Agroecological Transition Research Articles

Can public food procurement drive agroecological transitions? Pathways and barriers to sustainable food procurement in higher education institutions in Spain

ABSTRACT Public procurement can help drive a transition to a more sustainable food system based on local agroecological production. In countries with large public education systems, school and university canteen services can play a significant role by virtue of their enormous centralized purchasing power. In this study, we investigate the potential and feasibility of implementing an enduring transformation to a sustainable food procurement model in public higher education institutions based on agroecological principles for the case of Spain. To address our research questions, we employed participatory workshops and a questionnaire survey (1,058 respondents) to analyze perceptions and priorities around sustainable food practices on campus of the university community across three Spanish public universities. Workshop participants proposed and prioritized interventions aimed at improving the sustainability of on-campus food services. Some recommendations for action for policy makers are detailed in the Discussion section, as key actors in this process. Pathways toward a future transition to more sustainable practices included the importance of food services to the university community, the high level of understanding of food system impacts and demand for change from consumers on university campuses, the universities’ commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the potential of university networks as a powerful agent of social change and social innovation.

Indicators for agroecological transition: Food security, nutrition, well-being, promotion of a sustainable food model

Agroecology is a viable alternative confronting the impressive model of industrial agriculture. To project the concept of Agroecology beyond theoretical definitions to practical and quantifiable principles, it is necessary to have analysis, communication and evaluation tools that support and allow the evaluation of positions. Indicators are quantifiable tools that make the obtention of numerical variables possible to compare the different models. This study aims to establish a proposal of quantifiable indicators to evaluate the direct impact of aspects related to food and nutritional quality, responding to the demand for an integrated evaluation of agroecological systems, thus improving the tools for calculating current indicators. The proposed parameters cover aspects that have a greater or lesser impact on the daily diet, such as the variability of the foods that make up the dish, their contribution to food safety, the nutritional composition and bioactive components, organoleptic aspects, degree of processing and transformation of the food consumed, environmental aspects that influence the production model and their influence on human well-being. As well as parameters of the social sphere, such as the impact on the economy of scale, on attributes of proximity, temporality, as well as indicators related to social justice. The proposal can help to obtain assessment before or after the implementation of agricultural policies towards the agroecological transition, allowing self-assessment, and provide verifiable data after a change in agricultural policies when redesigning or introducing agroecological strategies.

Addressing the diversity of visions of ecologization in research and in support to agroecological transitions

ABSTRACT Agroecology is increasingly recognized as a relevant framework for envisioning the transition of agriculture and food systems, but is often tackled in a dualistic perspective opposing strong or radical visions of agroecology to weak or incremental ones. This article is based on a collective, reflexive and comparative analysis of eight research projects dealing with agroecological transitions at the scale of farming systems and agrifood systems. Each project brought together a diversity of actors having different visions of ecologization. The aim of this article is to describe how and with what benefits this diversity of visions was addressed in the projects. We show that taking into account the diversity of visions is necessary for understanding agroecological transitions, and that beyond this, sharing this diversity among the concerned actors is necessary for accompanying them in an inclusive way and, under certain conditions, enrich transition pathways. We also show the need to adopt analytical approaches to characterize the visions along with participatory action-research approaches allowing to share them and support transitions. Finally, the collective and reflexive process we carried out for this article also enabled the researchers to situate their projects and themselves with regard to their role in the agro-ecological transitions.

Territorialising Local Food Systems for an Agroecological Transition in Latin America

An agroecological transition can enhance resilience by several means, e.g., managing ecological relationships through agroecosystems, enhancing farmers’ knowledge of natural resources, recycling those resources, maintaining biodiversity, and thus, flexibly adapting to environmental stresses. However, the hegemonic agri-food system has been continuing its capitalist transition, thereby undermining agroecological methods and deterritorialising social bonds. Facing this pervasive threat, an agroecological transition needs a greater convergence between agroecological production and a solidarity economy (economia solidaria or EcoSol in Latin America). Their convergence can be called EcoSol-agroecology, based on short food supply chains (called circuitos cortos there). These efforts develop territorial markets, generate more stable livelihoods, and thus keep producers on the land. In our study, each research team collaborated with an EcoSol-agroecology network to develop Participatory Action Research methods. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted their circuitos cortos, stimulating creative adaptations or alternatives, alongside demands for policy support measures. These networks have regionally territorialised local initiatives, while also confronting obstacles from the hegemonic system. Although socioecological resilience often means a system’s capacity to bounce back, here it has meant bouncing forwards through new opportunities for solidaristic livelihoods and bonds. EcoSol-agroecology networks, agri-extensionists, and researchers have jointly developed such counter-hegemonic strategies, as illustrated by the case studies here.

Sowing Agroecology in Rio Doce through a Technical Assistance and Rural Outreach Program in a Territory Affected by the Biggest Environmental Disaster in Brazilian History

Abstract The work of an Agroecological Technical Assistance and Rural Outreach program (ATER, in its acronym in Portuguese) is a profound process of communication between technical specialists in agricultural production and farming families, specialists in their practice and their social context. The ATER program of the “Sowing Agroecology in Rio Doce” project works with 138 families whose farming activity was hampered by the rupture of the Fundão Mining Tailings Dam (Brazil), considered the greatest environmental disaster in Brazilian history. The work seeks to train family farmers for the agroecological transition, aiming at building production systems that operate in an economically viable, environmentally correct, socially fair, and culturally diverse way. The project takes place in three dimensions: animal, where the welfare and health of animals are worked on, and in the development of more autonomous systems regarding the use of inputs and medicines; natural goods, where it operates in agricultural production, water resources, and environmental conservation of the properties, aiming at the production free of pesticides and industrialized inputs; and culture, through understanding the social reality of families, valuing cultural manifestations and traditions, aiming to strengthen the social cohesion of communities and encourage cooperation between families, and seeking to create short marketing circuits, work groups, and collective purchases of inputs. In this way, the process takes place from the One Health perspective, as it seeks to integrate human, animal, and environmental health. This approach has contributed to increasing production and family autonomy, bringing economic viability, food security, and environmental conservation to the region. Information © The Authors 2023

Co-designing a method to assess agroecological transitions: results of a case study in Senegal

Assessing the conditions and performance of agroecological transitions in different contexts is key to supporting these transitions. However, assessing agroecological transitions presents methodological challenges, including: 1) being adaptable to local conditions, 2) consideration of social interactions among stakeholders involved in transitions, 3) clarifying the concept of agroecology, 4) consideration of the temporal dynamics of the transitions to better understand barriers and levers in their development, and 5) using a participatory bottom-up approach. The objective of this research was to design a method that provided evidence on 1) the barriers and levers in the development of agroecological transitions, and 2) their performance related to four dimensions: techno-economic issues, agroecosystem health, quality of life and resilience. To design, test and adapt such a method, while also involving end-users, we adopted a co-design approach based on prototyping. The co-design approach unfolded in nine stages alternating research work and co-design with end-users. The prototype was built on the approaches of existing published methods covering the five challenges for assessing agroecological transitions. It consisted of a four chronological step assessment method. The first three steps consisted of framing the assessment, with the final step a multidimensional performance assessment, using an initial set of 73 indicators to cover the four dimensions. The prototype was then tested and adapted in the village of Sare Boubou, Senegal, which is going through an agroecological transition supported by a non-governmental organization. Changes during the testing and adaptation phase affected three steps of the prototype and allowed the initial prototype to adapt to the case study’s specificities, related to its scale and context. Context-related changes particularly affected the performance assessment, with a total of 31 indicators changed. The analysis of barriers and levers revealed that the transition began 29 years ago, achieved a fair level of advancement and yet was still ongoing. Results revealed heterogeneity between the nine households of the village in terms of: uptake of agroecological practices, household resources, diversification of activities, coverage of food needs through production and level of sales. This heterogeneity explained the large variability in household multidimensional performances across all dimensions. Large disparities were also noticeable at the individual level between men, women and young men in the village regarding the level of education, empowerment and participation in knowledge sharing networks. Despite a method seen as time-consuming and data intensive, end-user validation acknowledged the comprehensiveness of the method and its usefulness for steering and managing agroecological transitions, making it possible to identify levers for action at different scales.

Diversity of pesticide use trajectories during agroecological transitions in vineyards: The case of the French DEPHY network

CONTEXTWinegrowers apply large quantities of pesticides to their vineyards to reduce high cryptogamic pressure. But these practices must change to lower pesticide use and improve viticulture sustainability. Different options for curbing pesticide use exist, and they can be progressively implemented following a specific temporal scheme in each production system. Some change trajectories can be more efficient than others in limiting pesticide applications. Combining trajectory studies and typology may be helpful in characterizing how farmers change their practices and in summarizing the various production system trajectories possible when transitioning towards pesticide use reduction. OBJECTIVEThe aims of this study were i) to identify different types of pesticide use trajectories, and ii) to understand the options implemented by winegrowers to reduce their pesticide use. METHODSWe analysed data from 161 farming systems in the DEPHY farm network in 12 French winegrowing regions over a 10-year period. Pesticide use was assessed with the treatment frequency index (TFI). We characterized the TFI trajectory of each farming system with six indicators and built a typology of TFI trajectories. We then analysed several indicators such as the use of biocontrol products and the dose sprayed to identify some of the management options chosen to achieve these pesticide use trajectories. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSThree clusters were identified and characterized in terms of pesticide use strategy. The first cluster represented farms with an initial point close to the regional average and which did not experience a significant TFI reduction (−13%). The second cluster comprised farms with a low TFI when entering the network that were able to further reduce their TFI over time (−48%). The last cluster represented farms with a high initial TFI and a high reduction (−63%). All clusters managed to reduce their pesticide use by combining several technical levers at different intensities. Some differences in the levers between clusters were observed. Cluster 2 farms are in the process of converting to organic farming and using the associated levers such as biocontrol and mechanical weeding. SIGNIFICANCEThe changes implemented by cluster indicate a varying degree of progress in the transition towards pesticide use reduction. The initial point was identified as having a strong influence on the end result. The more intensively the technical levers were combined, the more difficult it was to reduce pesticide use. The DEPHY network supported winegrowers in their reduction of pesticides who managed to reduce their pesticide use by 13% to 63%.

Prediction of nitrogen mineralization in organically fertilized growing media for soil‐less production

AbstractBackgroundOrganic fertilizers derived from recycled materials and by‐products are currently investigated as a way of freeing ourselves from synthetic chemical mineral fertilizers within the framework of the agroecological transition. These organic fertilizers have to undergo a mineralization process mainly carried out by microbes, so that the mineral elements can be consumed by the plants.AimsThe challenge consists in providing tools to predict available N coming from mineralization of organic fertilizers to better control the doses and the frequency of application.MethodsWe developed and compared two predictive models of N mineralization of organic fertilizers, a multivariate statistical model and a first‐order kinetic model. Temperature (4, 20, 28, and 40°C) and humidity (−3.2, −10, and −31.6 kPa) were modulated and confronted to the response of four different growing media (GM) types and two organic fertilizers during a 49‐day experiment. The input parameters tested for the statistical model were the amount of N in the fertilizer, the initial N content, temperature and humidity of the GM.ResultsBoth models satisfactorily predicted the mineral N content, even if they tended to overestimate it for low concentrations (mostly corresponding to low temperature, 4°C) and the first‐order kinetic model overestimated it for the highest mineral N content (1000–1300 mg N kg−1). The two models were used to predict mineral N content on an independent dataset acquired under in situ conditions. The errors of prediction (RMSE) ranged between 220 and 256 mg N kg−1 according to the multivariate and first‐order models, respectively.ConclusionsTwo models have demonstrated satisfactory their ability to estimate the mineral nitrogen content in GM they need to be validated in more GM‐fertilizer couples and in the presence of plant.

Sunflower Hybrids and Inbred Lines Adopt Different Physiological Strategies and Proteome Responses to Cope with Water Deficit.

Sunflower is a hybrid crop that is considered moderately drought-tolerant and adapted to new cropping systems required for the agro-ecological transition. Here, we studied the impact of hybridity status (hybrids vs. inbred lines) on the responses to drought at the molecular and eco-physiological level exploiting publicly available datasets. Eco-physiological traits and leaf proteomes were measured in eight inbred lines and their sixteen hybrids grown in the high-throughput phenotyping platform Phenotoul-Heliaphen. Hybrids and parental lines showed different growth strategies: hybrids grew faster in the absence of water constraint and arrested their growth more abruptly than inbred lines when subjected to water deficit. We identified 471 differentially accumulated proteins, of which 256 were regulated by drought. The amplitude of up- and downregulations was greater in hybrids than in inbred lines. Our results show that hybrids respond more strongly to water deficit at the molecular and eco-physiological levels. Because of presence/absence polymorphism, hybrids potentially contain more genes than their parental inbred lines. We propose that detrimental homozygous mutations and the lower number of genes in inbred lines lead to a constitutive defense mechanism that may explain the lower growth of inbred lines under well-watered conditions and their lower reactivity to water deficit.

EU−Africa: Digital and Social Questions in a Multicultural Agroecological Transition for the Cocoa Production in Africa

The challenge of this century is without a doubt to counter global warming. Land management, agriculture, and forests are responsible for 23% of total greenhouse gases (GHGs). In developing countries, such as those in African territories, where economic capacities are sometimes small and socio-cultural and linguistic perceptions are different, this requires a transition that is just and respectful of local culture and language, while at the same time helping to create labor conditions that respect gender and minors. This article describes a socio-technical ecological transition in the cocoa chain production in Côte d’Ivoire, which is not only the world’s leading producer of cocoa beans (45%) but also one of the African countries most prone to deforestation. Linguistic and multicultural aspects come together in Côte d’Ivoire, where more than 70 local languages are spoken. Intelligent digital approaches, agroecological issues, new methods, and sociocultural questions are embedded in a context of collaboration and co-creation, a living lab approach, to ensures sharing and co-creation among NGOs, farmers, companies, and researchers. A framework of socio-technical transition is presented, and this research aims to not only achieve the goals of a just ecological transition and reduce carbon footprint and deforestations but also to create diverse labour conditions, gender respect and inclusion.

Agroecological transitions to sustainability and biosphere reserves

ABSTRACT We examine the potential of local agroecological transitions to sustainability in Spain and their interaction with Biosphere Reserve (BR) designation. The BR program has experienced great success in Spain however questions linger regarding their contribution to agricultural sustainability. Here, we evaluate the performance of two selected local agroecological initiatives through a Coupled Human and Natural Systems (CHANS) approach focusing, specifically, on their potential contribution to community resilience. To do so, we collected survey data from participants in one local agroecological initiative in the non-BR designated “La Vera” area and in the “Mariñas Coruñesas e Terras do Mandeo” BR. We found that participants valued positively the achievements of both initiatives but identified two important obstacles for CHANS community resilience: 1) lack of economic competitiveness of the products and services offered due to the higher prices of agroecological products when compared with conventionally produced market-oriented competitors and, 2) governance obstacles related to subsidy dependence and excessive governmental regulations of local community management practices and decision-making. Though there were no statistically significant differences between BR and non-BR survey data, non-BR respondents did identify more governance issues than BR respondents suggesting that BR designation may empower local communities institutionally providing them with more decision-making leverage in their interactions with the administration.

Reacting to rural problems or creating cognitive space? Knowledge production and the diffusion of the agroecology movement in Chiang Mai, Thailand

ABSTRACT This qualitative study explores how the agroecology movement in Chiang Mai, Thailand, has been diffused and what has contributed to its pathways to socioecological sustainability. During the diffusion of this social movement, non-governmental organization (NGO) activism, the introduction of organic farmers’ markets and local organic certification, and collaboration with universities have played significant roles. Our findings suggest that partnership, place, and knowledge have been important contributors to the agroecological transition. Utilizing the concept of cognitive praxis, we conclude that the participatory mode of knowledge production and the horizontal process of knowledge exchange have contributed to the movement’s diffusion by providing opportunities for local ecological knowledge to be produced, reinvented, and disseminated.

On-farm agricultural inputs and changing boundaries: Innovations around production of microorganisms in Brazil

A growing number of activities formerly undertaken off-farm are now carried out on-farm, including product processing, agronomic experimentation or animal slaughter. This also applies to the production of certain agricultural inputs, including micro-organisms used as alternatives to chemical inputs in plant nutrition and health. Based on a case study in Brazil, this article analyses the mechanisms behind this shift in the production of inputs, particularly the way it challenges the boundaries that usually delimit the skills and activities of farmers, agri-supply companies and agricultural research. It highlights the boundary work they undertook to extend or, on the contrary, to preserve their prerogatives and competences. Economic, political and epistemic issues are at stake around these boundaries and their movements, and the stakeholders involved defend contrasted positions. The results show that the shift of certain activities towards the farm, which is often seen as an important lever in agroecological transitions, is a complex process and can cause major tensions among stakeholders. Il also shows that, despite these movements, the on-farm production of nature-based solutions and bio-based technologies like microorganisms only partially call the organisation and trajectory of agro-industrial systems into question. In conclusion, the article calls for reflection on the role of agri-supply companies in the transformation of agricultural technological systems. It also calls for research into the control of the technologies produced on farm, and into the ways in which the State can transform existing systems.

Agroecological transition and adaptation to climate change of the Espelette chilli pepper production systems: presentation of the 2022-2024 pilot project and the 2021 preliminary results

Agroecological transition and adaptation to climate change of the Espelette chilli pepper production systems: presentation of the 2022-2024 pilot project and the 2021 preliminary results

Understanding the behavioral drivers of smallholder agro-ecological practice adoption in Benin and Burkina Faso

The current international context characterized by environment, and socio-political crises, and the related issue of instability of food supply and agricultural inputs, revives the need for agroecological transition of West African smallholders. This study aims to analyze the socio-psychological determinants of the adoption of crop rotation (CR) and cereal-leguminous intercropping (CLI) practices, two popular agroecological practices in Benin and Burkina Faso, in order to provide additional levers for action for the agroecological transition in these two countries. To this end, a stepwise survey involving all the municipalities of Atacora (9) in Benin and Houet (13) in Burkina Faso was conducted among 400 family farmers. The planned behavior model was then used to analyze their intentions and decisions to adopt these practices through structural equation modeling. Findings show that regardless of the practice, farmers' perceived control influences their intention as well as their adoption decision. Similarly, farmers' intention also had a positive and significant effect on their decision to implement these two practices. These results contribute to a better understanding of farmers' decisions process, and therefore offer opportunities to positively influence it.

P49 Agroecological transition and holistic sustainability assessment of smallholder dairy cattle systems

P49 Agroecological transition and holistic sustainability assessment of smallholder dairy cattle systems

Agroecological innovations, social technologies and family farming

This paper is a systematic review of articles that address the relationship between Social Technology, Agroecological Innovations and Family Farming considering their convergence in food production. A search was carried out in the academic databases of Web of Science (WOS), Scopus (Elseiver), Agris, Google Scholar and CAPES journal database. By starting an analysis matrix that included the type of study, the conceptual framework, the methodology and the object of study, 16 articles were selected. In the study, a series of coincidences were identified about the type of study, the methodology, the object of study, and the concepts used. An approach that focuses on the role of agroecological innovations outside the specific experiences with a focus on understanding the own agroecological innovation system where the role of social technologies is fundamental as long as it is considered as elements that strengthen the agroecological transition processes and not as palliatives or as technologies with low intensity in knowledge.

Alternative practices to pesticide use in the Guadeloupe banana belt: Do biophysical constraints limit agroecological transitions?

CONTEXTIn the French West Indies, the banana sector has made a transition from systems heavily reliant on synthetic inputs to more agroecological systems. However, despite abundant literature on the performance of these systems, few studies have described the mechanisms involved in this transition at the level of individual farms. OBJECTIVEThis article aims to understand the drivers of diverse individual agroecological transitions on banana farms in Guadeloupe towards alternative practices to the use of pesticides with a specific focus on the role of biophysical constraints at territorial scale. METHODThe methodological approach was based on three complementary steps to grasp the spatio-temporal determinants of these transitions: (1) a mapping of biophysical constraints on the scale of a territory spanning 2510 ha of farmland, (2) a mapping of the land use changes between 2010 and 2019 at the plot scale over 1680 plots, and (3) an evaluation of the agroecological transition over ten years of 20 farms located in four previously determined constraint zones. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSWe show that some farms in the study area face multiple constraints linked to biophysical factors (sigatoka pressure and slope), and that there are links between these various constraints and land use changes (e.g. abandonment, diversification and maintenance of banana production). A more detailed analysis of the farms shows the emergence of five transition types over the last ten years: farms with a weak transition, farms with a weak transition despite having governance over their productive resources, farms with a moderate transition, farms with an organic-based agroecological transitions, and farms with a strong agroecological transition. The biophysical constraints of these farms affected these transitions, however changes in legislation or access to organic certification also supported changes. There is room for progress to intensify the transition of these systems, but this requires specific recommendations for these different types. SIGNIFICANCEThe mixed method used in this study is helpful to diagnose changes in time and space of farms in agroecological transition and assess their real room for maneuver.

Агроекологічний вектор посилення соціальної спрямованості сільськогосподарського виробництва

The article considers the agroecological model of FAO, consisting of ten elements contributing to achieving agriculture’s economic goals while ensuring social justice and preserving the environment. Based on the analysis of the dynamics of socio-economic indicators, the necessity of changing domestic agriculture’s development strategy to ensure sustainability and strengthen the rural economy’s social orientation has been substantiated. The author characterised the integrity and the complexity of agroecology in the context of achieving sustainable development goals. The paper proposes an agroecological transition to balance agricultural activity’s economic, social, and environmental results and determines the socioeconomic consequences of introducing an agroecological transition. Using the method of expert assessments, the prevalence of agroecological management in different groups of producers and the correspondence of their management methods to the components of agroecology of FAO are analysed. The necessity of forming an institutional environment as a system of norms, rules, motivational mechanisms and stimulating measures, requirements, and control, which will promote the spread of agroecological methods in the agricultural activities of enterprises, has been substantiated. The importance of informing producers about the advantages of agroecological management and introducing pilot (demonstration) projects is characterised; the need for training consultants and initiators on introducing agroecological management methods is outlined. Agroecological methods acquire new relevance in the development of agriculture in post-war Ukraine. The ability to avoid large-scale interruptions in food supply due to the local organisation of production, the change in consumer behaviour of the population towards the use of healthy and environmentally safe food products, the strengthening of local development potential and several other social effects are the advantages of the agroecological transition, which will preserve the multifunctionality of agriculture and strengthen its social orientation and environmental safety.

Towards a Politics of Recognition: Exploring the Symbolic Contexts of Material Agroecological Transitions

Scientific debates on agroecology highlight the relevance of appropriate narratives as a means to widen and amplify agroecological transitions in the material world. However, it is actually far-right discourses—often linked to populist political proposals—which, though not majoritarian, are reaching broad and growing diffusion among both rural communities and farmers. Research focusing on the symbolic mechanisms around food systems’ transitions are scarce. In order to address this gap, an exploratory research project was developed to identify responses to different messages and audiovisual languages favorable to agroecological transitions, through the dissemination of three brief audiovisual pieces among specific socio-professional profiles linked to food systems, together with an online survey. The results obtained (n = 524) show significant differences in the responses to open questions collected, regarding socio-economic diversity expressed in the axes male/female, urban/rural, farmer/not farmer and organic/conventional farming. Responses from conventional farmers express a need for developing a “politics of recognition” and repair that would acknowledge the unfair, subordinated role that farmers and rural communities feel in the current globalized food system. The paper shows the need for further empirical research on the issue, covering different territories and socio-economic and cultural profiles, in order to fully understand the symbolic mechanisms underlying material, agroecological transitions.