Agroecology and Sustainble Agriculture

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.

An ecologically sustainable and socially equitable food system, one that restores ecosystem services, enhances human welfare, and promotes community-based economic development, is urgently needed. Applied agroecological research and the development of regional and community food systems are key means through which pressing ecological and social externalities may be mitigated. However, progress in both of these areas has been limited, particularly in the USA, with constraints in each likely holding the other back. In this article, we first review and explore how public investment in agroecology research and development has been limited in the USA. We then discuss how agricultural research funds could be shifted to better support the development of more resilient and equitable food systems. Finally, we explore a broader set of structural obstacles to food system change and identify key policies that could work jointly to strengthen a positive feedback cycle of research, policy, education and practice. Such a feedback cycle could work to accelerate a transition to ecological farming and food system norms that enhance natural resources sustainability, equity and resilience.

Abstract
Concerns for biodiversity conservation have heightened since Rio de Janeiro 1992 meeting of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development and the subsequent Convention on Biodiversity. However, the rate of investment in agroforestry systems for agrobiodiversity conservation has been slower than expected. The Kakum Conservation Area (KCA) in Ghana is a national forest reserve, which forms part of the severely fragmented Guinean Forest of West Africa. It is a habitat for endangered larger mammals such as forest elephants, leopards, giant forest hogs, diversity of insect and birds. Nevertheless, the livelihoods of about 240,000 people depend on this forest. The people engage in economic activities such as cocoa farming which have impact on the KCA management. Conservation International with funding from World Bank developed a conservation cocoa agroforestry technology to enhance agrobiodiversity conservation by cocoa producers in the buffer zones of the KCA. This book explains how the socioeconomic characteristics of cocoa producers, market incentives, biophysical and other factors influence the extent of producer investment in the technology.

The current public health crisis has shed light on one of food systems’ most pressing challenges: reaching sustainable food security for all in a way that meets environmental and socio- economic sustainability. It has further confirmed that the logic of industrial agriculture has led our food
systems down an unsustain-able path, and that we must urgently change course. Agroecology is increasingly offered as the transformative and comprehensive solution that delivers benefits across all dimensions of sustainability. Yet, proponents of “business-as-usual” approaches continue to insist that producing higher, more resilient yields – particularly through new genomic techniques such as CRISPR/Cas – will serve as the means to ensure long-term food system resilience. Given the urgency for food systems transformation and drawing on agroecology as the paradigm shift we need, this article considers how new technologies can be assessed to evaluate their compatibility
with food systems sustainability. Using the example of CRISPR/Cas, this article offers a preliminary framework for assessment based on FAO’s 10 Elements of Agroecology. The purpose here is not to offer a comprehensive and definite assessment of CRISPR/Cas, but to serve as an example to highlight the need for holistic assessment tools when considering the development and uptake of new agricultural technologies.

Hace más de 500 años que, en las geografías de América Latina, el Norte metafórico impone procesos de colonización e imperialismo que generan múltiples despojos materiales e inmateriales, que tienen como respuestas la resistencia y la rebeldía de los pueblos y comunidades afectadas. Desde varios espacios académicos, campesinos e indígenas, se propone la agroecología como un sistema de organización social que sitúa en el centro un tema crucial para la humanidad: la producción de alimentos con justicia, solidaridad, igualdad y sustentabilidad. Ante la terrible situación descrita, ¿qué respuestas encontramos desde la academia? Y, ¿desde los movimientos campesinos e indígenas? ¿Cómo se posiciona el feminismo? Para abordar estas cuestiones, primero, se relatan las condiciones socioambientales en Abya Yala que propician la aparición de luchas feministas situadas. Luego, se exponen la teoría explicativa, agenda y vanguardia de estas luchas, aspectos clave del feminismo. A continuación, se concreta la propuesta de la agroecología. Por último, se articula un diálogo entre corrientes feministas, incorporando la situada en Abya Yala, y se teje la alianza con la agroecología. Se toman como referentes el feminismo comunitario situado en Bolivia y en Iximulew, y el feminismo campesino y popular de La Vía Campesina (LVC). Todo ello aportará fundamento, histórico y filosófico, al marco de acción y reflexión crítica, de la agroecología política feminista, para construir alternativas viables y vivibles para hombres y mujeres en igualdad real.

The question really was: what is our role in supporting the positive developments that ARE going on, in the transition, workdwide, from industrial agriculture to agro-ecology?
My book is one of the answers to that: I show  various aspects of positive developments in the  book:
- Why the old industrial agricultural system doesn’t work any longer ( no balance, pollution, diseases, etc)
- 25 good examples of balanced agroecological agriculture, from small holder closed-loop farmers, via consumer supported agriculture to ‘greening the desert’  examples.
- Chapters about good soil management and what agroecology really means/  is 
- How to support the transition
- Yellow pages for agroecology, mentioning all organisations that work towards ( the transformation to) agroecology in the world
If you are interested, the 4 parts of the book are now available online as pdf  as you suggested) on issuu.com/jellekeforagroecology

The project discussed in this case study investigated and addressed the needs and challenges of farmers as to the sustainable production of food under climate change in Saint Lucia. ICT was selected as an appropriate tool to ensure the availability of locally produced food in the country. The adoption of ICT strategies can increase agricultural
productivity and thus directly contribute to a nation’s resilience by providing food security. The use of ICT along with the adoption of good agricultural practices can help reduce GHG emissions. The project was implemented by the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) between January and December 2019, with funds provided by the Japan-Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Friendship and Cooperation Fund.  It was supported by Saint Lucia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Physical Planning, Natural Resources and Cooperatives. The project supports the Ministry’s Seven Crop Project for import substitution.

Guía ilustrada, con algunas caricaturas de Tony Peraza, resultado del diálogo y el trabajo interdisciplinario e intercultural entre horticultoras y horticultores mayas de la Escuela de Agroecología U Yits Ka’an, con más de veinte años de labores en la península de Yucatán, y maestros y alumnos de diversas disciplinas de la Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán. El objetivo es promover los saberes antiguos y actuales sobre la cosecha de lluvia, en complemento con las nuevas tecnologías de bajo impacto ambiental, como medidas de adaptación al cambio climático que enfrentamos para facilitar la agricultura de autoconsumo y venta. El texto inicia con los antecedentes históricos de las sequías y de la tradición de cosecha de agua-lluvia en la península de Yucatán, desde tiempos prehispánicos hasta hace algunas décadas, y explica de manera sencilla las causas de las severas alteraciones actuales del clima en la región, en México y en el mundo en general. Las voces de las horticultoras y los horticultores se hacen presentes para hablar sobre los problemas que experimentan para contar con agua en la calidad y cantidad necesarias para regar sus cultivos, agravados por la pérdida de saberes mayas y las costumbres colectivas para el bienestar común, entre otros aspectos sociales, políticos y económicos involucrados. Presenta como alternativa una guía para la construcción de una superficie de captación y un almacén de agua de lluvia de temporal, a base de ferrocemento, con los materiales y pasos a seguir, y algunas recomendaciones y estrategias para hacer más eficiente el aprovechamiento del agua. A manera de conclusión Esteban Krotz en: “Tradiciones innovadas: relaciones interculturales en el campo tecnológico”, reflexiona sobre la creciente visibilidad y reivindicación de las culturas indígenas en Latinoamérica por la riqueza de conocimientos y prácticas que aportan, como legados potenciales que pueden contribuir a enfrentar los grandes retos ambientales, y que ofrecen la posibilidad de encontrar los caminos adecuados para construir un nuevo proyecto, más nuestro, más justo y factible de tener éxito, y que, en el diálogo horizontal, decolonial y respetuoso entre personas con diferentes perspectivas, ofrecen invaluables alternativas para el “Buen vivir” al que se debe tener acceso como derecho.

What exactly is the climate change crisis ? How does it affect us ? Are we causing it ? How ? How is it going to affecting our land, water, food and lifestyle ? Can we anything about it ? How ? Why is the practice of agroecology so important in addition to clean energy ?

Should we wait for global agreements on mitigating climate change or act locally, intelligently and consistentl ?  Small and marginal farmers must adapt their practices to deal with changing temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events. These adaptations must first and foremost build resilience within the agroecosystem, increasing its ability to continue functioning when faced with unexpected events. How can this be made possible ?

"Climate Change and the Agriculture Crisis - Agroecology as a Solution" throws light on these pressing issues. It is an important addition to our work on small-holder agroecology series of publications. Read the book to understand how agroecology farms hold immense mitigation and adaptation potential and therefore are better suited to deal with the climate crisis.

http://focusweb.org/content/climate-change-and-agriculture-crisis-agroecology-solution

Coordinator of Thematic Poster Exhibition:
Concept of farm design: searching for 'the right' biodiversity for conservation in existing and expanding farming areas, and 'rested' areas intended for renewed agricultural activities.

'Farm design within coffee farms in Costa Rica and Cuba: Management systems for quality, environmental conservation and regeneration (within rested areas), and disease management.'

'Analog forestry, permaculture and agri ecology: how can they complement each other toward conservation intentions and toward ideas of 'the right biodiversity.'

En los países menos desarrollados persiste una población campesina empobrecida, asentada en zonas de alta biodiversidad y con gran experiencia en el manejo del medio natural. La agricultura surgida de la Revolución Verde ha degradado los ecosistemas y no ha impedido que perduren en el campo elevados niveles de pobreza y marginación. En México, desde los años 1980 tiene lugar un movimiento agroecológico que aprovecha el cambio en las pautas de consumo de la población occidental, y busca mejorar las condiciones de vida de la población campesina conservando al mismo tiempo la enorme biodiversidad que contiene el país. El café orgánico, producido mayoritariamente por pequeños campesinos indígenas, ha adquirido un gran desarrollo. No obstante las administraciones del país no han ayudado a que el proceso se extienda y profundice.
Palabras clave: pobreza rural, biodiversidad, México, comunidades indígenas y campesinas, agricultura orgánica, café ecológico

La collocazione del paradigma della “qualità di sistema” alla base del
dibattito sulla valorizzazione dei prodotti agroalimentari consente – alla luce
del nuovo approccio del giudice comunitario al concetto di territorialità del
segno - di considerare, in prospettiva, i marchi territoriali pubblici come
strumenti di sviluppo territoriale integrato e di reinterpretarne il rapporto con
gli altri segni distintivi della qualità. Quella di sistema è una nozione di qualità
di tipo multidimensionale. Essa - oltre che indicare le caratteristiche
nutrizionali, sensoriali, organolettiche e igienico-sanitarie dei prodotti -
comprende anche le dimensioni giuridiche di ordine ambientale, sociale,
culturale ed economico sottese alle produzioni. La titolarità pubblica del
marchio lo rende strumento dell’amministrazione per la tutela di interessi
pubblici come – nel caso delle produzioni agroalimentari di qualità – la tutela
del paesaggio e dell’agrobiodiversità. Il prodotto agroalimentare “marchiato”
assume così i connotati di bene giuridico polisenso, tramite della tutela di
questi interessi e sintesi fisica delle variabili territoriali materiali e immateriali
che incidono sulla sua produzione. In quest’ottica l’efficienza dell’attività
agricola non dipende esclusivamente dalle performance di mercato
dell’impresa utilizzatrice del segno, ma dai servizi agroecosistemici che essa è
in grado di fornire alla collettività. Il contributo intende analizzare i marchi
territoriali pubblici mediante la riflessione sull’operatività, attuale e futura,
dell’istituto in termini di valorizzazione delle produzioni agroalimentari di
qualità e sviluppo del territorio nel suo complesso.
PAROLE-CHIAVE: segni distintivi della qualità; marchi territoriali
pubblici; produzioni agroalimentari di qualità; agrobiodiversità; servizi
agroecosistemici; sviluppo territoriale integrato.


The position of the paradigm regarding the quality system at the base
of the debate about the valorisation of food products allows - in light of the
new approach by the judicial community towards the territoriality concept of
marks - for future consideration of public territorial marks as instruments of
integrated territorial development and reinterpretation of their relationship
with other distinctive marks or quality. That system is a multidimensional
notion of quality. In addition to indicating nutritional, sensory, organoleptic
and sanitary characteristics of the products, it also includes the legal
dimensions of the environmental, social, cultural and economic order
underlying the production. The public ownership of the mark renders it an
administrative instrument for the protection of the public interest such as, in
the case of quality food production, the protection of the countryside and
agrobiodiversity. The “marked” food product thus takes on the connotation of
a multipurpose legal good, through the protection of these interests and
physical synthesis of the territorial material and immaterial variables that have
effects on the production. In regards to this, the efficiency of the agricultural
activities does not depend exclusively on the performance of the company
utilising the mark, but on the agroecosystem services which it is capable of
providing to the collective. The contribution intends to analyse the public
territorial marks through reflection on its operativity, current and future, in
terms of valorisation of the quality food production and development of the
territory in its completeness.
KEYWORDS: distinctive quality marks; public territorial marks;
quality food production; agrobiodiversity; agroecosystem services; integrated
territorial development.

ESBOZOS COOPERACIÓN 43 OLOGÍA 1. La alimentación en un horizonte popular de emancipación. 2. Los mercados agroecológicos. 3. El agrocompostaje desde la perspectiva agroecológica. 4. Síntesis ESBOZOS, Nº 17 (2018) ISSN 1889-6448 páginas 43-64 Elaborado por miembros de la Plataforma Madrid Agroecológico, formada por redes autogestionarias de consumo, red de huertos, ecologistas, asociaciones y entidades de la economía social e investigadores implicados en proyectos agroecológicos y en la soberanía alimentaria INFORME ESBOZOS ANÁLISIS 44 RESUMO: TRATA DA AGROECOLOGÍA COMO MODELO

ActionAid joins growing global calls to ‘scale-up’ and ‘scale-out’ agroecology. As governments and donors meet at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 2nd International Symposium on Agroecology we urge them to join forces to support agroecology on a large scale. At least 500 million family farms produce about 80 percent of the world’s food. Comprised of smallholders, pastoralists, landless, fisher folk, forest dwellers and tribal and indigenous peoples, about half of them are women. Peasant agriculture plays a multifunctional role, providing food, fiber and other goods, as well as employment, culture, and a way of life. There is now extensive evidence that peasant-based agroecological systems are superior to high external input industrial agriculture and are highly productive, highly sustainable, empower women, create jobs, engage youth, provide greater autonomy, climate resilience, and multiple social, cultural and environmental benefits for women and men in rural and urban communities.

Based on our positive experiences of agroecology in 25 countries and the wider body of evidence, we urge decision makers to cast aside any ideological bias or skepticism and embrace agroecology as a key policy priority. Seeking a major transformation in agricultural and food systems, we call for increased public investment and adoption of public policies, strategies, programs and incentives to scale-out agroecology. We highlight six key barriers that need to be challenged and seven key steps required to achieve agroecology at scale. We also highlight ActionAid case studies from Brazil, Ghana, India, Kenya, Rwanda and Senegal. The six key barriers we identify are: ideological barriers, international trade and export orientation, marginalization of women, monopoly seed laws, lack of agricultural Research and Development (R&D) on agroecology and concentration of power amongst agribusiness TNCs.

Urban agriculture in Cuba is often promoted as an example of how agroecological farming can overcome the need for oil-derived inputs in food production. This article examines the geographical implications of Cuba's low-carbon urban farming based on fieldwork in five organopónicos in Pinar del Río. The article charts how energy flows, biophysical relations, and socially mediated ecological processes are spatially organised to enable large-scale urban agricultural production. To explain this production system, the literature on Cuban agroecology postulates a model of two distinct modes: agroecology versus industrial agriculture. Yet this distinction inadequately explains Cuba's urban agriculture: production in the organopónicos rather sits across categories, at once involving agroecological, organic-industrial, and petro-industrial features. To resolve this contradiction, a more nuanced framework is developed that conceptualises production systems by means of their geographical configuration. This provides analytical clarity—and a political strategy for a low-carbon, degrowth agenda.

For the full article, see http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10460-015-9659-y

These groundbreaking role models show us how successfully to change- worldwide- to agroecology; on farm level, regionally, when greening deserts, in value chains. this document is additionally to the paper " transition to agroEcology, for a food secure world' in which I describe the need and the tools for transition.

CASTRO, Ana Alvarenga de. Protected Areas Inclusive Management: o look from the
Mosaico Central Fluminense. 2013. 95p. Dissertation (Master Science in Sustainable
Development Practices) Instituto de Florestas/Instituto de Ciências Humanas e Sociais -
CPDA, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 2013.
The present research proposed as object of study the goal of territorial inclusive management
in the Brazilian public policy of Protected Areas’ Mosaics, through conceptual, regulatory and
practical aspects. The analysis was carried out on a case in the Mosaico Central Fluminense, a
governance approach installed in a determined territory within the State of Rio de Janeiro.
Thisdiffuse instance has as one of its purposes implementing integrated and participative
management of conservation units for sustainable development in the territory under its
jurisdiction. Through the analysis of documents such as the Mosaic Strategic Planning and the
minutes of its Management Council, it was possible to identify the different actors involved in
its implementation, the possible political interests and social relation between different levels
of public administration, civil society organizations and main groups or individuals of the
territory. Therefore, was registered the historical context that shows the social and political
conditions observed in order to identify the main factors that affect and are affected by the
creation of protected areas, and then understand the relation between the two actors posed by
this establishment. This conceptual, normative and documentary context gave foundation to
conduct 16 interviews on both sides put by the creation of protected areas: management and
technical teams versus populations around these delimitated areas. This situation was
discussed through the speeches of participants, analyzing the access to knowledge about the
policy and guidelines of the public policy; the level of participation of the people in decision
making processes and activities of the PAs; the incorporation of the populations’ demands and
knowledge in the guidelines and actions within the Mosaic; and the quality of the relation
between public managers and the communities inside the territory. The analysis pointed:
difficulties of establishing a dialogue between these two actors of the territory, observing both
factors due to global sense of nature protection and to local historical characteristics that may
interfere with this process and identifying those that may contribute to the strengthening of
this relationship; was detected institutional guidelines and coletive and individual interests on
both sides posed by the research condition, for improving this relationship. The research
results had the ultimate conclusion that the policy of Protected Areas’ Mosaics, despite
officially promoting inclusion in PA management, faces social-cultural and political barriers
that hinders this line of direction to occur.
Key words: conservation units, inclusive management, mosaics of protected areas

Objectives: To reflect on the function and importance of agroecology in integrated agroecosystems, and its effect on the structure, functioning and efficient use of the resources of such system. Materials and Methods: The available literature on the fields of ecology, agricultural sciences and agroecology was consulted and analyzed, in order to establish the scientific bases, definitions and state-of-the-art in the studies and the results related to conventional and integrated (agriculture-animal husbandry) systems and to agroecology. Results: It was observed that the integration of animals and crops in integrated agriculture-animal husbandry systems generates synergies that enhance the productive capacities of such systems, in addition to allowing the reduction of vulnerability to agricultural pests, decreasing the dependence on external inputs and capital requirements, and increasing the efficiency of land use. Conclusions: The application of agroecological approaches contributes to the sustainable intensification of food production and to the solution of many problems, related to adverse environmental effects and to the low productivity and efficiency that still prevail in specialized systems.

A large body of evidence indicates that SRI can enhance rice
grain yield with substantially less water input than in conven­
tional indsutrialized rice farms. While SRI conserves a large
amount of water, it tends to endorse rice monocultures and
emphasize complete eradication of weeds – practices that
drastically truncate farm biodiversity. Except for a subset of
“organic SRI,” most SRI practitioners apply agrochemicals. SRI
proponents recommend the use of cono weeder, for weeding
and soil aeration. However, poor farmers find the machine to
be too costly and tend to apply herbicides for weed control, to
the detriment of the environment and human health. In areas
where surface water is unavailable, SRI induces use of pumps,
which deplete groundwater stock and emit greenhouse gases,
albeit substantially less in quantity than in conventional farm­
ing. Farmers’ adoption of SRI is motivated by spectacular grain
yield, while environmental benefits remain a secondary con­
sideration. This paper examines the SRI components that are
discordant with the principles of agroecology and recom­
mends redesigning of SRI methodology to conform to
agroecology.

Climate variations all over the world have huge
potential impacts to the environment at large. Human and
economic activities are not left behind when climate change
issues are concerned. Agriculture, being the core human and
one of the basic economic activities is severely hampered by
climate variations. In Africa, and specifically in Kenya, there
has been rampant change in the growing patterns of some
crops. Farmers lack knowledge that ascertains the reason
behind the low income from their farm produce. The main
research objective in this study is to determine the variation
of agro-ecological zones (AEZ) of Taita hills in Kenya based
on climate changes. Specific objectives are: Mapping
historical climate data (1960-2010) and comparing with
future climate datasets of 2050, matching the layers in a grid
cell (Agro-ecological cell) using Geographical Information
System (GIS) and delineating the AEZ based on selected
parameters. This paper shows the development of AEZ for
Taita hills in Kenya from a GIS point of view and develops a
model of its variation given that climate is varying over a
period of time. It gives a prediction for the variation of the
zones based on climate change in the year 2050. A
comparison of the historical and future AEZ is shown and is
used to assess the impact of climate change on agricultural
land. Finally it addresses the sensitive question of
economical value to the farmers given that there will be a
change and gives some remarks on possible farming
practices that the farmers can adopt.
Keywords Agro-ecological Zones, Climate Change,
Temperature, Rainfall, PCA, Multivariate Clustering, GIS

In varied contexts around the world, groups and communities forging different kinds of futures are challenging the universal desirability of development toward ever-greater production, consumption, and ecological footprints. This article is about learning from some of those pathways in order to broaden horizons for conversations about degrowth beyond Europe where they first gained traction. It reviews empirical research on wide-ranging phenomena, and documents processes of mutual learning among researchers from varied cultural, linguistic, and national backgrounds. Affirmative political ecology is appraised as a framework for analyzing relations among differently shaped phenomena operating in different contexts and on various scales, and for supporting life-affirming efforts to co-construct worlds that might be healthier and happier for more people and other nature. Pluriverse is explored as an epistemological stance and a dialogic method to enhance appreciation of multiple ways of ...

El objetivo del trabajo, en lo relativo al efecto sobre el suelo, es evaluar los efectos del cultivos de servicio asociado al maíz sobre la calidad del suelo y el rendimiento del cultivo dentro de un planteo hortícola intensivo.
En el contexto de estudio de distintas estrategias de manejo hacia una transición agroecológica en la producción hortícola, se plantea la discusión sobre el uso de los cultivos de servicio en planteos intensivos y sus posibles aportes al sostenimiento de la calidad del suelo. Particularmente en la comarca andina del paralelo 42, algunos productores abordan el uso de cultivos acompañantes como una alternativa que aporte a la reposición de carbono y nitrógeno al suelo. En el presente trabajo se muestran datos preliminares de un estudio de caso sobre la asociación de un cultivo de maíz dulce para choclo con vicia (Vicia villosa) en un planteo hortícola intensivo sobre suelos Andisoles ubicado en la zona periurbana de El Bolsón (Río Negro) al noroeste de la Patagonia argentina. Luego de un cultivo de servicio invernal en dos lotes diferentes un productor local implantó maíz, en uno de los lotes la vicia llegó a semillar y como resultado se instaló entre las plantas de maíz por lo cual decidió dejar el cultivo de servicio adventicio, maíz más vicia (MV) mientras que en el otro lote manejó el cultivo de manera convencional con control de malezas inicial (MS).

In varied contexts around the world, groups and communities forging different kinds of futures are challenging the universal desirability of development toward ever-greater production, consumption, and ecological footprints. This article is about learning from some of those pathways in order to broaden horizons for conversations about degrowth beyond Europe where they first gained traction. It reviews empirical research on wide-ranging phenomena, and documents processes of mutual learning among researchers from varied cultural, linguistic, and national backgrounds. Affirmative political ecology is appraised as a framework for analyzing relations among differently shaped phenomena operating in different contexts and on various scales, and for supporting life-affirming efforts to co-construct worlds that might be healthier and happier for more people and other nature. Pluriverse is explored as an epistemological stance and a dialogic method to enhance appreciation of multiple ways of knowing and being in the world, and to foster enquiry that decenters models of science and development that have been portrayed as universally true and good. After conceptualizing key ideas and reflecting on learning processes and challenges among a network of 40 collaborators, the text turns to some movements that I have engaged in Latin America in search of insights to support ongoing development of thought and practice with degrowth. https://nordia.journal.fi/article/view/79937

RESUMO-O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da aplicação de bokashi, esterco bovino e da combinação destes, sobre o crescimento e produtividade de nove cultivares de alface (Lactuca sativa L.) nas condições de Seropédica, RJ. O ensaio foi realizado em condições de campo no período de setembro a outubro de 2017. Utilizaram-se como tratamentos: quatro tipos de adubação-bokashi (0,5 kg m-2), mistura de bokashi com esterco bovino (0,250 kg m-2 + 1,0 kg m-2 , respectivamente); esterco bovino (1,0 kg m-2) e testemunha-e nove cultivares de alface (Babá de Verão, Elisa, Mimosa, Grand Rapids, Camila, Sabrina, Grandes Lagos, Regina e Quatro Estações). O delineamento experimental adotado foi blocos ao acaso com quatro repetições em esquema fatorial 4x9. Avaliaram-se o diâmetro da cabeça (cm), biomassa fresca da cabeça (g planta-1), número de folhas e produtividade estimada (t ha-1). Não houve efeito significativo da interação adubação x cultivar sobre as variáveis analisadas. As cultivares Grandes Lagos e Grand Rapids apresentaram maior produção de biomassa fresca da cabeça e produtividade que as demais. A alface respondeu positivamente a adubação orgânica. O composto bokashi, na dose utilizada, foi o que proporcionou melhores ganhos em crescimento e produtividade para a cultura. A utilização de esterco bovino também favoreceu o desempenho da cultura. Palavras chave: adubo orgânico, bokashi, esterco bovino, Lactuca sativa L. AGRONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF LETTUCE CULTIVARS UNDER ORGANIC FERTILIZATION IN SEROPÉDICA, RJ ABSTRACT-The present work aimed to evaluate the application effect of bokashi, bovine manure, as well as, the combination of them on the growth and yield of nine lettuce cultivars (Lactuta sativa L.) under the conditions of Seropedica-RJ weather. The work was performed under field conditions during the period from September to October in 2017. The treatments consisted of four combinations of fertilizing: bokashi (0.5 kg m-2); mixture of bokashi and bovine manure (0.250 kg m-2 + 1.0 kg m-2 , respectively); bovine manure fertilization (2.0 kg m-2) and control treatment, in combination with nine lettuce cultivars (Baba de Verão, Elisa, Mimosa, Grand Rapids, Camila, Sabrina, Grande Lagos, Regina, and Quatro Estações). The experimental design was randomized blocks with four replicates in a 4x9 factorial design, with different fertilizer sources and cultivars, respectively. Diameter (cm), fresh biomass of the plant (g planta-1), number of leaves and productivity (t ha-1), were assessed. No significant effect was observed for the fertilizing x cultivar interaction in all variables analyzed. Higher fresh biomass and productivity were observed in Grandes Lagos and Grand Rapids cultivars. The lettuce showed positive results to the organic fertilizing and bokashi, which provided better gain in growth and productivity. Bovine manure also showed interesting results in the crop performance representing another possibility to be used by farmer.

The issue of sustainable agriculture and food security is widely discussed by several actors such as governments, intergovernmental organizations, the scientific community, environmental development organizations as well as the private sector.
To date, the most widespread model of industrial agriculture has not solved the problem of food safety, therefore the time to think about a new agricultural paradigm has come. Today, agroecology represents a valid answer to the above mentioned industrial agricultural's model, in which large companies, market ideologies and governments dictate the law.

Agroecology: promoting the transition towards sustainability. In this article agroecology is defined as the application of ecological concepts and principles to the design and management of sustainable food systems. The principal arguments are presented that support the validity, importance, and application of the agroecologial focus, not only in order to understand the processes involved in food production, but also to propose alternatives that help these processes to operate in sustainable systems. The key concept that guides the methodological and epitistemalogical rationale of this analysis is sustainability. In order to achieve sustainability the agroecological methodology not only links to Ecology, as is described in the text, but perceives food production as a process involving producers and consumers operating in a dynamic interaction.

West Africa is facing the challenge of its population’s food insecurity in a context of accelerated degradation of natural resources. In order to efficiently face this double bottleneck, agroecological interventions were implemented as a way to promote best agricultural practices. Agroecology is a mode of production that nowadays questions our food system which, despite technological progress, still struggles to feed the world’s population. This systematic review is part of the vision of a deep agroecology and aims at analyzing the institutional, political, organizational, and social obstacles and levers for an agroecological transition and its amplification in Burkina Faso and Benin. For this purpose, a structured literature review was conducted using grey and published literature. It appears that despite the mitigated results of the implementation of the Green Revolution model of agricultural production in West Africa, African public authorities seem to have placed once again thei...

Biocultural Systems and their Evolution Here I present the general concept of biocultural systems. Biocultural systems are an alternative to related concepts such as bioeconomy, ecosystem services or agroeco-systems. Biocultural systems consist of (1) culture habitats cultivated by humans for cultivated biodiversity (2) cultivated biological diversity that is shaped through domes-tication and breeding by humans and their values, (3) humans and their values and (4) technology and knowledge needed for cultivation. Some key insights from the perspective of biocultural systems are: (1) humans and cultivated biodiversity are mutually dependend, (2) biocultural systems evolve in a process intertwining the evolution of biological organisms and human values, (3) the evolution of biocultural systems is a dialect of innovation and tradition.

The structure and tree diversity of traditional coffee agroecosystems was studied in a Popoluca community inside the Biological Reserve of Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, along an altitudinal gradient between 450 and 1,000 meters above sea level. The coffee agroecosystems were established in three physiognomic units: tropical semi-deciduous forest, tropical rain forest and deciduous forest. To understand the structure of the coffee agroecosystems, 30 plots of 400 m2 were established. Sixty tree species and 23 herbs belonging to 43 families were recorded. The most numerous families were Mimosaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Myrtaceae. The coffee agroecosystems had four layers: herbs, shrubs, lower trees and upper trees. The shrub layer was dominated by four varieties of Coffea arabica. The species with the highest importance values were Apeiba tibourbou, Cordia alliadora and Inga vera, and the species with the highest economic value were Acosmium panamense, Calophyllum brasiliense, Terminalia amazonia and Vochysia guatemalensis. The more diversified coffee agroecosystems were established in the tropical semi- deciduous forest, which has the lowest floristic similarity and the highest dissimilarity values. The complementarity index indicated a high rate of replacement and confirmed that moderate perturbations increase species richness, without reaching the original diversity of the vegetation.

Around 25% of certified organic farms in Washington produce diversified organic vegetables. Growing organic vegetables is commonly viewed as an important entry strategy into agriculture for beginning farmers who may also have limited resources. Data from the WSDA Organic Program, the primary organic certifier in Washington State, were collected and analyzed to characterize diversified organic vegetable farms in the state in terms of their number, size, distribution, marketing channel, and gross revenue. About two-thirds of these farms were located in western Washington and accounted for 80% of the sales value from mixed organic vegetables. Three-quarters of mixed vegetable farms exclusively grew mixed vegetables and other horticultural crops. Half the farms were five acres or less in size. The average gross revenue per acre from mixed vegetable production for 2009–2012 was $12,500, with a number of observations exceeding $40,000. An estimate of total production cost was derived from Vancouver, BC crop budgets, and was $16,500 per acre. About 30% of the gross revenue per acre observations were above this level. In aggregate, farms in the mixed vegetable category generated over $20 million in sales in 2012.