Agroecology: principles and strategies for the design of Sustainable Agroecosystems

Abstract

The theme of this paper is the debate on principles and strategies for designing sustainable agricultural systems. The paper builds on a broad approach to principles, moving to the more specific approach to strategies and finalizing with a micro-scale perspective on the practice of drawings and the consequences of each possible option. The objective is first of all to put to the debate the dialectic between conceptual plurality and unity in Agroecology. The problem in focus is to situate more clearly what are sustainable agroecosystems and, as a consequence, how to connect principles and strategies to make them viable. Regarding the theoretical reference, we use the classic authors of Agroecology and some critical articles on the conceptual question. The methodology that gives foundation to the approach is based on the author's theoretical and practical experience, with a qualitative, subjective and intuitive character. The results are only the presentation of ideas in order to contribute to the conceptual debate now in vogue and also to glimpse, on a smaller scale, the practical issue of sustainable agroecosystems designs.