المنتدى العالمي المعني بالأمن الغذائي والتغذية

Dear colleagues,

Agroecology can certainly be deemed as some sort of innovation. In many ways, it leads contemporary agriculture-related scientific advancement, but its main potential, in my view, stems from its advocacy prowess.  In this sense, the current scope for the study could be strengthened by explicitly addressing, at least, two somewhat neglected issues, namely: (i) the main tensions and bottle necks for upscaling agroecology; and (ii) the alternative land ethic behind this approach. A global study on agroecology-based food production and sustainability in times of climate change might well devote a chapter to answering the following question: what tensions in current globally oriented agricultural policy making most significantly hinder the upscaling of agroecology and which agenda gains from it? This question is indeed related to the second issue. Solidarity-based economy and the formation of a non-utility-maximizing subject lie at the core of a land ethic in agroecology where food production is understood, first and foremost, as a social process whose main goal is guaranteeing human life in dignity while preserving the ecological processes needed for territory viability. When confronted with economic choices, agroecology-based producers often choose whatever is closer to their principles with less regard to profitability levels. Some are even willing to take on additional burdens insofar as a greater common good is achieved. This study entails a brilliant chance for addressing the value-laden rationale behind agroecology. In this sense, another chapter, for instance, could also answer the following questions: how is the subject formation process brought about by the practice of agroecology and what sort of social ethos derives from it? How does agroecology resonate in established ethical traditions and which are its main tenets?

With best regards,

Pablo Prado