A agroecologia: estratégias de pesquisa e valores

The problems resulting from the model agrochemical production began in the late nineteenth century, led to the creation of several movements against the devastation of natural resources focused on the search for alternative models of sustainable agricultural production, among them biodynamic agriculture, organic farming, natural, perm culture and more recently the organic-mineral or SAT (production without the use of pesticides). Such alternative models of production, although they have various practices and guiding principles, seek the ideal of sustainability of agro ecosystems. The scientific basis for these styles of agriculture with more sustainable approach is given by agro ecology, the science that emerges in 1970, providing methodological principles, theory and practice can enable the realization of sustainable agriculture. However, being a relatively new science, Agro ecology is viewed as synonymous with organic farming, natural farming and / or farming. This and many other conceptual errors regarding the styles of alternative agriculture and agro ecology are being committed by farmers, students, technicians, professors and researchers. Considering the existence of these different lines of basic ecological agriculture, based on the principles of theoretical and methodological Agro ecology, this study aims to contextualize the main problems caused by conventional agriculture, as well as the emergence of alternative models of production, principles and assumptions of each style of sustainable agriculture. Besides providing a better understanding of the conceptual terms related to Agro ecology, agro ecological transition styles, alternative agriculture and sustainability of agro ecosystems.

Introduction: Agroecology as a Transdisciplinary, Participatory, and Action-oriented Approach V. Ernesto Mendez, Christopher M. Bacon, and Roseann Cohen Agroecology: Roots of Resistance to Industrialized Food Systems Stephen R. Gliessman Transformative Agroecology: Foundations in Agricultural Practice, Agrarian Social Thought, and Sociological Theory Graham Woodgate and Eduardo Sevilla Guzman Political Agroecology: An Essential Tool to Promote Agrarian Sustainability Manuel Gonzalez de Molina Learning Agroecology through Involvement and Reflection Charles Francis, Edvin Ostergaard, Anna Marie Nicolaysen, Geir Lieblein, Tor Arvid Breland, and Suzanne Morse Complexity in Tradition and Science: Intersecting Theoretical Frameworks in Agroecological Research John Vandermeer and Ivette Perfecto Agroecology, Food Sovereignty, and the New Green Revolution Eric Holt-Gimenez and Miguel A. Altieri The Intercultural Origin of Agroecology: Contributions from Mexico Francisco J. Rosado-May Participatory Action Research for an Agroecological Transition in Spain: Building Local Organic Food Networks Gloria I. Guzman, Daniel Lopez, Lara Roman, and Antonio M. Alonso Agroecology, Food Sovereignty, and Urban Agriculture in the United States Margarita Fernandez, V. Ernesto Mendez, Teresa Mares, and Rachel Schattman On the Ground: Putting Agroecology to Work through Applied Research and Extension in Vermont Debra Heleba, Vern Grubinger, and Heather Darby Agroecology as a Food Security and Sovereignty Strategy in Coffee-Growing Communities: Opportunities and Challenges in San Ramon, Nicaragua Heather Putnam, Roseann Cohen, and Roberta M. Jaffe The Mesoamerican Agroenvironmental Program: Critical Lessons Learned from an Integrated Approach to Achieve Sustainable Land Management Isabel A. Gutierrez-Montes and Felicia Ramirez Aguero Analysis of Tropical Home Gardens through an Agroecology and Anthropological Ecology Perspective Alba Gonzalez-Jacome

Purpose. In agricultural and forestry sciences higher education, environmental sustainability is most often taught through the discussion of examples of green agricultural practices, such as precision farming, and more rarely by taking a more general point of departure in environmental assessment methods, such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Nevertheless, we think that teaching LCA in the agronomists’ curriculum might significantly contribute to enhance students’ systemic perspective on agricultural sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to highlight which additional knowledge and skills may be given to agronomists thorough the teaching of LCA. Design/Methodology/Approach. We designed two short courses focused on LCA to be followed by students at the Bachelor´s degree in Agronomy (University of Turin, Italy) and at the Master´s degree in Sustainability of Agro-food Networks (UNESCO Chair for Sustainable Development, Turin, Italy). After the courses, students filled in a questionnaire about their opinions on the usefulness and value taken from the short courses. Findings. From students’ answers in the questionnaire and their comments during both teaching sessions, it was possible to point out four key aspects acquired by students during the courses: (I) Complexity of agricultural systems. Application of LCA requires to describe the energy flows and material cycles of the system under study and to decide the allocation of environmental impacts to specific phases of the production. (II) Systemic view of the farms. The need to identify boundaries between technical and natural systems for impact assessment highlights the strong interconnection between the two of them. (III) The problem of efficiency. The application of LCA may highlight that productions that are efficient from an agronomic point of view may not be as efficient from an environmental point of view. (IV) Conceptions about sustainable agriculture. During the group work, students were asked to highlight (if possible) the paradigm of sustainability of the authors of the scientific papers and to discuss it. This way, they were able to reflect on the complexity of the concept on environmental sustainability. Practical Implications. Teaching LCA in an interactive course, agronomists discussed pivotal concepts for environmental sustainability, such as system thinking, the problem of efficiency as well as conceptions about sustainable agriculture. All of these aspects reflect positively on the professional life of the agronomists, even if they will not apply any environmental impact methods in their future careers. Originality/Value. This paper describes a pioneer research in which LCA is used as a pure educational tool for understanding the environmental efficiency of agricultural systems, but also founding concepts of environmental sustainability in the agricultural sector.

The paper presents an overview of the sustainability principles applied to biofuels analysis. Sustainable biofuel production is economically competitive, conserves the natural resource base, and ensures social well-being. There is a strong trend to look for fossil fuel substitutes; nowadays the leading option seems to be the biofuels. In terms of environmental sustainability, the most promising effects are related with emissions of particulate matter and GHG. The economic dimension of sustainability is positive to the agriculture sector, but at the same time biofuel production will mean raising prices of the food market. Moreover, biofuels do not constitute a path to avoid increasing in local fuel prices by international fluctuation of fossil fuel prices. Social sustainability is not clearly positive or negative as well. Depending on operational conditions such, agrochemical use, land rotation, source of energy to feed the process, and security measures for leakages, the sustainability can vary strongly existing possibilities to improve the whole system.

Biotechnology is producing great opportunities for the increase in global agricultural production and for protecting the environment through the reduced use of agro-chemicals like pesticides, fertilizers and rodenticides. Biotechnology has played an important role towards the attainment of environmental sustainability by using environment-friendly crops such as insect-resistant, herbicide-tolerant species and crops that can fix nitrogen leading to purification of the environment. Increasing global food production within existing land area and the use of modern plant breeding methods have enhanced increased production of crops like legumes to improve soil structure, organic matter and fertility. These lead to conservation of bioresources and prevent soil erosion. Some beneficial effects of livestock production on the environment are also discussed. However, fears and concerns about the environmental consequences of biotechnology are also discussed. The overall aim of this review is to emphasize the importance of biotechnology towards attaining a safe and sustainable environment for increased global agricultural production. Key words: Biotechnology, environmental safety, agricultural production, heavy metal, pollution.

Food systems are vulnerable to the impacts of resource scarcity, climate change, and population growth, as well as the issues associated with unsustainable social, environmental and economic practices. These challenges have encouraged local food systems as an alternative to global supply chains. This thesis studies this trend at the urban level in order to explore issues and opportunities for change. It argues that urban food systems need to embrace both sustainability and resilience. A sustainable urban food system has an economy that serves social needs while safely operating within ecological limits. Resilience, on the other hand, includes the ability to recover from shocks such as extreme weather events, as well as the capacity to adapt and ultimately transform in response to the ongoing impacts of climate change. The main research question that this thesis investigates is “How can alternative food networks help to foster sustainable and resilient urban food systems considering climate change and increased urbanisation?” A comparative case study approach was used involving local initiatives in the Brisbane and greater Melbourne metropolitan regions (Australia). Both Australian urban areas have similar economic development; however, differences can be found in terms of institutional interest and the existence of food policies. The gathering of a diverse picture of alternative food networks was the strategy adopted for selecting the initiatives that participated in this research. The criteria that alternative food networks should attend were the existence of goals related to access to healthy food, fairer conditions for food workers, and reduction of environmental impacts. The thesis used multiple sources of data including primary (semi-structured interviews with founders or members of initiatives and field observation) and secondary data (publicly available documents such as annual reports). The findings of this research contribute to the conceptualisation and planning of sustainable and resilient urban food systems, as well as, to the knowledge on the role and limitations of alternative food networks in achieving this. The case study conducted in this thesis revealed how alternative food networks can contribute to the creation of food provision systems that are aligned with environmental sustainability and social justice. The thesis exposed the particularities of initiatives that, among other aspects, have minimal food loss and waste, supports agroecology, provides farmers with fair payment and makes organic food affordable. Alternative food networks demonstrated to have resilience building capacity, something that is not confined to its borders and can impact on the whole urban food system. Alternative food networks’ values travel and allow the replication and creation of new models, however, not in the pace necessary for a wider urban food system transformation. The main challenge exposed by this thesis for alternative food networks is the need for scaling up by influencing institutions and policies more broadly.

This article has as main objectives to characterize the socioeconomic and environmental aspects of conventional and ecological coffee (agroforestry) of Pontal do Paranapanema, region in areas of rural settlements production systems, evaluating the sustainability of these agroecosystems and the opportunities for income generation and food security to families. Despite the fact that the coffee produced in agroforestry systems do not receive agrochemical applications and present a high diversity of species, characterizing it as an ecologically-based coffee, farmers have not achieved better market prices determined by some factors. The collaboration of agroforestry in family income could be multiplied by five only if there was a fair payment for the agroecological coffee produced. Both the intrinsic biodiversity (within the agro-ecosystem ), and the extrinsic ( found in the vicinity of the agroecosystem), fragments of native forest and forest matrix, in this case in particular the State Park Morro do Diabo, have contributed to local agriculture. Resilience (lower incidence of pests, recovery from frost and hailstorms), self - sufficiency and productivity achieved by agroecosystems studied are directly related to the biodiversity of the local forest and biodiverse agroecosystems. Thus, it was found that households in agroecological transition are fulfilling the function ofconserving natural resources, diversification of the rural landscape, promoting food safety and rescue of agroecological practices. Keywords: Agroecological Transition ; Agroforestry; Ecological Coffee;Agroecology.

The public opinion has a growing concern for food health issues and is interested in the consumption of food of improved quality, which is defined by several aspects, like the internal composition, appearance of the produce, technological/commercial issues, and social and environmental criteria. In this respect, conventional agriculture has resulted in a reduction of the internal quality, resulting from a decrease in the concentrations of nutrients and bioactive substances, as well as in some non sustainable practices that have a profound impact in the environment. Organic agriculture allows the production of food without the use of chemical synthesis products and with practices that are friendlier to the environment than conventional agriculture. In addition, organic food usually has a higher concentration of nutrients and bioactive substances. In order to guarantee that the organic foods have been produced according to adequate practices, in the EU only the foods produced according to specific regulations can be labeled as organic. Several experiments, of which we summarize the results show that organic food is healthier than conventionally produced food as, depending on the crops, organic fruits and vegetables have lower concentration of nitrates, higher concentration of relevant minerals (e.g., K, Ca, Fe), and more vitamin C and total phenolics. We have also found that organic meat has more protein and less fat than conventionally produced meat. Organic eggs also have a better quality than conventionally produced eggs, with more protein and oleic acid and also keep freshness for longer time. All these results show that organic food is healthier than conventional food for human health and at the same time is produced using methodologies that are friendlier for the environment.

Central Queensland’s dryland farming systems are subject to high levels of climatic variability, are seen as being relatively risky and also suffering falling profitability due (in part) to the rapid decline of nutrient content and physical structure of soils. This suggests that many farming practices in Central Queensland are not sustainable. A multi agency project that uses participatory on-farm research and development processes has been addressing the core issues that contribute to more sustainable and profitable farming systems in Central Queensland. A component of this research has been the enhancement of farming systems knowledge through combining relevant whole farm models with the biological model APSIM developed by the Agricultural Production Systems Research Unit (APSRU). The result of this simplified bio-economic modelling is that the profitability and sustainability of a range of farming systems has been simulated and evaluated over time and under varying environmental conditions. The suitability of this approach as a component of farming systems research aimed at changing farming practices is discussed.

تنوع زیستی گستره وسیعی از تنوع ژنتیکی، تنوع گونه‏ای و تنوع بو‏م‏نظام‏ها می‏باشد. یکی از مهمترین مفاهیمی که امروزه در زمینه توسعه پایدار در بخش کشاورزی مطرح است، حفاظت از تنوع زیستی کشاورزی است. هدف از انجام این مطالعه ارزیابی و مقایسه وضعیت تنوع زیستی کشاورزی در سامانه‏های زراعی، باغی و باغکشتی در روستا‏های حوزه آبریز جاجرود در بخش شرقی و شمال شرقی استان تهران بود. به علاوه در این مطالعه اهمیت باغکشت‏ها به عنوان محلی جهت حفاظت درون‏جا از گونه‏های مورد استفاده در بوم‏نظام‏های کشاورزی مورد بررسی قرار گرفت. اطلاعات مورد استفاده در این پژوهش از طریق مصاحبه حضوری و تکمیل پرسشنامه‏هایی که به این منظور طراحی گردیده بود، توسط سرپرستان 30 درصد از کل خانوار کشاورزان روستا‏های مورد بررسی استخراج گردید. نتایج حاصل نشان داد که مقادیر شاخص غنای گونه‏ای و شاخص شانون تقریبا در باغکشت‏های تمام روستاهای مورد مطالعه بیشتر از سامانه‏های زراعی و باغی بود که این موضوع اهمیت سامانه‏های باغکشتی در حفاظت از تنوع زیستی گونه‌‌های کشاورزی را اثبات نمود، همچنین نتایج نشان داد که در روستاهایی مانند سیاهسنگ که به هر دلیل سامانه‏های زراعی و باغی در آنها از بین رفته است، باغکشت‏ها به تنهایی مسئول حفاظت از تنوع زیستی گونه‏های موجود در این سامانه‏ها می‏باشند. در این مطالعه روستای مرانک با شاخص غنای گونه‏ای هفت در سامانه‏های زراعی و روستای خسروآباد با شاخص غنای گونه‏ای 12 در سامانه‌های باغی، بالاترین سطوح تنوع را در هر یک از این سامانه‏های کشاورزی به خود اختصاص داده بودند.

Concern about agricultural sustainability emerged as a major issue in the closing decades of the last century as part of the global debate about the sustainability of economic development. In the 1980s, the three pillar concept of sustainable development was proposed and specifically applied by Conway to the evaluation of alternative agroecosystems. Although Conway’s contribution was important at the time, it was limited in its perspective. Recent approaches adopt a wider approach, and in this century, attention has been focusing on ways to sustainably increase agricultural supplies rather than to just maintain these. This recognizes the fact that a substantial increase in demand for agricultural produce is expected in this century. Consequently, the scope and rationale for sustainably intensifying agriculture is examined (in some detail), and the extent to which greater use of organic agriculture is able to contribute to sustainable agricultural development is assessed. The comparative roles of agroecology and economics in guiding agricultural production are discussed, and the concept of multifunctional agriculture is re-examined in the light of proposals for the sustainable intensification of agriculture. Important shifts in the debate about agricultural sustainability have occurred in this century.

Understanding agricultural biodiversity is the first step in determining the effects of intensive and monocropping systems and use of high yield cultivars on sustainability of agricultural systems. For this purpose biodiversity of fruits and vegetables in Iran was studied. Results indicated that many fruits and vegetables are cultivated in country, and therefore the number of cultivated species or species richness is considerable. Shannon index indicated that diversity of these crops is not proportional to species richness, which caused from unevenness distribution of cultivated land between crops, and possibly, high monoculture with regard to climatic conditions. Shannon index for fruits and vegetables in different provinces was rather high. However, due to lack of data on number of varieties cultivated, biodiversity at variety level which is an important index was not calculated.

The issue of assessment of diverse aspects of sustainability of agricultural farms is among the most topical in the last decades. In Bulgaria, there are no comprehensive studies on environmental sustainability of farms in general or different types. This article applies a holistic framework for assessing environmental sustainability of Bulgarian farms. Initially the multiprinciple, multictiteria and mulriindicator framework for assessing environmental sustainability of farm in the country is outlined. After that a level of environmental sustainability of Bulgarian farms is evaluated in general and of farms of different juridical type, size, production specialization, and ecological and administrative location. Sustainability assessment is based on a first large-scale survey on environmental aspects of sustainability of agricultural farms in the country carried out in 2016. Third, relations between environmental and socio-economic and integral sustainability of Bulgarian farms are specified. Finally, factors for improving environmental and overall sustainability of agricultural farms in the country are identified. Our study has found out that environmental sustainability of Bulgarian farms is at a good level. Nevertheless, due to an inferior level of governance and economic sustainability the integral sustainability of Bulgarian farms is lower and the improvement of the latter two is critical for maintaining overall sustainability of Bulgarian farms at current stage of development.

Emphasizes Centrality of the Ecosystem PerspectiveSustainable management of agroecosystems in the 21st century faces unprecedented challenges. Protecting the environment while feeding a burgeoning population that could reach nine billion by mid-century, preserving the world's biodiversity, and sustaining agriculture in an increasingly urban world i

This work aims to promote the rational use of agrochemicals in cashew cultivation by evaluating health prevention culture and environmental preservation levels in cashew producers’ practices in Cote d’Ivoire. A cross-sectional study was conducted from April 2017 to August 2018 in the 3 main cashew production areas (Mankono, Dabakala and Bondoukou). A total of 386 cashew farmers randomly selected were interviewed using the face-to-face technique with an anonymous structured questionnaire. Our results revealed that 68.9% (n=266) of the producers surveyed used agrochemicals but were essentially illiterate (66.04%) and relatively aged with 45 years in mean. Mankono represented the major site in pesticides use with mean of 10.6 L herbicide per hectare following Dabakala (2.5 l/ha). 70 different specialties were identified among them; 38.20% were not approved in Cote d'Ivoire. 11 active substances were identified. The controversy herbicide glyphosate was the most abundant active molecule used following 2,4-D amine salt. Several cases of acute intoxication (headache, nausea, etc.) were reported in 37.6% of producers who applied pesticides twice in every agricultural year for 2 to 4 h and in some cases (26%) within 1 and 4 pm without efficient protection. Concerning environment protection, 61.70% applicators abandoned pesticide packaging in the wild indicating poor environment regarding farmers’ practices. Taken together, our results suggested that the conditions of pesticide use were a real handicap for the sustainability of the cashew farming which could be improved by farmers training in safe use and rigorous control by the Ivorian Government. Key words: Pesticide-safe-use, cashew-nuts-production, agricultural-practices.