Agroecology, often known as the agri-food system, is frequently regarded as the best and most complete approach to addressing the various issues facing the agricultural and food system. Within the existing economic and political framework, this paper examines the extent to which agroecology can become the standard model for shifting agriculture toward more resilient and sustainable agri-food systems. We discover that improving agroecology will necessitate a multiscale systems strategy that is completely integrated from the farm to the area to the world. The strategy needs to take into account pertinent linkages and processes, actors, and stakeholders in addition to drivers, sustainability indicators, and appropriate assessment techniques at all scales. Focusing on policy, technological, and economic forces in particular, we highlight the necessity for agroecology to be financially sustainable for farmers and other players in the food system. In the process of agroecological transformation, new and developing technologies pertaining to digitalization and breeding in particular should be given more thought. We highlight the necessity of a sound multiscale policy design, an operational and analytical framework, and six areas that require focus in order to facilitate the widespread adoption of agroecology.
OVERVIEW
Food security (FAO et al. 2022, HLPE 2020), climate change (IPCC 2022, Ortiz-Bobea et al. 2021, Trnka et al. 2014, Wheeler & von Braun 2013), biodiversity loss (Brondizio et al. 2019), resource degradation and environmental pollution (Campbell et al. 2017, Steffen et al. 2015), and rising price volatility (Chavas 2011) are just a few of the many difficulties facing agriculture. These issues have a negative impact on farmers’ livelihoods, incomes, and rural development. The agriculture and food system’s resilience has been further shaken by crises like COVID-19 (Barrett 2020, Carducci et al. 2021, Fan et al. 2021) and the conflict in Ukraine (Behnassi & El Haiba 2022, Osendarp et al. 2022), which have had a negative influence on prices, food security, and societal stability.
Supporters of agroecology view it as the best and most complete answer to the myriad problems the agri-food system faces, and it has drawn more attention recently (Gliessman 2015). (Gliessman & de Wit Montenegro 2021). It is thought to be the cornerstone for attaining sustainability and changing the agri-food system (Gliessman 2021). The goal of agroecology is to integrate agricultural practice, societal concerns, and the science of (agro)ecology (Wezel et al. 2020). Indeed, it has grown into a powerful social movement. Many local solutions have been developed based on agroecological concepts, principles, and practices. These aim to preserve food security and productivity over the long term, benefit the environment, and lessen the negative external effects of the currently prevalent conventional agricultural practices, including aspects of injustice and inequality.
THE AGROECOLOGY CONCEPT Agroecology is a dynamic term with several meanings; It can refer to a set of sustainable farming methods, a social movement, or an inter- or transdisciplinary science (Wezel et al. 2020, Wezel & Soldat 2009). Over several decades, agroecology has changed (Wezel et al. 2020, Wezel & Soldat 2009). When it came to soil biology and pest management issues (IDS & IPES-Food 2022), the original research focus was on the ecological study of agricultural systems (Altieri 1995, Dalgaard et al. 2003, Gliessman 2004). Additionally, local knowledge of farmers about ecological processes relevant for managing their agroecosystems was integrated (Altieri & Toledo 2011, Gliessman et al. 1981). An increased awareness of ecological processes suggests a change in perspective from productivity-driven conventional farming.
Nonetheless, the notion of agroecology has been gradually expanding to encompass the social and economic aspects of the complete food system and all of its participants (Francis et al., 2003). Most recently, however, it has begun to take into account the integration of research, instruction, action, and modification to every aspect of the food system (Gliessman, 2018). Therefore, the current definition of agroecology is “the integration of research, education, action, and change that brings sustainability to all parts of the food system: ecological, economic, and social.” Moreover, as Gliessman (2018) notes on page 599, “the approach is grounded in ecological thinking where a holistic, systems-level understanding of food system sustainability is required.
Agro-ecology in literary works In an effort to gain a deeper comprehension of the dynamics of agroecology research, we offer a quantitative examination of peer-reviewed articles that may be accessed on the Web of Science by searching for the terms “agroecology” and “agro-ecology.” First, we looked at changes over time in the quantity of agroecology-related articles published. Second, we examined themes’ patterns and trends using quantitative methods. Third, in order to determine the most significant terms in the peer-reviewed literature and recent publications by significant international organizations, we created word clouds based on term frequency.
VIEWS FROM AGROECOLOGY AND THE ROAD TO LARGE-SCALE ADOPTION Food System ViewpointThe goal of agroecology is to take into account the entire food chain. Nevertheless, there are frequently insufficient references to the advancement of agriculture and food systems research in collaboration with the food system research community. Therefore, a concerted effort is made to comprehend the notion of the (agri-food) system known as agroecology in conjunction with ideas and methods often employed in the field of agricultural and food systems science.
Concept of the system
The definition of agroecology has evolved over time to encompass a wider range of spatial and temporal scales (from local to global), larger organizational structures (from farms and fields to the entire food system), and additional impacts and perspectives within a more holistic food system approach due to the resulting complexity. These drivers include sociocultural, political, economic, and environmental factors. These various viewpoints on the intricate agri-food system, which agroecology seeks to integrate and includes transformation.
Viewpoint on Factors Influencing Widespread Adoption Topics that we believe are critical to comprehending the possibility of agroecology being widely adopted have, thus far, gotten very little consideration in the literature, as the literature review in Section 3 has shown. This article especially addresses several issues that are crucial in this respect, including the significance of new and emerging technology, regulations related to agriculture, and economics.