Domain C: Systems of Economic Exchange

Abstract

In this chapter we examine the importance of systems of economic exchange for agroecology. These include the practices and processes by which agricultural products move from producers to various users and by which agri-food producers acquire inputs that cannot be produced on the farm. We review the importance of traditional systems of exchange (such as informal markets and barter systems), subsistence (or family and community self-provisioning) and ‘nested markets’ that are embedded in democratic social relations for agroecology. These markets thicken networks of solidarity and relations of reciprocity in territories. Nested markets value the ecological, social, economic and political functions and outputs of agroecology and support the development of trust-based networks. Regrettably, mainstream food markets favour large volumes and standardization and exclude most agroecological producers.

Agroecological concepts and alternatives to the problems of contemporary agriculture: Monoculture and chemical fertilization in the context of climate change

“…Generally, agroecology is seen as a bottom-up path to food sovereignty, based on traditional knowledge systems, supported rather than science-led, where small-scale producers, their communities, and organizations play the primary role, rather than agri-food companies (Altieri & Nicholls, 2012;Anderson et al, 2019). Agroecological approaches aim to build sustainable and resilient local food systems, strongly linked to their territories and their ecosystems (Anderson et al, 2015;Nyéléni, 2015;Varghese & Hansen-Kuhn, 2013). The rights to healthy food, access to agrarian land, the preservation of agricultural ecosystems, and the depopulation of rural areas have been debated issues at the heart of the agroecological movement as asserted by Montesinos & Pérez (2015).…”

Soft adaptation: The role of social capital in building resilient agricultural landscapes

“…Understanding the role of social capital in food systems is an important task, as social capital influences many aspects of community including: quality of life (Peters, 2017); the status of community health (Folland, 2007); community collective action and the capacity to adapt to climate change (Adger, 2003;Grootaert et al, 2004); community crime rates (Lederman et al, 2002) and individual community member well-being (Yetim and Yetim, 2014). In their meta-analysis of 240 published and peer reviewed articles on social capital, High input production systems (dependence on externally controlled systems) (Bryant et al, 2000;Smit and Skinner, 2002;Hall, 2003;Adger, 2006;Belliveau et al, 2006;Getz and Brown, 2006;Marshall, 2010;Young et al, 2010;Kenny, 2011;Crawford and MacNair, 2012;O'Brien et al, 2012;Adger et al, 2013;Cradock-Henry and Mortimer, 2013;Hammond et al, 2013;Jamir et al, 2013;Lawrence et al, 2013;Maru et al, 2014;Tanner et al, 2014;Ruiz Meza, 2015;Abel et al, 2016;Costa et al, 2016;Anderson et al, 2019;Cradock-Henry and Fountain, 2019;IPCC, 2019;Nygre ́n, 2019;Spector et al, 2019;Cradock-Henry et al, 2020;Petersen-Rockney et al, 2021;Ricciardi et al, 2021;Tacconi et al, 2022) De Grandpre ´et al 10.3389/fagro.2022.980888…”

“…Agricultural landscapes are pressured by a variety of changes to socio-ecological conditions, such as the impacts of climate change, destabilizing ecosystems, and biodiversity loss (Adger et al, 2013;Petersen-Rockney et al, 2021). Most recently, political instability, an accelerated competition for land and water resources brought on by increasing urbanization, and a series of global human health crises, have intensified long standing issues such as succession planning and supply chain disruptions (Howden et al, 2007;Young et al, 2010;Jamir et al, 2013;Anderson et al, 2019). Given the range of disturbances that destabilize agriculture, and the relatively stable socioecological conditions required to ensure quality and yield, agricultural systems have become acutely vulnerable, requiring flexible and adaptive management strategies to manage change and uncertainty (Nelson et al, 2010).…”

“The Innovation Imperative”: The Struggle Over Agroecology in the International Food Policy Arena

“…On the one hand, many view the institutional uptake of agroecology and its mainstreaming as a vital part of the transition to sustainable food systems. On the other, history has demonstrated how once radical and transformative frameworks for agriculture have become deformed and denuded of their transformative potential as they become adopted and incorporated into existing markets, policy-frameworks, and as powerful actors step in to discursively and materially control the dynamic (Levidow et al, 2014;Laforge et al, 2016;Giraldo and McCune, 2019;Anderson et al, 2020b). For example, the involvement and incorporation of organic agriculture into corporate-led chains has been derided for undermining the values and the transformative potential that the pioneering organic movement was founded on (Guthman, 2004).…”