In order to meet economy of scale demands made by large seed and agroindustrial companies, many areas of agriculture have recently evolved in ways which are incompatible with sustainable development, both in terms of damage to agroecosystems and by the continued belief in principles of land concentration and underuse. Farming systems based on agroecology can provide an alternative to these agroindustrial and largeestate approaches, while at the same time satisfying the many needs of a constantly growing world population.