Agroecology and agroecology transition – key concepts

Agroecology is a different way of farming and organising food systems. It is a way of working with food that uses diversity, considers the local context, and employs adaptive management at all levels of the agri-food system. Agroecology is not just a concern of producers. It is rather a profound change in reasoning about the shape and role of food systems, and so includes citizens and policy makers at the local and global level, individually and collectively.

To set up the framework and pave the way for a future network of living labs and research infrastructures for agroecology transition, the ALL-Ready consortium identified the key principles, concepts, and criteria which are applicable to place-based open innovation arrangements such as living labs (LLs) and research infrastructures (RIs). Read more.

The concepts developed by the ALL-Ready project are the basis for the next steps towards a European partnership that is being developed under Horizon Europe, supporting European policy goals such as the Green Deal and the CAP.

According to the European Commission, the partnership is aiming to accelerate the transition towards agroecology by structuring and supporting a European network of living labs and research infrastructures based on open innovation settings, by promoting transdisciplinary, participatory, inclusive and coordinated experimentation in real-life settings. It will speed up the adoption of ecological approaches in farming systems by ensuring knowledge exchange and the delivery of series of long-term data on ecological processes applied to agriculture in diverse conditions across the EU.

Although agroecology is not a new concept, its importance is growing steadily. Agroecology is not only a set of practices related to the production and processing of food, it is also a dynamic scientific field, and a social movement.

Putting agroecology into practice involves learning through experimentation with trials and errors. As a result, agroecology requires adaptive management and governance of the agricultural and food systems. It also requires scientists to engage other stakeholders such as practitioners (smallholder farmers, extension advisors, etc.), policy makers and consumers. Agroecology fosters the diversity of agricultural systems and products, and it relies on local and traditional knowledge (explicit as well as implicit). It applies and deepens the understanding of ecological principles in order to design and manage food systems in more sustainable and productive ways.

Agroecology drives an in-depth transformation of agricultural and food production systems, because it requires a rethinking of how biological processes are used in agri-food systems (species, breed/variety choice, feed and fertility, animal production methods and cropping practices, soil and water management, etc.). It is especially oriented towards increasing the diversity of agricultural processes and products. It aims at holistic and system-oriented farm management practices, and it embeds social, cultural and political principles in food systems, which brings real paradigm shifts for science as well as for agriculture practices.

A system approach is needed, where all stakeholders related to the farming system (farmers, farm advisors, suppliers) or to its context (policy makers, agriculture knowledge and innovation system and value chain actors, etc.) can be engaged. A system approach relies on a multitude of scientific disciplines (agronomic, social, political, etc.). This integration can be achieved when the transition is co-designed by farmers, users, and other stakeholders. Transition to agroecology concerns all fields of science. Changes of agri-food practices are a manifestation of the on-going transformation, while the governance of farming and food systems is also important to consider.

For the ALL-Ready consortium, this transformation – the in-depth redesign of agroecosystems, and the agri-food chain – itself is a subject of research.

The ALL-Ready consortium has analysed existing theoretical frameworks (see Fig 1.) for the operationalisation of the agroecology transition. The following figure illustrates the different food system transformation levels identified by Stephen Gliessman, crossed with FAO’s 10 elements for agroecology and the 13 principles outlined in the report of the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) on agroecological and other innovative approaches for sustainable agriculture and food systems.

Figure 1. Illustration of the different food system transformation levels (Agropolis International Dossier N° 26).

The consortium studied and analysed the diverse sets of activities that will support agroecology transition based on international recommendations, case studies, and feedback from existing networks. Two main strands of activities were identified: one driven by the desire to improve agroecosystems and the other one widening the concern of agroecology beyond food systems to society as a whole.

In order to validate and refine the activities, the values, the competences and the policy incentives – that characterise or are necessary for agroecology transition – they were submitted to stakeholder consultation. The participants helped to complete, improve and adjust the different mind-maps (Fig. 2) based on their knowledge, recommendations and known requirements for agroecology transition.

Figure 2. Mind maps developed in a co-creation process with stakeholders

First of all, the core/common values have been identified, justifying the changes in activities. These values are the drivers of the transition process of communities and stakeholders that are or will be engaged in the “redesign of the systems” for agroecology transition.

The transition process can only be successful if all participating actors are convinced by the importance and necessity of these values. ALL-Ready partners have also identified and grouped the general aims of the policy incentives and the main activities that will drive the changes according to the two ambitions of agroecology transition: i) evolution of agroecosystems and their environmental context and ii) the consideration of the socio-economic and cultural context. Taking into account the needs of the (future) actors engaged in agroecology transition, a set of competences and skills to be developed at the individual and collective levels has been identified, as well as the four main ways to develop them.

To be able to achieve a successful transition process towards agroecology, many barriers have to be overcome. There are concerns that agroecology can be disadvantageous in comparison to current farming systems due to limited use of land, potentially lower yields, greater labour time needed within the whole food chain, and new technologies that users might not be familiar with. Resolving such concerns and achieving sustainable interactions between ecosystems and the food system requires collaboration between various stakeholders and scientists from complementary disciplines.

Another key objective is to support the development of strategies and capacities to better handle variable situations, newly emerging problems as well as to increase diversity in production systems and the value chain. Being able to follow socio-technical trajectories across diverse economic sectors would enable us to identify paths for transitions and identify locked in patterns.

Accelerating agroecology transition in Europe means incentivising place-based open innovation networks such as living labs[1] and strengthening an interdisciplinary approach by bridging and integrating living labs and research infrastructures in a frame of a network to foster system redesign. Therefore, the aim of ALL-Ready is to build the framework of a future network of living labs and research infrastructures that will enable the transition towards agroecology.

[1] LLs: defined as user-centered, open innovation ecosystems based on systematic user co-creation approach, integrating research and innovation processes in real life communities and settings.

LLs are both practice-driven organisations that facilitate and foster open, collaborative innovation, as well as real-life environments or arenas where both open innovation and user innovation processes can be studied and subject to experiments and where new solutions are developed.

LLs are built on three principles: co-creation, involve users and in real life conditions. They operate as intermediaries among citizens, research organisations, companies, cities and regions for joint value co-creation, rapid prototyping or validation to scale up innovation and businesses.

RIs are facilities that provide resources and services for research communities to conduct research and foster innovation. They can be used beyond research e.g. for education or public services and they may be single-site, distributed, or virtual.

Source picture (slider): Dániel Bori (Magház Association)