Complementing or co-opting? Applying an integrative framework to assess the transformative capacity of approaches that make use of the term agroecology

Abstract

The paper discusses the increasing use of the term agroecology in scientific literature and how its meanings vary in different contexts. However, the key issue is not the different understandings of agroecology per se, but whether various interpretations align with its intrinsic systemic and transformative meaning. To address this, the paper presents an integrative framework to assess approaches that use the term agroecology, and distinguish between its enabling and disabling interpretations. The framework is applied to yield- and non-yield-oriented approaches (sustainable intensification, conservation agriculture, organic farming and regenerative farming), revealing concerns of hijacking or co-opting through (1) simplification, (2) false equivalence and (3) confusion. To prevent and/or respond to the – not necessarily intentional - process of neutralization of the transformative potential of agroecology, we propose a combination of accountability and regulatory efforts, education and collaboration to protect the integrity of the term and the principles it represents as well as to ensure its just and transformative contribution for (re-)shaping agri-food systems.