Articles
Evaluation of fruit orchards as potential agroecological lighthouses
Article number
1355_42
Pages
335 – 344
Language
English
Abstract
Agroecology is an alternative to address the problems associated with industrial agriculture.
In this sense, amplification is called to the process through which agroecological practices are initiated and promoted at the agricultural, community and regional levels.
Farms can act as lighthouses or learning spaces to foster the adoption of agroecological principles and practices.
The objective of this work was to evaluate, through indicators, two organic fruit productive units (PU) in Patagonia, Argentina, as potential agroecological lighthouses.
Field studies and interviews were carried out using ten indicators: Motivations to produce in a sustainable way; level of social organization; participation in networks to share experiences and knowledge; use of agroecological practices; autonomy; community leadership; links with universities, NGOs, extension agents among others; local and national policies that promote agroecological management of the orchard; favorable markets (participation in alternative markets, networks, direct links with consumers) and application of agroecological principles.
The indicators were evaluated between 1 and 5 (1 corresponds to a poor performance, 2.5 medium and 5 to high performance of agroecological amplification). As an example of indicators with high performance in both PU surveyed were: Motivations to search for different agricultural alternatives’, since producers expressed care for the environment as a basis and one of them criticized the harmful effects of industrial agriculture applying agroecological principles; and Links with universities, NGOs, extension agents, among others’, because a close link was reported between producers and engineers in charge of advising the PU with researchers from the University and the National Institute of Agricultural Technology.
Most of the indicators were found in average values of performance in both evaluated agroecosystems.
This is the case of the indicator Level of social organization with farmers’ because the producers were members of farmers’ organizations at the local level only.
Through this research, it was possible to determine the potential of this fruit PU as agroecological lighthouses.
This analysis will support complementing subsequent studies of amplification processes linked to the territory.
In this sense, amplification is called to the process through which agroecological practices are initiated and promoted at the agricultural, community and regional levels.
Farms can act as lighthouses or learning spaces to foster the adoption of agroecological principles and practices.
The objective of this work was to evaluate, through indicators, two organic fruit productive units (PU) in Patagonia, Argentina, as potential agroecological lighthouses.
Field studies and interviews were carried out using ten indicators: Motivations to produce in a sustainable way; level of social organization; participation in networks to share experiences and knowledge; use of agroecological practices; autonomy; community leadership; links with universities, NGOs, extension agents among others; local and national policies that promote agroecological management of the orchard; favorable markets (participation in alternative markets, networks, direct links with consumers) and application of agroecological principles.
The indicators were evaluated between 1 and 5 (1 corresponds to a poor performance, 2.5 medium and 5 to high performance of agroecological amplification). As an example of indicators with high performance in both PU surveyed were: Motivations to search for different agricultural alternatives’, since producers expressed care for the environment as a basis and one of them criticized the harmful effects of industrial agriculture applying agroecological principles; and Links with universities, NGOs, extension agents, among others’, because a close link was reported between producers and engineers in charge of advising the PU with researchers from the University and the National Institute of Agricultural Technology.
Most of the indicators were found in average values of performance in both evaluated agroecosystems.
This is the case of the indicator Level of social organization with farmers’ because the producers were members of farmers’ organizations at the local level only.
Through this research, it was possible to determine the potential of this fruit PU as agroecological lighthouses.
This analysis will support complementing subsequent studies of amplification processes linked to the territory.
Authors
L.B. Flores, M.C. Dussi, M. Barrionuevo, K. Zon
Keywords
indicators, organic agriculture, sustainability
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