Agroecology Concepts and Practices

Agroecology : What it is and what it has to offer?

International Institute for Environment and Development

Despite the fact that agroecological practices can bring resilience and broad-based productivity to rural communities and provide important ecosystem services across the landscape, they are still not being widely promoted in agricultural policies or by agricultural research organisations in developed nor developing countries, nor scaled-up at a significant level. This paper asks why, tracing the multiple interpretations of agroecology: what it means to different people and how it is used. It lists the benefits and challenges of agroecological practices and how they compare with input-intensive, large-scale farming. Finally, it asks what more needs to be done to mainstream agroecology more widely in agricultural policies and practices?

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