Social mycorrhiza: The social infrastructure of agroecological farming economies

Abstract

ABSTRACT Alternative agriculture (e.g. agroecology and organics) aims to address global environmental and social problems: goals that hinge on alternative farms’ economic viability. Viability depends on farmers accessing key resources (e.g. land), typically through markets, but also through social relationships. In this article, I offer a theory of how agroecological farmers’ social infrastructure can enable resource access. ‘Social mycorrhiza’ uses ecological mycorrhiza as a metaphor to conceptualize how individuals with simultaneous market interests and movement-based values (like alternative farmers) create social networks that facilitate resource access, in circumstances where they trust each other will act according to both their economic interests and their social and environmental values, over time. Social mycorrhiza highlights cooptation – when social and environmental values are sacrificed for economic interests – and burnout – when economic viability is sacrificed forsocial and environmental values. I illustrate social mycorrhiza using a case study of alternative (organic and agroecological) farmers in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. In short, social mycorrhiza describes the social relational infrastructure of agroecological farming economies.