Alternative Farming Research Articles

The Ecological Modernization Paradigm applied to fiduciary donations to traditional peoples organizations in the Brazilian Cerrado Biome

This article aims to understand the modus operandi used by the Center for Alternative Agriculture in Northern Minas Gerais (CAA), an non-governmental organization of traditional peoples from the northern region of the state of Minas Gerais, in the course of the implementing the Dedicated Grant Mechanism for Indigenous Peoples, Quilombolas and Traditional Communities of the Brazilian Cerrado Biome (DGM Brazil Project). Based on an empirical study carried out while I was an employee of a non-governmental organization, I propose a differentiated theoretical-methodological format for interdisciplinary research, combining professional experience, documentary analysis and bibliographic review. The article is concerned with linking this experience to other economic and political contexts, with emphasis on the recent dynamics of management and implementation of fiduciary donations by non-governmental organizations in Latin America. It supports the hypothesis that these experiences reproduce the Ecological Modernization Paradigm, based in the belief in efficiency as a means of achieving sustainable development.

Potential of integrated multitrophic aquaculture to make prawn farming sustainable in Bangladesh

Farmed freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) and black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) comprise a significant portion of Bangladesh’s seafood exports, raising concerns about their environmental impacts. Freshwater prawn farms, which require a relatively high amount of feed supply, release 1.0 MT CO2-equivalents/year, equating to 18.8 kg CO2e/MT prawn, contributing significantly to global warming and climate change risks. Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) offers an alternative farming method to conventional prawn farming systems, as it minimizes greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change impacts. Systematically reviewing 112 scientific articles on IMTA, this article offers recommendations for adopting IMTA to promote sustainable freshwater prawn farming in Bangladesh. IMTA is undergoing extensive experimentation and practice in many parts of the world, offering economic benefits, social acceptability, and environmental sustainability. In addition to native prawn species, various indigenous organic extractive freshwater mollusks, and inorganic extractive plants are available which can seamlessly be used to tailor the IMTA system. Extractive organisms, including aquatic mollusks and plants within prawn farms, can capture blue carbon effectively lowering GHG emissions and helping mitigate climate change impacts. Aquatic mollusks offer feed for fish and livestock, while aquatic plants serve as a dual food source and contribute to compost manure production for crop fields. Research on IMTA in Bangladesh was primarily experimented on finfish in freshwater ponds, with the absence of studies on IMTA in prawn farms. This necessitates conducting research at the prawn farmer level to understand the production of extractive aquatic mollusk and plants alongside prawn in the prawn-producing regions of southwestern Bangladesh.

Advancing sustainable rice production in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta insights from ecological farming systems in An Giang Province

Rice serves as a crucial staple food crop for half of the world's population. In the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD), rice production plays a vital role in national food security. However, the majority of the existing intensified rice cultivation schemes in the VMD, which are typically traditional, have rendered many farmers' livelihoods unsustainable due to issues such as land degradation, water pollution, health risks, and low profitability. Therefore, it is imperative to explore alternative sustainable farming systems. This study investigates the benefits of two ecological farming systems, specifically organic rice and rice mixed with lotus, as alternatives to conventional rice farming in the upper VMD floodplain province of An Giang. These two farming systems have demonstrated long-term socioecological and economic advantages. On the one hand, they allow the introduction of rice products to the market at more affordable prices. Additionally, they contribute to improved water quality, improved soil fertility, and increased biodiversity such as bird, fish, and plant species compared to traditional rice farming systems. Although we acknowledge that the availability of floodwater poses a significant constraint for alternative farming systems, the business opportunities and socioecological benefits associated with these systems outweigh the limitations. Our findings provide evidence that ecological farming practices that support rice cultivation represent promising alternatives to sustainable rice production, which can help mitigate vulnerabilities in intensified rice farming systems and can be scaled up for other floodplain provinces in the VMD and beyond.

The Complex Pathway to Green Fields: Opportunities and Challenges of Organic Agriculture in Thailand

This article explores the complex dynamics of organic agriculture in Thailand, focusing on the interplay of economic viability, environmental sustainability, and consumer awareness. Since the implementation of the National Economic and Social Development Plan in 1961, Thailand has emphasized cash crop production, leading to increased reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, which have raised significant environmental and health concerns. The article highlights the pivotal role of non-governmental organizations, such as the Alternative Agriculture Network, in advocating for sustainable farming practices and facilitating knowledge transfer between producers and consumers. Despite the potential benefits of organic farming, challenges persist, including labor-intensive production methods, declining interest among younger generations in agricultural careers, and a general lack of consumer understanding regarding organic products. The article underscores the importance of local financial support systems, such as cooperative loans, and government initiatives aimed at promoting organic agriculture. It argues that enhancing consumer awareness and demand for organic products is essential for fostering a sustainable agricultural future in Thailand. Ultimately, the findings suggest that a multi-faceted approach involving policy support, education, and community engagement is necessary to overcome the barriers to organic farming and ensure its growth in the Thai agricultural landscape.

The LTAR Cropland Common Experiment at Central Mississippi River Basin.

The Central Mississippi River Basin (CMRB) Common Experiment, with its marginal soils and southern Corn Belt climate, is an ideal location for evaluating progress toward environmental, productivity, and climatic adaptation goals. Sustainable production with conventional row-crop systems is more challenging than in the upper Corn Belt, making evaluation and adoption of alternative farming practices crucial. This Common Experiment has a hydrologically restrictive layer causing reduced plant available water capacity in the root zone. The CMRB site joined the Long-Term Agroecosystem Research Network in 2011 with the Cropland Common Experiment established in 2015. The Common Experiment contrasts prevailing and alternative practices at plot and field scale. Improvement of the soil ecosystem is key, as it underpins other objectives, including reduced nutrient losses, increased soil water holding capacity, and yield stability.

Evaluation of alternative farm safety net program combination strategies

PurposeSeveral farm safety net strategies are available to farmers as a source of financial protection against losses due to price instability, government policies, weather fluctuations and global market changes. Producers can employ these strategies combining crop insurance policies with countercyclical policies for several crops and production areas; however, less is known about the efficiency of these strategies in enhancing profit and reducing its variability. In this study, we examine the efficiency of these strategies at minimizing inter crop year farm profit variability.Design/methodology/approachWe utilized relative mean of profit and coefficient of variation, to compare counterfactually calculated farm safety net strategies for a sample of 28,615 observations across 2,486 farms and four dryland crops (corn, soybean, sorghum and wheat) in Kansas spanning nine crop years (2014–2022). A no farm safety net strategy is used as the benchmark for every alternative strategy to ascertain whether a policy customization is statistically different from a no farm safety case.FindingsThe general pattern of the results suggests that program combination strategies that have a high-profit enhancement potential necessarily have low profit risk for dryland wheat and sorghum production. On the contrary, such a connection is absent for dryland corn and soybeans production. Low-cost farm safety net strategies that enhance corn and soybeans profits do not necessarily lower profit risks.Originality/valueThis paper is one of the first to use a large sample of actual farm-level observations to evaluate how combinations of safety net programs offered under the Title I (PLC, ARCCO and ARCIC) and XI (FCIP) of the U.S. Farm Bill rank in terms of profit level enhancement and profit risk reduction.

Glimpses of embodied utopias, why Moroccan and Swiss farmers engage in alternative agricultures

AbstractGeographies of food are not only shaped by political economic forces but also by individuals who resist dominant ways of subjectivation. Based on ethnographic research on forty-seven agroecological farms in Switzerland and Morocco, this article proposes a philosophical reconsideration of the role of utopia, hope and enchantment in shaping people’s actions. It contributes to the understanding of the emotional, spiritual and embodied experiences that lead farmers to engage in alternative agricultures at the margins of state planning and agro-industry. The adoption of an etic research approach to ‘alternativity’ allows me to capture ‘quiet alternativities’, or farming experiences with beneficial socio-ecological outcomes but which are not represented as alternative or disruptive by the farmers themselves. This is especially important for Swiss and Moroccan farmers who do not always identify with a social movement or express any explicit opposition to agricultural policies and the dominant agri-food system, although their practices may effectively incorporate an alternative experience from where to envision different agri-cultures. Drawing from diverse conceptions of utopia, hope and enchantment, I unravel different manifestations of utopia as mental creations of ‘no-where’ and as embodied experiences of ‘no-when’. This enables me to attend to ‘quiet expressions’ of hope manifested not in speech but in daily practices and to discuss farmers’ motives to engage in alternative agricultures, despite a sometimes bleak outlook. I theorise these multiple experiences as ‘glimpses of utopias’ to explore the embodied and embedded dimensions of utopia to broaden what utopia can mean beyond purely speculative thinking.

Conventionalization of Alternative Agriculture and the Intervention of External Investors: Case Sharing Community-Supported Agriculture Farm, China

Conventionalization of Alternative Agriculture and the Intervention of External Investors: Case Sharing Community-Supported Agriculture Farm, China

Effect of Farming System Type on Broilers’ Antioxidant Status, Performance, and Carcass Traits: An Industrial-Scale Production Study

The global demand for improvement in the welfare conditions of broilers has generated the necessity to implement alternative rearing systems as well as less intensive growth hybrids. The majority of the data on alternative farming methods, notwithstanding their abundance, are the result of small-scale experiments. The present extended field study examined the effect of two different industrial farming systems on broilers’ antioxidant status, performance, and meat quality, including 13 replicates of each industrial breeding system (intensive conventional; free range) and two different chicken genotypes (fast growth; slow growth). The duration of the study was 51 months, and the total number of broilers was 260.000 for the conventional and 78.000 for the free-range system. The results showed that fast-growth chicks demonstrated a more satisfactory performance (in terms of body weight gain (BWG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) with p ≤ 0.001), reduced serum lipid oxidation (p ≤ 0.05), and more tender meat. Contrarily, slow-growth chickens presented significantly higher total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in serum and thigh muscle (p ≤ 0.001), significantly lower (p ≤ 0.05) thigh muscle oxidation (in terms of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, TBARS), increased protein and decreased fat content (p ≤ 0.05), and better smell, taste, color, and texture. In conclusion, the free-range farming system for slow-growth chickens may result in an overall higher nutritional value, sensory score, and serum and thigh muscle antioxidant profile than the conventional farming system for fast-growth broilers. However, fast-growth broilers exhibit better performance and might undergo less stress.

Green production of apples delivers environmental and economic benefits in China

Sustainable alternative farming systems are gaining popularity worldwide because of the negative effects of conventional agriculture on global climate change and the environmental degradation caused by intensive use of synthetic inputs. The green farming system in China is an integrated production strategy that focuses on reducing chemical fertilizer use while increasing organic manure inputs. Despite their rapid growth as more sustainable systems over the past decades, green farming systems have not been systematically evaluated to date. We used apple production as a representative case to assess the sustainability of green farming systems. Across major apple-producing regions in China, green farming reduced the application of chemical fertilizer nitrogen (N) by 46.8% (from 412 to 219 kg ha−1) and increased that of manure N by 33.1% (from 171 to 227 kg ha−1) on average compared with conventional systems enhancing N use efficiency by 7.27–20.27% and reducing N losses by 8.92%–11.56%. It also slightly lowered yield by 4.34%–13.8% in four provinces. Soil fertility was improved in green orchards through increases in soil organic matter, total N, and available major nutrients. Our cradle-to-farm-gate life-cycle assessment revealed that green farming helped to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 12.6%, potentially contributing to a reduction of 165 239 t CO2 eq annually in major apple-producing areas. In addition, green farming achieved 39.3% higher profitability ($7180 ha−1 year−1) at the farmer level. Our study demonstrates the potential of green production of apples for the development of sustainable agriculture in China. These findings advance our understanding of sustainable alternative farming systems and offer perspectives for the sustainable development of global agriculture.

Accounting of carbon sequestration and tradeoff under various climatic scenarios in alternative agricultural system: a comprehensive framework toward carbon neutrality

IntroductionThe increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration, which mainly is attributed to fossil-fuel combustion and deforestation, is often suggested as one of the prime causative factors toward accelerated global warming. This commends for sequestration of atmospheric carbon under terrestrial systems to partially offset fossil-fuel emissions. Concerning the same, agricultural sector presents an extensive opportunity, especially for countries such as India where over 55% of the population is engaged in the agriculture sector.MethodsSequestering atmospheric carbon in agriculture requires the adoption of climate-resilient alternative agriculture practices without compromising food security. The deliberated study highlights the options of alteration in current conventional farming practices and its economic evaluation for sequestrating carbon under two Climate Change (CC) scenarios, viz., RCP 4.5 and 8.5, over three temporal scales, i.e., 2020, 2030, and 2050. Considering the current land-use pattern and existing growth rate in land-use shifting, three land-use policies, namely, Business as Usual (BaU), Optimistic, and Pessimistic scenario, integrated with CC scenarios were contemplated. Six possible futuristic scenarios were generated for the assessment of carbon sequestration and its valuation following the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoff (InVEST) model.ResultsThe results suggested that across the studied region adopting an optimistic policy over BaU and pessimistic scenario, carbon can sequestrate an additional 0.64 to 1.46 Mt. (2.35 to 5.36 million ton CO2e) having an economic value of 193.4 to 504.8 million USD.ResultsMoreover, the outcomes of the study are advocated for the policy of carbon credit in the agriculture sector, which shall contribute toward meeting various nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and sustainable development goals (SDGs) as well.

A method to account for diversity of practices in Conservation Agriculture

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is actively promoted as an alternative farming system that combines environmental, economic, and social sustainability. Three pillars define CA: (i) minimum mechanical soil disturbance, (ii) permanent soil organic cover, and (iii) species diversification. The local context, constraints, and needs of the farmers influence the translation of the pillars into practices. Currently, there is no method for categorizing this diversity of CA practices, which hampers impact assessment, understanding of farmer choices and pathways, stakeholder communication, and policymaking. This paper presents a systematic method to identify and categorize the diversity of CA practices at the regional level, anchored in the three pillars and based on practices implemented by CA farmers. The classification method is grounded on the intersection of an archetypal analysis and a hierarchical clustering analysis. This method was used to study CA practices in Wallonia, Belgium, based on a survey of practices in a sample of 48 farmers. Combining the two clustering methods increases the proportion of classified farmers while allowing for the distinction between three CA-types with extreme and salient practices, and two intermediate CA-types comprising farmers whose practices fall between these references. The study reveals that three explanatory factors influence the implementation of CA practices in Wallonia: (i) the proportion of tillage-intensive crops and (ii) temporary grasslands in the crop sequence, and (iii) the organic certification. These factors lead to trade-offs that hinder the three pillars of CA from being fully implemented simultaneously. This new classification method can be replicated in other regions where CA is practiced, by adapting input variables according to context and local knowledge.

Quantifying farm sustainability through the lens of ecological theory.

The achievements of the Green Revolution in meeting the nutritional needs of a growing global population have been won at the expense of unintended consequences for the environment. Some of these negative impacts are now threatening the sustainability of food production through the loss of pollinators and natural enemies of crop pests, the evolution of pesticide resistance, declining soil health and vulnerability to climate change. In the search for farming systems that are sustainable both agronomically and environmentally, alternative approaches have been proposed variously called 'agroecological', 'conservation agriculture', 'regenerative' and 'sustainable intensification'. While the widespread recognition of the need for more sustainable farming is to be welcomed, this has created etymological confusion that has the potential to become a barrier to transformation. There is a need, therefore, for objective criteria to evaluate alternative farming systems and to quantify farm sustainability against multiple outcomes. To help meet this challenge, we reviewed the ecological theories that explain variance in regulating and supporting ecosystem services delivered by biological communities in farmland to identify guiding principles for management change. For each theory, we identified associated system metrics that could be used as proxies for agroecosystem function. We identified five principles derived from ecological theory: (i) provide key habitats for ecosystem service providers; (ii) increase crop and non-crop habitat diversity; (iii) increase edge density: (iv) increase nutrient-use efficiency; and (v) avoid extremes of disturbance. By making published knowledge the foundation of the choice of associated metrics, our aim was to establish a broad consensus for their use in sustainability assessment frameworks. Further analysis of their association with farm-scale data on biological communities and/or ecosystem service delivery would provide additional validation for their selection and support for the underpinning theories.

Developing individual carbon footprint reduction pathways from carbon budgets: Examples with Wallonia and France

Traditional climate strategies focus on long-term emissions targets, neglecting cumulative CO2 emissions and often limiting their scope to territorial emissions. Additionally, individual citizens struggle to connect with community targets. This study addresses these issues by computing a comprehensive carbon footprint pathway that, as a main contribution, can be easily personalized and associated with common carbon footprint calculators. This approach innovatively leverages inverted “S-shaped” patterns based on logistic functions that, unlike common linear patterns, have been documented as relevant for diffusion mechanisms of social or ecological transformations. One challenge lies in efficiently aligning the carbon footprint figures, expressed in CO2eq, with IPCC's +2 °C carbon budgets, expressed in CO2-only. This work first retrieves the current share of CO2-only footprint and then defines two mitigation pathways: one focusing solely on CO2 emissions and one addressing residual GHGs. Except for initial and final emission levels, both targeted pathways are defined by the same logistic function, based on the assumed intrinsic link between CO2 and the other GHGs. As final targets, the CO2-only pathway considers the common net-zero emission goal while the second pathway considers a level of 1 tCO2eq/year per capita of unmitigated non-CO2 emissions, in alignment with IPCC's latest assumptions and anticipated population growth. Besides the new +2 °C compatible suggested pathways, developing this method for France and Wallonia has also revealed that they should reach territorial (nature-based) carbon uptake of at least three times their current levels, necessitating deep land-use changes in their policies (implementing intensive urban vegetation, alternative agriculture techniques, etc).

Unravelling Resilience in Homestead Agroforestry Practice: A Review

The unprecedented climate changes are impacting agrarian livelihoods worldwide. Since lives heavily depend on agriculture, alternative farming mechanisms should be promoted to counter the effects. Homestead agriculture has a long tradition of compensating for the vagaries of weather and offering subsistence to the growers, at the same time conserving the ecosystem. The resilience of the practice is reviewed in this article with a focus on agroforestry’s unique characteristics, high biodiversity and multifaceted benefits as a land use system. A better understanding of the resilience potential of the homesteads to varying environments is important to integrate the system into the agricultural production scenario of nations, thereby bridging the unpredictable events of climate change. The best illustration of an effective indigenous resilience strategy is the tenacious persistence of homestead farming across millions of hectares.

Vertical farming for lettuce production in limited space: a case study in Northern Thailand.

Greenhouse vertical farming under natural sunlight is an alternative farming technique that grows crops in a stacking column and extends in a vertical direction. Sunlight availability is one of the crucial factors for crop development in vertical farming. Therefore, this investigation aimed to examine the effect of sunlight availability on lettuce growth and yields at different levels of vertical shelves. Six shelves were constructed with three levels: upper, middle and lower levels. Lettuces (Lactuca sativa L.) as 'Baby Cos' and 'Green Oak' at 14 days after sowing were planted on the three levels. The photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) was recorded, and the PPFD values were then converted to the daily light integral (DLI). Plant height and canopy width were measured three times at 14, 21 and 28 days after transplanting. At maturity, fresh weight (FW) was directly monitored after harvest. The results showed that the highest PPFD and DLI values were found at the upper level (PPFD 697 μmol m-2 s-1 and DLI 29 mol m-2 d-1) in comparison to the middle (PPFD 391 μmol m-2 s-1 and DLI 16 mol m-2 d-1) and lower (PPFD 322 μmol m-2 s-1 and DLI 13 mol m-2 d-1) levels. The lowest plant height and canopy width values were observed on the upper levels for both lettuce varieties during the three measurement dates. The middle ('Baby Cos' = 123.8 g plant-1 and 'Green Oak' = 190.7 g plant-1) and lower ('Baby Cos' = 92.9 g plant-1 and 'Green Oak' = 203.7 g plant-1) levels had the higher values of FW in comparison to the upper level ('Baby Cos' = 84.5 g plant-1 and 'Green Oak' = 97.3 g plant-1). The values of light use efficiency (LUE) showed an increased trend from the upper to lower levels in both varieties, with values of 'Baby Cos' of 0.10 g mol-1 in the upper level, 0.28 g mol-1 in the middle level and 0.26 g mol-1 in the lower level and 'Green Oak' of 0.12 g mol-1 in the upper level, 0.44 g mol-1 in the middle level and 0.57 g mol-1 in the lower level. The findings of the study indicated the viability of utilizing vertical shelves for lettuce production.

Penerapan Pertanian Regeneratif pada Perkebunan Kopi

Agronomy not only studies cultivation technology and agricultural production, but also examines the application of agricultural concepts and systems that continue to develop. The rapid and fundamental transformation of the agricultural system called the green revolution is based on the use of high inputs to increase agricultural production. The use of inputs that are not environmentally friendly and the emergence of environmental awareness encourages the transformation of agricultural systems into environmentally friendly agriculture such as ecofarming, organic farming, alternative farming, sustainable agriculture and regenerative agriculture. This article reviews the concepts of sustainable agriculture, degenerative agriculture, regenerative agriculture and the practice of implementing regenerative agriculture on coffee plantations. Degenerative agriculture is an agricultural practice that causes productivity to continue to decline as a result of a decrease in the carrying capacity of the agroecosystem, including soil, plants and other flora, fauna, microbes, climate and society. Sustainable agriculture aims to maintain a desired or improved level of ecosystem function, while regenerative agriculture aims to regenerate, renew, and further improve soil function and ecosystem capabilities in an ever-increasing process. The ecological pillars of regenerative agriculture include (1) soil health, (2) biodiversity, and (3) livestock-crop integration. Regenerative coffee plantation practices include the use of superior clones or varieties, grafting, planting shade trees and mixed crops, and livestock integration.Keywords : Biodiversity, degenerative, integrated, sustainable, regenerative agriculture

SOWING THE SEEDS OF TRANSFORMATION IN THE COLOMBIAN ANDES: THE ROLE OF THE HUERTA (HOME GARDEN) IN FOSTERING AND SUSTAINING AGROECOLOGICAL PRODUCTION

ABSTRACT The adoption of agroecological and related alternative farming practices is frequently cited as a viable strategy for fostering transformative change within agricultural and food systems. This study investigates the role of agroecology as a pathway of transformation of small-scale agriculture in the Colombian Andes. Drawing upon the “three spheres” model of transformation, which encompasses interactions between the personal, practical, and political spheres, the study explores motivations, actions, and political implications associated with the adoption of agroecology in three sites within the Bogotá region. The study employs a qualitative methodology, including in-depth farmer interviews and participant observation. Study findings highlight a range of economic, cultural, and ecological motivations within the personal sphere, all of which are driving farmers toward adoption of agroecology. These motivations, many of which are rooted in an ethics of care and connection, manifest in the practical sphere through actions including soil care, plant care, and care of seeds. Within the political sphere, these actions are contributing to micropolitical changes that are fostering broader shifts toward sustainable local food systems. Taken together, these findings suggest that agroecological practices can offer a viable pathway for addressing the current challenges in agriculture, promising a more sustainable and socially just future for small-scale farming.

Adapting agroforestry to upland farming systems: narratives from smallholder farmers in Northwest Vietnam

Fruit tree–based agroforestry has been promoted as an alternative farming practice in upland Northwest Vietnam to replace monocultures of staple crops. Although many studies have focused on evaluating the performance of agroforestry systems at the plot level, research on how farmers perceive and evaluate agroforestry considering whole-farm contexts is limited. We explored the perceptions and reasoned management decisions of agroforestry farmers to uncover challenges that hinder the wider use of agroforestry, and we assessed farmers’ strategies for effective management of adoption challenges. We combined the Q methodology and the systems thinking approach. With the Q methodology, we explored prevalent discourses among the members of the farming community on the impact of agroforestry. Systems thinking elucidated a system-wide understanding of farmers’ adaptive decision-making processes. By combining the two approaches, we uncovered the dynamics that shape farmers’ perceptions and the rationale behind their management of the adoption process. Through the Q method, we identified three distinct discourses among participants. Two of these discourses are in favor of agroforestry, highlighting its beneficial impacts on livelihoods and the environment, e.g., through diversification of household income and through soil erosion control. We also generated a collective development pathway outlining how farmers navigated and adapted agroforestry practices to overcome adoption challenges through a whole-system approach to farm resource management. We identified structural barriers, such as unstable farm-gate prices, that may need high-level interventions. Our study adds a new dimension to the assessment of agroforestry through farmers’ perspectives and contributes to the existing body of research on knowledge systems in agroforestry. Considering farmers’ views and their ways of reasoning during innovation processes may allow tailoring appropriate innovations by accounting for unique farm situations and local farming systems. Such locally generated knowledge will have relevance for real-world contexts and therefore be useful for guiding actions.

Agroecological transition: towards a better understanding of the impact of ecology-based farming practices on soil microbial ecotoxicology.

Alternative farming systems have developed since the beginning of industrial agriculture. Organic, biodynamic, conservation farming, agroecology and permaculture, all share a grounding in ecological concepts and a belief that farmers should work with nature rather than damage it. As ecology-based agricultures rely greatly on soil organisms to perform the functions necessary for agricultural production, it is thus important to evaluate the performance of these systems through the lens of soil organisms, especially soil microbes. They provide numerous services to plants, including growth promotion, nutrient supply, tolerance to environmental stresses and protection against pathogens. An overwhelming majority of studies confirm that ecology-based agricultures are beneficial for soil microorganisms. However, three practices were identified as posing potential ecotoxicological risks: the recycling of organic waste products, plastic mulching, and pest and disease management with biopesticides. The first two because they can be a source of contaminants; the third because of potential impacts on non-target microorganisms. Consequently, developing strategies to allow a safe recycling of the increasingly growing organic matter stocks produced in cities and factories, and the assessment of the ecotoxicological impact of biopesticides on non-target soil microorganisms, represent two challenges that ecology-based agricultural systems will have to face in the future.