STEPHEN R. GLIESSMAN Pengarang

Generalization without universalization: Towards an agroecology theory Michael M Bell a and Stéphane Bellonb aCommunity and Environmental Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, USA; bINRA, Ecodevelopment Unit, Avignon, France ABSTRACT We consider the question of whether agroecology can be said to have a theory, given its interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity. Based on the discussions from a workshop at the 2015 conference on The Agroecological Imagination: A Franco-American Exchange, we argue in the affirmative. But rather than understanding theory as universalistic generalized explanation, we argue that agroecological theory focuses on the consequences of context. Such a focus leads agroecologists to offer contextually sensitive principles of general relevance but not universal outcomes, and thus generalizing without universalizing. We conclude by arguing that a contextual approach leads agroecologists to think in terms of the philosophical triad of ontology, epistemology, and axiology, taking seriously a wide range of perspectives as well as questions of justice. KEYWORDS Agroecology; theory; contextuality; justice; axiology New challenges for education in agroecology Christophe Davida and Michael M Bellb aAgroecology and Environment Research Unit, ISARA-Lyon, Lyon France; bCommunity and Environmental Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Agricultural Bulletin Building Madison, Lyon, WI, USA ABSTRACT Based on discussions in a workshop associated with the conference The Agroecological Imagination: A Franco-American Exchange, we synthesize the state of agroecological education. We focus on three central questions: the what, how, and who of agroecological education. What are the key competencies, skills, and attitudes for future agroecologists? How do we best teach and learn agroecology? Who the learners and teachers are and should be? With regard to the what, we offer the notion of the expert-generalist who has an expertise but is also trained in integrative and transdisciplinary thinking. With regard to the how, we emphasize the importance of experiential learning and action learning, or active experience, and process for content in context. With regard to the who, we discuss the centrality of recognizing the broad community of agroecology, and the importance of agroecological education reflecting that breadth. KEYWORDS Education; transdisciplinarity; experiential learning; active learning; agroecology Long-term systems experiments and long-term agricultural research sites: Tools for overcoming the border problem in agroecological research and design Erin M Silvaa,b and Marc Tchamitchianc aAgroecology Faculty Affiliate, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA; bDepartment of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA; cINRA, Centre de Recherche PACA, UR Écodéveloppement, Avignon, France ABSTRACT To most effectively integrate research across scales and disciplines, long-term system experiments (LTSE) can serve as a valuable tool in agroecological studies. In this paper, we discuss the role of LTSE in understanding agroecosystem function, as well as components to effective design these studies to further the implementation of agroecological practices. Further, we describe the contributions of long-term agricultural research sites (LTARs) to LTSE, as places at the crossroad of stakeholders and civil society, agricultural, economic, and social stakes, research and practical questions, and disciplines and methods (if not paradigms). In use ways, LTSEs and LTARs help overcome what we term the border problem of conventional agriculture research. Maintaining LTARs in a world dominated by short-term funding remains a key challenge to support agroecological research in need of multidimensional data, but is essential to address the need for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches to solve the “wicked problems” facing today’s society. KEYWORDS Agroecology; systems research; long-term system experiments The agroecological imagination: Introduction Michael M. Bell Community and Environmental Sociology, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, USA ABSTRACT In June of 2015, 49 academics, students, government and NGO representatives, and farmers gathered together for a four-day conference on The Agroecological Imagination: A Franco-American Exchange. This paper introduces the special commentary section of four position papers based on discussion at the conference. This paper also argues that the central feature of the “agroecological imagination” is thinking contextually about food and agriculture. Keywords Agroecology; theory; international; contextuality; justice Bringing agroecology to scale: key drivers and emblematic cases Mateo Mier y Terán Giménez Cacho a, Omar Felipe Giraldo a, Miriam Aldasoro a, Helda Moralesa, Bruce G. Ferguson a, Peter Rosset a,b, Ashlesha Khadse a, and Carmen Camposa aResearch Group on “Masificación de la Agroecología para los sistemas alimentarios sustentables,” El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Mexico; bGeography Department, Universidade Federal de Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza, Brazil ABSTRACT Agroecology as a transformative movement has gained momentum in many countries worldwide. In several cases, the implementation of agroecological practices has grown beyond isolated, local experiences to be employed by ever-greater numbers of families and communities over ever-larger territories and to engage more people in the processing, distribution, and consumption of agroecologically produced food. To understand the nonlinear, multidimensional processes that have enabled and impelled the bringing to scale of agroecology, we review and analyze emblematic cases that include the farmer-to-farmer movement in Central America; the national peasant agroecology movement in Cuba; the organic coffee boom in Chiapas, Mexico; the spread of Zero Budget Natural Farming in Karnataka, India; and the agroecological farmer–consumer marketing network “ Rede Ecovida,” in Brazil. On the basis of our analysis, we identify eight key drivers of the process of taking agroecology to scale: (1) recognition of a crisis that motivates the search for alternatives, (2) social organization, (3) constructivist learning processes, (4) effective agroecological practices, (5) mobilizing discourses, (6) external allies, (7) favorable markets, and (8) favorable policies. This initial analysis shows that organization and social fabric are the growth media on which agroecology advances, with the help of the other drivers. A more detailed understanding is needed on how these multiple dimensions interact with, reinforce, and generate positive feedback with each other to make agroecology’s territorial expansion possible. KEYWORDS Agri-food system transformation; farmer-to-farmer; massification of agroecology; scaling out; territorialization of agroecology The resignification process of Agroecology: Competing narratives from governments, civil society and intergovernmental organizations Marta G. Rivera-Ferre Chair Agroecology and Food Systems, University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia, Spain; The Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, Coventry University, Coventry, England ABSTRACT The definition of Agroecology as a science, as a movement, and as a practice is widely accepted worldwide. But these three approaches are in fact interrelated elements which cannot be separated one from the others. They rather articulate among them to reflect different mental models and narratives all willing to tackle the unsustainability of food systems. However, this fragmentation, together with the late development of policy proposals to promote agroecology at higher scales (political agroecology), has facilitated the emergence of different narratives in the political area, in a process of resignification of what is agroecology. Through a lexicometric analysis of policy documents from different political actors (civil society, governments, and intergovernmental organizations) which self-claim to promote agroecology, I identify five narratives in the political arena, which put different emphasis on the different dimensions of agroecology and on different scales (from farm to the food system). KEYWORDS Political agroecology; sustainable food systems; lexicometric; narratives Exploring the concept of agroecological food systems in a city-region context Mette Vaarsta, Arthur Getz Escuderob, M. Jahi Chappellc,d, Catherine Brinkleye, Ravic Nijbroek f, Nilson A.M. Arraesg, Lise Andreasenh, Andreas Gattingeri,j, Gustavo Fonseca De Almeidak, Deborah Bossiol, and Niels Halbergh aDepartment of Animal Science, Aarhus University, Research Center Foulum, Tjele, Denmark; bUrban PlanEat, Madrid, Spain; cCentre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience, Coventry University, Coventry, UK (current affiliation); dInstitute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), Minneapolis, MN, USA (previous affiliation); eCollege of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Community and Regional Development, 2333 Hart Hall, University of California, Davis, USA; fSoils and Landscapes for Sustainability, International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Nairobi, Kenya; gNilson Antonio Modesto, University of Campinas, School of Agricultural Engineering, Campinas, Brazil; hInternational Centre for Research in Organic Food Systems (ICROFS), Tjele, Denmark; iChair of Organic Farming, Institute of Agronomy and Plant Breeding II, Justus-Liebig University Giessen (JLU), Gießen, Germany (current affiliation); jSoil Sciences Department, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Frick, Switzerland (previous affiliation); kGustavo Fonseca De Almeida – Federal University of São Carlos, Center of Nature Sciences, Campus Lagoa do Sino, Buri, São Paulo, Brazil; lDeborah Bossio, Global Lands Program, The Nature Conservancy, Santa Cruz, CA, USA ABSTRACT Based on urgent needs for food security compounded by a changing climate which impacts and is impacted by agricultural land-use and food distribution practices, we explore the processes of action in implementing agroecological food systems. We identified the following characteristics for an agroecological food system: 1. Minimizing use of external inputs, 2. Extent of internal resource recycling, 3. Resilience, 4. Multifunctionality, 5. Building on complexity and incorporating greater systems integration, 6. Contextuality, 7. Equity and, 8. Nourishment. We focus on the city-region food systems context, concluding with practical drivers for realizing more agroecological food systems in cityregion contexts. Agroecological food systems are widely diverse, shaped by context, and achieved through multi-actor planning in rural, peri-urban and urban areas. Application of agroecological food systems in rural–urban contexts emphasize the necessity of diversification, zoning rural–urban landscapes, planning for seasonality in a food systems context, and producing at scale. Rural–urban food systems are a relevant and challenging entry point that provides opportunities for learning how food systems can be shaped for significant positive change. Social organization, community building, common learning, and knowledge creation are crucial for agroecological contextualized food systems, as are the supports from appropriate governing and institutional structures. KEYWORDS City-region; equity; governance; nourishment; resilience; resource efficiency