THURSDAY, JAN 26, 2023: NOTE TO FILE
Module 3-12
Agroecology and food forests
Agroecology
Agroecology is “the application of ecology to the design and management of sustainable agroecosystems.” It takes “a whole-systems approach to agriculture and food systems development based on traditional knowledge, alternative agriculture, and local food system experiences.” It links “ecology, culture, economics, and society to sustain agricultural production, healthy environments, and viable food and farming communities”
Agroecology, as promoted by Miguel Altieri (1995) is very much aligned with the shift towards a regenerative agriculture. Altieri has done important work on the preservation of indigenous agricultural knowledge and techniques while working for the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (Koohafkan & Altieri, 2010).
The FAO of the UN defines the 10 elements of agro-ecology as:
- Diversity; synergies; efficiency; resilience; recycling; co-creation and sharing of knowledge (describing common characteristics of agroecological systems, foundational practices and innovation approaches)
- Human and social values; culture and food traditions (context features)
- Responsible governance; circular and solidarity economy (enabling environment)
The 10 Elements of Agroecology are interlinked and interdependent. And it links them to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
In Europe, agro-ecology is often used as an umbrella term for a whole range of agricultural practices that aim to mimic natural ecosystem processes according the conditions of the local biome: no till / no dig with cover crops, agro-forestry and silvopasture, Permaculture and food forestry can all be regarded as agro-ecological practices.
[I recall that when I first leaned that the University of California Santa Cruz offered a degree in agro-ecology, that I first thought that I could apply as a graduate student as when I decided to go to CalPoly in the late 1970s that I wanted to understand 'agro-ecosystems'. I imagined it would be science based and an extension H.T. Odum's systems science. But as I looked into the content of the agro-ecology offering, I realized that those involved were energy-blind and so were not within H.T. Odum's understanding of agro-ecosystems. See: "'Potatoes Made of Oil': Eugene and Howard Odum and the Origins and Limits of American Agroecology." If I had gone, I'd have learned the hard way that my understanding of how things work (systems) would have put me at irreconsilable odds with the faculty. Agroecology is vastly more science based (peer review journals) than permaculture (not published in science journals), however, so also consider a view of permaculture from an agroecology point of view.
Module 3, lesson 13
