Agroecology & Institutions Challenges, opportunities and recent examples from Argentina Pablo A. Tittonell National Program on Natural Resources and the Environment, INTA, Argentina
Agroecology & institutions – a mismatch 1. Organisations that deal with agriculture and rural development were not built around agroecology 2. Agroecology movements, scientists and activists are often weary of joining forces with ‘traditional’ institutions 3. Agroecology is perceived as hobby farming, or as pro-poor and unprofessional, or as elitist and snobby, or as politicised and combative, as being non-realistic, etc., etc. , etc…. Agroecology principles Diversity Resource efficiency Recycling Natural regulation ETC group Synergies
Agroecology in history 1920/30s 1940/50s 1960/70s 1980s 1990s 2000s Agroecology as a scientific Further increases scope discipline Scale: agro-ecosystem From analytical to From descriptive to Conceptual framework to Scale: field/plot and scale: Agroecology as Scope: design and manage agro- prescriptive, further Scope: biology/physics analytical, increases ecology/agronomy the interdisciplinary ecosystems Descriptive nature increases scope and scale scope and scale Analytical nature study of food systems Agro-ecological principles inspire farming practices 1980s 1990s 2000s 1970s Agroecology as a set of practices Agroecological practices are introduced or Agroecological Indigenous agricultural further developed (conservation practices as alternative knowledge for natural agriculture, permaculture, system of rice paradigm to resources management intensification, organic farming) conventional agric. Spread of practices is intertwined with movements 1990s 2000s 1980s Agroecology as a social Sustainable movement Indigenous Agro-biodiversity, agricultural knowledge and food sovereignty intensification family farms and food systems 3 http://pubs.iied.org/14629IIED.html?c=foodag
Building upon local agroecological knowledge Air ammonia concentration at 3 sampling dates Rice-ducks-fish-azolla - Indonesia Assessing greenhouse gas emissions Nutritional ‘carrying capacity’ of each system (T. del Rio, 2014) (G. Garnacho Alemany, 2014) Rice yield (t ha -1 ) at increasing levels of complexity 12� 10� 8� 6� 4� 2� 0� Rice� Rice� +� Rice� +� Rice� +� Rice� +� Rice� +� Rice� +� Rice� +� Rice� +� ducks� h compost� ducks� +� compost� ducks� +� ducks� +� ducks� +� ducks� +� fis � +� azolla� compost� fish� +� compost� fish� +� compost� +� azolla� compost� +� azolla� Khumairoh et al., 2012
Nutrient cycling Complex rural-urban matrix Trading and distribution Processing Desakota Project, Indonesia, Studio FELIXX (2014)
Large scale rice-fish polycultures (Argentina) • 900 ha rice-fish system (and growing) • Use of a local fish species (Pacú) • Water and nutrient recycling • Agrochemical-free rice (9 t/ha) • Native grasses to outcompete weeds (Echinocloa) • Processing and cooling facilities • Challenge: reduce dependence on sojabean
Targeted actions A national policy on agroecology Zero hunger program Before After Extreme poverty (%) in Brazil, 1990-2008 FAO, 2010 Minas Gerais, Brazil
The case of China Stepwise approach: productivity, efficiency, incomes, diversification 黑龙江农科院 中国农大 The challenge of feeding an increasingly urban population 内蒙古农大 山西农科院 张强 700 1600 Grain demand 吉林农科院 640 620 石河子大学 Grain production 600 580 1400 600 0.1 to 0.3 ha per family 吉林农大 Population 531 1200 中国农大 500 甘肃农科院 中国农大 Grain (million ton) 505 1000 431 中国农大 河北农科院 400 西北农林大学 河北农大 407 山东农大 800 305 300 河南农大 600 南京农大 青岛农大 安徽科技学院 安徽农科院 200 浙大 214 400 西南大学 华中农大 100 四川农大 200 四川农科院 广西大学 云南农大 0 0 1961 1969 1977 1985 1993 2001 2009 2017 2025 南亚所 Year 已建小院 23 “People in China, who with brain and brawn, 中国农大 Fu-Suo Zhang have successfully and continuously sustained 在建小院 13 海南大学 large families on small areas without Credits: F. Zhang impoverishing their soil. ” Images were taken in March 27, 2004
High yielding organic cereal production in The Netherlands Adapting management practices for organic wheat Practice Planting Weight 1000 Plants/m2 Ears/m2 Grain yield Ekoland density seeds at tillering (t/ha) Innovatieprijs Current 200 52 111 277 6.7 2013 Adapted 60 60 84 317 7.7
Conventional vs. organic farming in La Camargue , France Organic fields were sown later and had more weeds Comparing only the 20% best yielding fields Yield 8.3 vs. 7.2 t/ha Sowing Tillering date rate Stand N in density fertiliser Conventional Clay Agronomic assessment of Organic content 380 fields from 1992 to 2009
Estancia Laguna Blanca, Entre Rios, Argentina Comunicación e imágen Ecological farming on 3000 ha Agroecology can also be high-tech! Photo: Steve Sherwood Photo: Clarin Rural e.g. nanotechnology solutions A conventional farmer An agroecological farmer inspecting his intercrop purchasing pesticides
Implications for agricultural science Criterion ‘Classical' agronomy Agroecology Domain Autoecology Synecology Dynamics Predictable outcomes, feedbacks Complex feedbacks, randomness, hysteresis formalized, continuity (non-linearity, irreversibility, discontinuity) Diversity A burden (weeds, heterogeneity, An attribute (synergies, natural antagonism, risk asynchrony, etc.) – theory of control spreading, etc.) – theory of regulation Up-scaling Aggregation: nested systems from Emerging properties and interactions: the field to world whole is more than the sum of its parts Diagnosis ‘Classical' agronomy Agroecology • • Land use efficiency (yield) Land equivalent ratios • • Yield gap/ yield potential Farm or landscape productivity gaps/ possibility frontiers • • Nutrient flows and balances Nutrient networks, cycling and ascendency • • Efficiency as input/output ratio Efficiency as a scale-dependent, (scale agnostic) emerging property (matrix) • • Calories per unit area per unit Nutritional diversity over time time Large scale cereal production Tittonell, 2014. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 8: 53 – 61 Tres Arroyos, Argentina
agroecology 1. Agroecology requires innovative design 2. Agroecology requires landscape approaches 3. Farmers’ knowledge is central to dealing with system- and context-specificity 4. Social organisation and movements to foster learning and mutual support
How to get out of the niche?
Landscapes, regimes and niches Slowly evolving socio- Levels in system innovation technical landscape Cross-scale Dynamically stable feedback socio-technical regime Regular openings for niche innovations Niche innovations Time
Landscapes, regimes and niches Turbulent socio- Levels in system innovation technical landscape Adapting socio- technical regime Frequent openings & System innovation programs feedbacks Niche innovations Time Tittonell et al., 2015. Local Innovation to Address Global Problems
Post-project adoption (Dogliotti et al., 2014) Co-innovation in family agriculture (Latin America) Planned improvements % adoption (Complex) Drainage and erosion control 83 systems Green manures 88 Farm monitoring + model exploration approach Chicken manure 100 Co-innovation 600 Crop Rotation 75 Social Dynamic Potential Rotation with pastures 64 500 learning Family Income ($u yr -1 ) project setting monitoring Area of Crops 100 400 Crop manag 93 Potential Actual 300 Strategic weed control 81 RE-DESIGN RE-DESIGN Implementation Record sheets 44 Actual Potential 200 IMPLEMENTATION AND IMPLEMENTATION AND Initial DIAGNOSIS Actual EVALUATION EVALUATION 100 Initial Implementation support Initial and monitoring 0 0 Records and analysis of the 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Records and analysis of the MSC MSC interaction process between interaction process between Process Soil erosion (Mg ha -1 yr -1 ) farmers and scientists monitoring farmers and scientists Family vegetable production system, PIPA Reflection Farm 1 Farm 2 Reflection Farm 3 Reflection Canelones, Uruguay workshop workshop workshop workshop
Co-innovation: a dialogue of wisdoms
Participatory landscape design National Vegetation Database grey = field borders green = existing hedgerows red = planned new hedgerows 500 m. Exploration of alternative landscape structures 7 objectives prioritised Biocontrol 100 100 Relative nectar availability Relative aphid availability 80 80 60 60 40 40 20 20 Pesticide need Current landscape 0 0 Groot and Rossing, 2010 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Outreach questions • Inclusiveness – is agroecological food only for the wealthy? • Scalability – can any type of farmer go agroecological? • Sustainability – is this always granted through agroecology? • Resilience – can agroecology withstand global change?
An example Pesticide-free zones in Argentina
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