Showing papers in "Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems in 2017"
TL;DR: In this paper, a literature review on farm management strategies that tighten nutrient cycles and maintain yields is presented, focusing on six metrics for efficient nutrient cycling in agroecosystems: reduced runoff and erosion, reduced leaching, improved soil carbon storage, enhanced microbial biomass, low greenhouse gas emissions, improved water holding capacity, and high yields.
Abstract: As our rapidly growing human population puts great demands on our agricultural production systems, we must promote management practices that balance both food and environmental objectives. We focus this literature review on farm management strategies that tighten nutrient cycles and maintain yields. We examined six metrics for efficient nutrient cycling in agroecosystems: reduced runoff and erosion, reduced leaching, improved soil carbon storage, enhanced microbial biomass, low greenhouse gas emissions, improved water holding capacity, and high yields. We evaluated these metrics in six farm management practices: intercrops, agroforestry, cover crops, organic amendments, integrated crop-livestock, and conservation tillage. Agroforestry and cover crops consistently reduced runoff and erosion and improved carbon sequestration compared to conventional systems. Agroforestry was the only practice that consistently reduced nutrient leaching over conventional practices. Organic amendments and conservation...
79 citations
TL;DR: It is shown that pollination reservoirs can increase wild bee populations, crop yield, and profit, and recent research clearly suggests thatPollinator-dependent growers seek alternative pollination models as pollination-security concerns grow.
Abstract: Pollinator-dependent growers seek alternative pollination models as pollination-security concerns grow. Pollination reservoirs, set-aside bee foraging areas, may offer growers a practical tool for increasing wild bee populations and decreasing reliance on managed bees. We review the literature on pollination reservoirs regarding a) effectiveness, b) reservoir-to-crop ratios, and c) costs and benefits. We discuss the relevant aspects of d) plant–pollinator relationships, e) landscape context, f) wild bees as pollinators, g) flower selection, and h) limitations. Recent research clearly suggests that pollination reservoirs can increase wild bee populations, crop yield, and profit. Last, we identify gaps that require additional research.
64 citations
TL;DR: The authors investigated farmers' motivations for, and experiences and outcomes from, participation in participatory guarantee systems (PGS) and found that participation in PGS can empower farmers by basing their activities on longlasting social processes and connection to their communities.
Abstract: Participatory guarantee systems (PGS) can provide guarantees to consumers while avoiding the entry barriers of third-party certification. This study investigates farmers’ motivations for, and experiences and outcomes from, participation in PGS. Interviews with 84 farmers from seven countries were analyzed in light of empowerment theory and social process theory. The results suggest that participation in PGS can empower farmers by basing their activities on long-lasting social processes and connection to their communities. Combining tradition and bottom-up collaboration within local level social structures enables PGS to overcome their challenges and ensure their future as an alternative system to third-party certification.
64 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a study based on a probabilistic survey and adopts an original approach, by putting dual focus on certified and uncertified organic products, to draw a profile of Romanian consumers of organic food.
Abstract: This study is based on a probabilistic survey and adopts an original approach—by putting dual focus on certified and uncertified organic products—to draw a profile of Romanian consumers of organic food. Uncertified organic food (from farmers’ market or self-production) is considered to be more “organic” than certified organic food. While consumers are strongly oriented toward organic food (certified or uncertified) and driven by health concerns and taste, they are primarily deterred by price and lack of availability. Results show that, to develop a sustainable market, consumers’ extended and positive evaluations of uncertified organics represent the link to initiate the behavioral transition from conventional to certified organic food.
51 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the origins of agroecology in Latin America, its application by nongovernmental organizations in rural development, its evolution and contributions in academia, and its adoption and dissemination by social rural movements.
Abstract: This article briefly traces the origins of agroecology in Latin America, and its application by nongovernmental organizations in rural development, its evolution and contributions in academia, and its adoption and dissemination by social rural movements.
47 citations
TL;DR: 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 as mentioned in this paper, which is the goal of this paper.
Abstract: 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. ...
47 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of local and landscape level drivers on beneficial insects, as well as on the ecosystem services they provide, are discussed. But the effects depend on taxonomical or functional groups and landscape context.
Abstract: Agroecological research has improved our understanding of the drivers and benefits of biodiversity, thus providing the scientific basis needed to achieve agricultural multifunctionality. We review how agroecology has contributed to our understanding of the effects of local and landscape level drivers on beneficial insects, as well as on the ecosystem services they provide. Several syntheses from agroecosystem research indicate that both populations and biodiversity of pollinator and natural enemies decline with increases in local agricultural intensification and that landscape composition and configuration may mediate these local scale effects. Changes in agricultural management may affect predation and pollination services by altering the resource base for natural enemies and pollinators, by altering their species pool, and by modifying their interactions. The effects of these drivers depend on taxonomical or functional groups and landscape context. Studies that directly measure the cascading eff...
41 citations
TL;DR: The agroecological movement in Brazil started with critiques of the impacts of agricultural systems based on the Green Revolution as discussed by the authors, and the issue gained momentum in diverse social organizations, as nongovernmental organizations and environmental groups focused on awareness about alternative forms of agriculture.
Abstract: The agroecological movement in Brazil started with critiques of the impacts of agricultural systems based on the Green Revolution. The issue gained momentum in diverse social organizations, as nongovernmental organizations and environmental groups focused on awareness about alternative forms of agriculture. The environmental debate started with the first reports on the environmental impact of pesticides and the effects of the current agriculture model on different agroecological dimensions. Recently, agroecological movements in Brazil have gained momentum with creation of the Brazilian Society of Agroecology and the National Agroecology Alliance. Brazilian public policies encouraging social movements based on agroecological principles are discussed.
34 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate how Rainforest Alliance (RA) certification of small-scale cocoa farmers in Ghana has affected both the financial and the natural capitals of the farmers, using both qualitative and quantitative data collected through farmer and key informant interviews and participatory rural appraisals.
Abstract: While an increasing number of large food companies commit themselves to source only certified cocoa, research on the impacts of certification on cocoa farmers is falling behind. We investigate how Rainforest Alliance (RA) certification of small-scale cocoa farmers in Ghana has affected both the financial and the natural capitals of the farmers. Across two villages, certified farmers were compared to conventional farmers, using both qualitative and quantitative data collected through farmer and key informant interviews and participatory rural appraisals. A combination of the Sustainable Livelihood Framework and the input–output–outcome–impact framework was used for the analysis. Results indicate that the RA certification scheme has a positive influence on the certified farmers in terms of cocoa production, yield, income, and farmers’ perception of changes in their natural and financial capitals. The positive influence is a result of inputs from the RA certification, including financial support, inf...
30 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors outline the development of a sustainability index for smallholder systems by amalgamating ecological frameworks and sustainable livelihood framework, and critically describe the process involved in the developing of the indicator framework, selection of indicators, their measurement and assignment of weight and aggregation to arrive at a composite index.
Abstract: Smallholder farms in developing countries are key to global food security and sustainability of agricultural systems. Suitable tools are needed to assess the utility of these systems for long-term policy interventions. We outline the development of a sustainability index for smallholder systems by amalgamating ecological frameworks and sustainable livelihood framework. We critically describe the process involved in the development of the indicator framework, selection of indicators, their measurement and assignment of weight, and aggregation to arrive at a composite index. A practical tool based on this index may prove helpful for long-term sustainability assessment in smallholder farms of developing countries.
30 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on urban food systems as an approach for analyzing food as part of the city region by also considering the underlying spatial structures, and identify spatialized urban food system components and their linkages and interactions with the aim of fostering integrated and multidimensional intervention approaches.
Abstract: This paper focuses on urban food systems as an approach for analyzing food as part of the city region by also considering the underlying spatial structures. Taking a systemic perspective, the paper identifies spatialized urban food system components and their linkages and interactions with the aim of fostering integrated and multidimensional intervention approaches for urbanizing regions. This paper contributes to an understanding of the relation between the urban system and the food system focusing on the spatial dimension of urban food systems. It illustrates geographies of urban food systems. The first part poses the questions: How is an urban food system described? How do the components relate and manifest? A systemic approach helps to describe connections between components with regard to related places, practices and actors: What are the drivers that transform food systems toward functioning systems that produce healthy food, provide income for (urban) farmers, accessibility to food for all ...
TL;DR: Repurposing vacant land for food production is expanding as a response to urban blight, food insecurity, and food deserts as mentioned in this paper, as municipalities integrate urban agriculture in their sustainability plan.
Abstract: Repurposing vacant land for food production is expanding as a response to urban blight, food insecurity, and food deserts. As municipalities integrate urban agriculture in their sustainability plan...
TL;DR: The adoption of agroecology as a form of resistance by indigenous and peasant movements played a key role in its development as discussed by the authors, and articulation between organizations, academia, and public institutions helped agro-ecology grow in conceptual depth, national reach, and political influence.
Abstract: Agroecology in Ecuador has developed from its early stages as a little known, incoherent response to the Green Revolution into a serious agrarian model, with key principles enshrined in the country’s Constitution and Food Sovereignty Law. This article provides a historical overview and analysis of this process, highlighting key actors, events, and challenges. In particular, this article reveals that the adoption of agroecology as a form of resistance by indigenous and peasant movements played a key role in its development. Furthermore, articulation between organizations, academia, and public institutions helped agroecology grow in conceptual depth, national reach, and political influence. Nonetheless, as the stalled passage of the law on agrobiodiversity demonstrates, significant obstacles to implementation remain.Abbreviations: ACRI: Association of Coffee Growers of the Intag River; AE: Ecology Action; APAA: Association of Agroecological Producers of the Austral; AUCM: Unity Assembly of the Canto...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the issue of urban food planning in the Italian context in a comparative perspective, basing on the case studies of Turin and Milan, two main cities of Northern Italy.
Abstract: This contribution explores the issue of urban food planning in the Italian context in a comparative perspective, basing on the case studies of Turin and Milan, the two main cities of Northern Italy...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors conducted ethnographic research in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa to improve understanding about the mechanisms and significance of traditional seed exchange networks and found that traditional crops are central, their seed is highly valued and systems of exchange play complex and nuanced roles.
Abstract: Millions of small-scale farmers on the African continent save and exchange the seed of their traditional crops, yet the social and cultural values of these systems remain under-researched. Through ethnographic research conducted in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa, this study sets out to improve understanding about the mechanisms and significance of traditional seed exchange networks. Findings suggest that traditional crops are central; their seed is highly valued; and systems of exchange play complex and nuanced roles. Critical for food sovereignty, these systems act as a back-up in the case of harvest failure, and enhance social cohesion through strengthening community and familial ties.
TL;DR: In this article, a set of social, environmental, and economic sustainability indicators were used to assess sustainability of the small-holder cattle production system in Ncorha and Gxwalibomvu communities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Abstract: Ninety-five farmers were involved in deriving a set of social, environmental, and economic sustainability indicators, which were used to assess sustainability of the smallholder cattle production system in Ncorha and Gxwalibomvu communities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The derived indicators were scored on a 5-point Likert-type scale and aggregated to provide a net sustainability score. Net sustainability scores were grouped into three categories; non-sustainable ( 65%). Aggregate sustainability scores showed that the smallholder cattle production system in Ncorha and Gxwalibomvu, respectively, was socially (48.2% and 56.6%) and environmentally (54.2% and 57%) partially sustainable, but economically (15.7% and 10.8%) non-sustainable. Aggregate scores of the two communities (Ncorha, 37% and Gxwalibomvu, 41.0%) indicated that they were both partially sustainable. Holistic agroecological interventions and institutional support have the pot...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors visited 36 self-identified permaculture farms in the continental United States and gathered multidimensional data on the distribution of labor and income across enterprises and seasons.
Abstract: Permaculture is an international grassroots movement with a focus on diversified farming systems (DFS). We visited 36 self-identified permaculture farms in the continental United States and gathered multidimensional data on the distribution of labor and income across enterprises and seasons, along with sociodemographic information and farm characteristics. Using this data we assessed livelihood diversity and performed a cluster analysis to develop a preliminary typology of U.S. permaculture farms. Farms were predominantly small in scale, with a high proportion of young farmers, new farmers, and new farms, when compared with national figures. Diversity of farm-based income was high for enterprises and across seasons. Cluster analysis based on sources of income produced a preliminary typology with five categories: small mixed annual and perennial cropping (N = 10), integrated production (perennial and animal crops, N = 5), a mix of production and services (N = 9), animal base (N = 5), and service ba...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors show that land conversion from natural to managed ecosystems, while necessary for food production, continues at high rates with significant water impacts, and increased rainfall variability exp...
Abstract: Land conversion from natural to managed ecosystems, while necessary for food production, continues to occur at high rates with significant water impacts. Further, increased rainfall variability exp...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed the relationship between the economic and social viability of pastoral goat farming systems and their feeding management schemes in order to improve their sustainability, and identified three clusters of small herd-size and low-productivity farms with medium dependence on external inputs for animal feeding.
Abstract: Well-performing grazing systems play an important role in improving and maintaining environmental and social conditions of mountain areas. The aim of this paper is to analyze the relationship between the economic and social viability of pastoral goat farming systems and their feeding management schemes in order to improve their sustainability. Sixteen goat grazing farms in southern Spain were monitored monthly from January to December 2011, including 42 quantitative and 9 social variables. A multivariate two-step analysis was followed (principal component and cluster analysis) and three clusters were identified. Cluster 1 grouped small herd-size and low-productivity farms with medium dependence on external inputs for animal feeding; Cluster 2 grouped medium herd-size and high-medium productivity farms which depended most on external inputs for animal feeding; Cluster 3 grouped large herd-size, high-medium productivity farms with low dependence on external inputs. There was no difference between Cl...
TL;DR: This work traced the presence of transgenes and glyphosate in maize-based foods collected in Mexico and elsewhere as a means to describe the landscape of distribution, abundance, and types of transGenes in maize -derived food in Mexico.
Abstract: In Mexico, the Center of origin and diversity of maize, a daily per capita average of 0.5 kg of maize-based foods are consumed. Approximately 10 million tons of maize is produced in small peasant holdings. Nevertheless, a greater proportion of industrially produced maize-derived products have started to appear in recent years. We traced the presence of transgenes and glyphosate in maize-based foods collected in Mexico and elsewhere as a means to describe the landscape of distribution, abundance, and types of transgenes in maize-derived food in Mexico. Transgenic sequences were present in overall 82% of assayed food categories; while the most widely form of maize consumption in Mexico, tortillas, had recombinant sequences in 90.4% of the samples. Furthermore, we found statistically indistinguishable frequency distributions of transgenes in samples from Mexico and other countries. Additionally, glyphosate was detected in approximately 27.7% of the samples rendered positive for transgenic events tole...
TL;DR: In the middle of the last century, there were two types of agronomic scientists in Mexico: traditional agriculture as backward and in need of modernization with advanced technologists as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In the middle of the last century, there were two types of agronomic scientists in Mexico. One group perceived traditional agriculture as backward and in need of modernization with advanced technol...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors assessed the knowledge development process and the raising of environmental awareness among 30 farmers from Poland exposed to four approaches aimed to reduce phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) losses to water.
Abstract: Raising environmental awareness among farmers is the key to successfully reaching environmental goals. The present study assessed the knowledge development process and the raising of environmental awareness among 30 farmers from Poland exposed to four approaches aimed to reduce phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) losses to water. The farmers were interviewed with open-ended questions on-farm both before and after the project intervention. As hoped, the farmers attempted to adjust their farm practices to the European Union regulations, which are in some cases supported by subsidies. As a complement, the project offered tools for system-thinking based on farm data and support from agricultural advisors: a) a survey of plant-available P, potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), and soil pH, resulting in soil maps; b) assessment of nitrogen leaching risks from individual fields; c) compilation of a farm-gate balance. Farmers were positive to soil surveys and maps, but had limited understanding of the nutrient balan...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compare varietal adaptations of small conventional and organic farmers in Copan, Honduras, and show farmers are growing a greater diversity of varieties after the outbreak of coffee leaf rust.
Abstract: Coffee leaf rust (CLR) attacked Central American coffee farms during the post-2011 epidemic, driving production loss across the region. In response, smallholders are adapting agroecological and conventional practices. We compare varietal adaptations of small conventional and organic farmers in Copan, Honduras. We show farmers are growing a greater diversity of varieties after the outbreak. Both groups increased acreage of CLR-resistant varieties; however, our data suggests organic farmers maintained greater acreage of CLR-susceptible varieties than conventional farmers. These results have important consequences for the specialty market, fungicide use, and management. Understanding farmers’ adaptive logic will be critical for aid and policy.
TL;DR: The high promise shown by the selected pure lines suggest that farmer participatory approach can effectively complement the breeding approaches in refinement of elite landraces of rice.
Abstract: The Jeypore-Koraput tract in Odisha, India, known to be the secondary center of origin of rice, still houses a large number of rice landraces. The low yielding local landraces, despite high consumer preference, are gradually facing extinction due to lack of purity and admixtures resulting in poor marketability of the produce. The study is an attempt to purify Kalajeera, Machhakanta, and Haladichudi, three highly popular landraces, whose field populations displayed high levels of genetic variability. A molecular marker assisted pure line approach combined with the farmer participation in the selection process resulted in selection of relatively high yielding pure lines of Kalajeera (5), Haladichudi (11), and Machhakanta (1), after four cycles of selection. The high promise shown by the selected pure lines suggest that farmer participatory approach can effectively complement the breeding approaches in refinement of elite landraces of rice.
TL;DR: In this article, a case study for the Riverside agricultural park on the left side of Arno, involving three municipalities on the Florence Plain through the support of Regione Toscana based on participatory processes is described.
Abstract: In the “urban bioregion,” intermediate territories get new identities through a physical and relational redesign of ecosystem services, beginning with polyvalent ecological networks, dealing with food and its short supply chain Such networks may become the backbone of a “rururban public space” defined for flood risk prevention, easy mobility, preservation of historical buildings, proximity to farming, and presence of agroforestry Starting from a bioregional perspective, the paper reflects on the need to re-territorialize food systems and describes as a case study an experience recently completed: the project for the Riverside agricultural park on the left side of Arno, involving three municipalities on the Florence Plain through the support of Regione Toscana based on participatory processes Its aim was to lay the foundation for a “river contract” for the functioning of an agricultural park which, in the foreseeable future, could be managed through a number of social contracts involving local c
TL;DR: Agroecology emerged as a new approach and paradigm of agricultural science to provide strategies for the design, evaluation, and management of sustainable agroecosystems.
Abstract: Agroecology emerged as a new approach and paradigm of agricultural science to provide strategies for the design, evaluation, and management of sustainable agroecosystems. It arose as a reaction to the consequences of an environmentally unsustainable and socially exclusive production model. Due to its multidisciplinary and pluri-epistemological character, its scientific approach as a movement, and a series of strategies and techniques, the incorporation and consolidation of agroecology in Argentina recognizes different goals, actors, and stages. The role of nongovernmental organizations, governmental institutions, universities, other educational institutions, and farmers’ organizations is analyzed, and the potential and limitations for future expansion are discussed.
TL;DR: In this article, the intersection of new ideas of ecological complexity with insights from traditional agricultural systems is the fundamental subject of this article, with an emphasis on seven themes of ecology complexity, as reflecting contemporary themes in ecology.
Abstract: Exploring the intersection of new ideas of ecological complexity with insights from traditional agricultural systems is the fundamental subject of this article, with an emphasis on seven themes of ecological complexity, as reflecting contemporary themes in ecology. The seven themes are as follows: 1) turing processes and spatial structure, 2) chaotic dynamics, 3) stochastic processes, 4) coupled oscillators, 5) multidimensionality, 6) trait-mediated indirect interactions, and 7) critical transitions (catastrophe theory). We suggest that these themes of complexity naturally integrate to form one qualitative whole that could be considered a single subject—ecological complexity.
TL;DR: The evolution of agroecological wisdom in Venezuela is established in three historical periods: the appearance of oil in the country at the beginning of the twentieth century, followed by the devel...
Abstract: The evolution of agroecological wisdom in Venezuela is established in three historical periods. The appearance of oil in the country at the beginning of the twentieth century, followed by the devel...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assess the social, economic, and environmental sustainability of 10 peasant farming production systems linked to Peasant Markets by means of economic, monetary and energy balances, and social analysis.
Abstract: The primary objective of this research was to thoroughly assess the social, economic, and environmental sustainability of 10 peasant farming production systems linked to Peasant Markets by means of economic, monetary and energy balances, and social analysis. Semistructured interview techniques were employed for data collection during the year 2011. Only three farming production systems—El Colegio, Villarrica, and Tuta—were comprehensively sustainable. In sum, peasant valuation of social and environmental benefits, agroecology, family labor, food self-sufficiency, short food supply chains, market linkage, collective cooperation, peasant pluriactivity, and food processing were all related to the strong sustainability of the peasant economy.
TL;DR: In this article, the field of agroecology has emerged as an important approach for moving food and farming systems toward sustainability, with the word "agroecologies" in the title of the journal.
Abstract: Our journal, with the word “agroecology” in the title, is an indication that the field of agroecology has emerged as an important approach for moving food and farming systems toward sustainability....