Agroecology and the search for a truly sustainable agriculture

Miguel A. Altieri Clara I. Nicholls

Introduction
There is increasing evidence that warns that the growing push toward industrialization and globalization of the worlds agriculture and food supply imperils the future of humanity and the natural world. Industrial agriculture which is corporate controlled, and promotes agrochemically based, monocultural, export-oriented systems are negatively impacting public health, ecosystem integrity, food quality and nourishment, traditional rural livelihoods, and indigenous and local cultures, while accelerating indebtedness among millions of farmers, and their separation from lands that have historically fed communities and families. This transition is increasing hunger, landlessness, homelessness, despair and suicides among farmers. Meanwhile, it is also degrading the planets life support systems, and increasing alienation of peoples from nature and the historic, cultural and natural connection of farmers and all other people to the sources of food and sustenance. Finally, it is also destroying the economic and cultural foundations of societies, undermines security and peace, and creates a context for social disintegration and violence. By confronting myth with reality, the objective of this book is to challenge the false promises made by the genetic engineering industry. The industry has promised that genetically engineered crops will move agriculture away from a dependence on chemical inputs, increase productivity, decrease input costs, and help reduce environmental problems (Office of Technology Assessment, 1992).

By challenging the myths of biotechnology, in chapters of this book we expose genetic engineering (the latest wave of agricultural intensification) for what it really is: another technological fix or magic bullet aimed at circumventing the environmental problems of agriculture (which are the outcome of an earlier round of modern agro-technological fixes) without questioning the ecological upset that gave rise to the problems in the first place.

Despite all the above problems associated with industrial agriculture, there are many optimistic developments. Thousands of new and alternative initiatives are now flowering across the world to promote ecological agriculture, preservation of the livelihoods of small farmers, production of healthy, safe and culturally diverse foods, and localization of distribution, trade and marketing. Throughout the developing world there are still microcosms of intact traditional agriculture which represent millenary examples of successful forms of communitybased local agriculture. These microcosms of traditional agriculture offer promising models for other areas as they promote biodiversity, thrive without agrochemicals, and sustain year-round yields. Such systems have fed much of the world for centuries, while conserving ecological integrity through application of indigenous knowledge systems and continue to do so in many parts of the planet. Today we can witness around the world, new approaches and technologies spearheaded by farmers, NGOs and some government institutions which are making a significant contribution to food security at the household, national, and regional levels while conserving natural resources. Yield increases have been achieved using technological approaches based on agroecological principles that emphasize diversity, synergy, recycling and integration; and social processes that value community involvement and empowerment. When agroecological principles are adopted, yield enhancement and stability of production are achieved, as well as a series of ecological services such as conservation of agrobiodiversity, soil and water conservation and enhancement, improved biological pest control, etc., regardless of scale or farm size. What varies are the technological forms utilized to optimize key agroecological processes. This variation is best done by farmers themselves; in industrial countries is expressed as organic agriculture while in the developing world it takes the form of a myriad of traditional biodiverse farms. In this new approach to agriculture, social capital formation is as important as the regenerative technologies involved, because what is key to local livelihoods is the capability of local communities to innovate, evaluate, and adapt as they involve themselves in a development process based on local knowledge and organization. These experiences which emphasize farmer to farmer research and grassroots extension approaches, represent countless demonstrations of talent, creativity and scientific capability in rural communities throughout the world. They point to the fact that human resource development is the cornerstone of any strategy aimed at increasing options for rural people and especially resource-poor farmers.

Another agriculture is not only possible, it is already happening taking a multitude of expressions of alternative agriculture, from various variations of organic agriculture to more peasant based, subsistence oriented traditional agriculture. In this book we explore the extent, features and ecological, social and economic benefits of both forms of sustainable agriculture. In this report the agroecological features of organic agriculture as practiced in North America and Europe, and of traditional agriculture involving millions of small farmers and/or peasants in the developing world are described with emphasis on their contribution to food security, conservation/ regeneration of biodiversity and natural resources and economic viability. The book also depicts an agroecological path to reach a truly sustainable, biodiverse and socially just agriculture.

Miguel A. Altieri Clara I. Nicholls University of California, Berkeley