus-
tainable for all people, ecologies, and landscapes
V. Ernesto Méndez
Agroecology and Rural Livelihoods Group (ARLG), University of Vermont
Christopher M. Bacon
Department of Environmental Studies, Santa Clara University
Roseanne Cohen
Community Agroecology Network
Stephen R. Gliessman
Community Agroecology Network and University of California at Santa Cruz

vii

Foreword
As a contribution to the science of agronomy, agroecology aims to reduce the use of external
fossil-based inputs, to recycle waste, and to combine different elements of nature in the process of
production, in order to maximize synergies between them But agroecology is more than a range of
agronomic techniques that present some of these characteristics It is both a certain way of thinking
of our relationship to nature, and it is growing as a social movement
Agroecology invites us to embrace the complexity of nature; it sees such complexity not as a
liability, but as an asset The farmer, in this view, is a discoverer as he or she proceeds experimen-
tally, by trial and error, observing what consequences follow from which combinations and learning
from what works best—even though the ultimate “scientific” explanation may remain elusive This
is empowering; the farmer is put in the driver’s seat, constructing the knowledge that works best in
the local context in which he or she operates In contrast, so-called “modern” agriculture, which is,
in fact, the twentieth-century agriculture, did the exact opposite—it sought to simplify nature What
to do in the field was defined by whatever was prescribed by “science” developed in laboratories
The path from research to practice was unidirectional and it was seen as unproblematic Since solu-
tions were based on science, they were considered universally applicable The experiential knowl-
edge of the farmer was irrelevant at best; at worst, it was treated as “prejudice” and as an obstacle
to the top-down implementation of sound scientific prescriptions from “experts” In this view from
twentieth-century science, the complexity of nature is a problem; simplify it if you can, and never
mind if this means robbing the farmer of the opportunity to develop his or her art and of transform-
ing that art into the literacy of reading instructions on spray bottles and seed bags
If agroecology stems from a renewed understanding of nature and our relationship with nature,
it naturally follows that it is also a social movement This movement encourages peer-to-peer
exchanges of information between farmers It prioritizes local solutions relying on local resources
And it transforms the relationship between the farmer and the “expert,” be it from a department of
agriculture or from an international agency This is not done in order to reverse it and to replace one
hierarchy with another, but to move toward the co-construction of knowledge This is very clearly
illustrated by participatory plant breeding examples
It is only if we see agroecology as something other than a particular set of agronomic techniques
that we can understand the opposition that it faces Indeed, as a branch of agronomy that borrows
from ecology to undertake the act of farming within the ecosystems in which that act takes place,
agroecology is particularly well suited to meet the challenges of the day In our still dominant
industrial farming system, it takes about 10 calories of fossil energy to produce one calorie of food,
a clearly unsustainable approach as we reach peak gas and peak oil This system is a huge emit-
ter of greenhouse gases at least 135% of total human-generated greenhouse gas emissions come

from agriculture This rises up to one-third once we factor into that calculation the deforestation
to create pastures and expand cultivated areas as well as the various stages of food processing,
packaging, transport, and retail Small-scale farms are systematically put at a disadvantage, and
this is because they are less well-equipped to mechanize and to achieve economies of scale This is
because they are less competitive in a world in which farmers are asked to become suppliers of raw
commodities—of large volumes of uniform “stuff”—for the food processing industry The impacts
on rural development are considerable, as small family farms are disappearing in huge numbers
Moreover, as it has been shaped in the past, industrial food systems have encouraged the shift
to highly processed foods, including ready-to-eat “convenience” foods and ultraprocessed “junk”
foods The consequences of such modern approaches are well-known Worldwide, the prevalence
of obesity doubled between 1980 and 2008 More than 1 billion adults are now overweight, and
another 400 million are obese Combined with more sedentary lifestyles and tobacco and alco-
hol consumption, inadequate diets are resulting in the rise of noncommunicable diseases Type 2
ix
x Foreword
diabetes, heart disease, or gastrointestinal cancers—all directly related to diets—are now growing
fast in all regions, and not only in rich countries as was the case in the past
Agroecology provides a number of answers It favors a gradual transition away from the fos-
sil energy-based farming of the earlier generation, and it seeks to preserve soil health and reduce
soil erosion In fact, it is mostly because of its environmental benefits that agroecology is now of
interest to governments and international agencies Although it can be practiced on a large scale,
its insistence on intercropping techniques and on various combinations between plants, trees, and
animals—in order to reestablish the agro-silvo-pastoral complementarities that “modern” agri-
culture has negated—make it especially suitable when practiced on relatively smaller farms As
such, increased support to agroecology shall contribute to rebalancing a competition between large,
industrial-sized farms and smaller farms This balance is currently significantly skewed in favor of
the former agricultural model Agroecology favors better nutrition, both because greater diversity
on the farm results in greater diversity on the plates for the communities who produce their own
food, and because of the proven benefits to health Organic crops, recent studies show, have an up
to 60% higher number of key antioxidants than conventionally grown ones, and of course show
much lower levels of pesticide residues and toxic heavy metals, such as cadmium, than industrially
grown crops Most importantly, agroecology represents a shift away from the quasi-exclusive focus
on growing large areas of cereals in monocultures, which over the past 30 years had in fact reduced
the diversity of the plants on which our diets are based, and has favored an ever-increasing reliance
on heavily processed foods that are richer in saturated fats and in added sugars and salt The health
benefits of an agroecological revolution would be significant
Why is it, then, that despite all the benefits it may provide, agroecology remains marginal-
ized? Four major lock-ins still form considerable obstacles to the agroecological revolution First,
technologies and infrastructures are biased in favor of achieving economies of scale through large
monocultures that can be more easily mechanized Second, dominant agribusiness actors—the
large commodity buyers and food processing companies—are better positioned to supply markets
with low-priced foodstuffs against which other actors who use the other more sustainable modes of
production are unable to compete Until industrial farming methods are obliged to fully internalize
the social and environmental costs they impose on the collectivity, this will not change Third, our
lifestyles have evolved with the industrial way of producing food that we have been encouraging
People today have less time to cook, they have relegated food to a secondary place in their lives, and
many families have lost even the most basic cooking skills This culinary knowledge is required to
reduce the dependency on heavily processed foods, including the convenience foods that we have
become so accustomed to Fourth and finally, political obstacles remain Large agribusiness actors
veto any significant change that would threaten their position in the system and that would question,
in particular, the relegation of the farmer to the position of a captive buyer of inputs and a provider
of raw materials to the food processing industry
These obstacles are formidable This is why food democracy—the ability for people to make
real choices about how to produce food, what to produce, and how to eat—is a key to unlocking the
system The agroecological revolution is much needed It will succeed, however, only if we over-
come the political economic obstacles to change I welcome this volume as an important contribu-
tion to this ambitious and urgent undertaking
Olivier De Schutter
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food (2008–2014)
Member of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.