Agroecological principles for resilient agricultural systems
Keywords:
agroecology, agricultural resilience, agroecosystems, climate change, diversification, sustainability.Abstract
The increasing vulnerability of agricultural systems to climate change, natural resource degradation, biodiversity loss, and socioeconomic disruptions has increased scientific interest in agroecology as an approach to strengthening the resilience of production systems. The objective of this article was to analyse the scope of the available literature on agroecological principles applied to the design and management of resilient agricultural systems, identifying the main conceptual approaches, practices, adaptation mechanisms, assessment methods, and knowledge gaps. A scoping review was conducted following the methodological guidance of the Joanna Briggs Institute and the PRISMA-ScR extension. The literature examined shows that productive diversification, biodiversity conservation, soil health improvement, nutrient recycling, biological regulation, water efficiency, reduction of external inputs, and strengthening of social capacities constitute fundamental principles for increasing the ability of agroecosystems to resist, adapt, and recover from disturbances. The results show that agricultural resilience depends on interactions among ecological, productive, and socioeconomic components and therefore cannot be assessed exclusively through productivity indicators. Challenges were also identified regarding the heterogeneity of assessment methods, the limited availability of longitudinal studies, and the need to strengthen research adapted to different territorial contexts. It is concluded that agroecology provides relevant principles and strategies for building diversified, adaptive, and sustainable agricultural systems; however, its consolidation requires public policies, interdisciplinary research, farmer participation, and assessment mechanisms capable of integrating the multiple dimensions of resilience.
Downloads
References
Altieri, M. A., Nicholls, C. I., Henao, A., & Lana, M. A. (2015). Agroecology and the design of climate change-resilient farming systems. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 35, 869–890. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-015-0285-2
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2017). Strategic work of FAO to increase the resilience of livelihoods. https://www.fao.org/3/i6463e/i6463e.pdf
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2018a). Scaling up agroecology initiative: Transforming food and agricultural systems in support of the SDGs. https://www.fao.org/3/i9049en/i9049en.pdf
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2018b). The 10 elements of agroecology: Guiding the transition to sustainable food and agricultural systems. https://www.fao.org/3/i9037en/i9037en.pdf
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (s. f.). Agroecology Knowledge Hub. https://www.fao.org/agroecology/en/
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2022). Climate change 2022: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009325844
McGowan, J., Sampson, M., Salzwedel, D. M., Cogo, E., Foerster, V., & Lefebvre, C. (2016). PRESS peer review of electronic search strategies: 2015 guideline statement. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 75, 40–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2016.01.021
Meuwissen, M. P. M., Feindt, P. H., Spiegel, A., Termeer, C. J. A. M., Mathijs, E., de Mey, Y., Finger, R., Balmann, A., Wauters, E., Urquhart, J., Vigani, M., Zawalińska, K., Herrera, H., Nicholas-Davies, P., Hansson, H., Paas, W., Slijper, T., Coopmans, I., Vroege, W., ... Reidsma, P. (2019). A framework to assess the resilience of farming systems. Agricultural Systems, 176, 102656. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2019.102656
Munn, Z., Peters, M. D. J., Stern, C., Tufanaru, C., McArthur, A., & Aromataris, E. (2018). Systematic review or scoping review? Guidance for authors when choosing between a systematic or scoping review approach. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 18, 143. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-018-0611-x
Nguyen, H., & Neven, D. (2018). Sustainable food systems: Concept and framework. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://www.fao.org/3/ca2079en/ca2079en.pdf
Nicholls, C. I., & Altieri, M. A. (2012). Estrategias agroecológicas para incrementar la resiliencia. LEISA Revista de Agroecología, 28(2), 14–17. https://leisa-al.org/web/revista/volumen-28-numero-02/estrategias-agroecologicas-para-incrementar-la-resiliencia/
Nicholls, C. I., & Altieri, M. A. (2018). Pathways for the amplification of agroecology. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 42(10), 1170–1193. https://doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2018.1499578
Nicholls, C. I., Altieri, M. A., & Vázquez, L. L. (2016). Agroecology: Principles for the conversion and redesign of farming systems. Journal of Ecosystem & Ecography, S5, 010. https://doi.org/10.4172/2157-7625.S5-010
Nicholls, C. I., Ríos, L. A., & Altieri, M. A. (Eds.). (2013). Agroecología y resiliencia socioecológica: Adaptándose al cambio climático. Sociedad Científica Latinoamericana de Agroecología. https://www.fao.org/family-farming/detail/es/c/1310755/
Oliver, T. H., Boyd, E., Balcombe, K., Benton, T. G., Bullock, J. M., Donovan, D., Feola, G., Heard, M., Mace, G. M., Mortimer, S. R., Nunes, R. J., Pywell, R. F., & Zaum, D. (2018). Overcoming undesirable resilience in the global food system. Global Sustainability, 1, e9. https://doi.org/10.1017/sus.2018.9
Paas, W., Coopmans, I., Severini, S., van Ittersum, M. K., Meuwissen, M. P. M., & Reidsma, P. (2021). Participatory assessment of sustainability and resilience of three specialized farming systems. Ecology and Society, 26(2), 2. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-12200-260202
Peters, M. D. J., Godfrey, C., McInerney, P., Munn, Z., Tricco, A. C., & Khalil, H. (2020). Chapter 11: Scoping reviews. En E. Aromataris & Z. Munn (Eds.), JBI manual for evidence synthesis. JBI. https://doi.org/10.46658/JBIMES-20-12
Sinclair, F., Wezel, A., Mbow, C., Chomba, S., Robiglio, V., & Harrison, R. (2019). The contributions of agroecological approaches to realizing climate-resilient agriculture. Global Commission on Adaptation. https://gca.org/reports/the-contributions-of-agroecological-approaches-to-realizing-climate-resilient-agriculture/
Tittonell, P. (2020). Assessing resilience and adaptability in agroecological transitions. Agricultural Systems, 184, 102862. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2020.102862
Tricco, A. C., Lillie, E., Zarin, W., O’Brien, K. K., Colquhoun, H., Levac, D., Moher, D., Peters, M. D. J., Horsley, T., Weeks, L., Hempel, S., Akl, E. A., Chang, C., McGowan, J., Stewart, L., Hartling, L., Aldcroft, A., Wilson, M. G., Garritty, C., ... Straus, S. E. (2018). PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR): Checklist and explanation. Annals of Internal Medicine, 169(7), 467–473. https://doi.org/10.7326/M18-0850
Wezel, A., Gemmill Herren, B., Bezner Kerr, R., Barrios, E., Rodrigues Gonçalves, A. L., & Sinclair, F. (2020). Agroecological principles and elements and their implications for transitioning to sustainable food systems: A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 40, 40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-020-00646-z
Zollet, S., Colombo, L., De Meo, P., Marino, D., McGreevy, S. R., McKeon, N., & Tarra, S. (2021). Towards territorially embedded, equitable and resilient food systems? Insights from grassroots responses to COVID-19 in Italy and the City Region Food Systems approach. Sustainability, 13(5), 2425. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052425
