Agroecology: research for the transition of agri-food chains and territories

by Thierry Caquet (editorial coordination), Chantal Gascuel (editorial coordination), Michèle Tixier-Boichard (editorial coordination)

Collection: Matière à débattre et décider

december 2020

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Summary
Table of contents

Summary

DOI : 10.35690/978-2-7592-3294-9

Agroecology was chosen by INRAE as one of its interdisciplinary scientific foresight studies designed to identify research fronts in response to major societal challenges. Eighty researchers drew up an assessment and proposed research avenues for agroecology. This book summarizes their main conclusions.
Agroecology, as a scientific discipline that puts ecology back at the centre of agricultural system design, is now well established. Diversification of living organisms in agroecosystems is a broad objective that is intended to make these systems more robust and resilient. Research in genetics and landscape ecology must be mobilized so that agroecology can use mechanisms from the field to landscape scales. Progress is being made in modelling agroecological systems to better understand the many biotic and abiotic interactions, to predict them, and to begin to manage some of them. Diversification of living organisms in agricultural production (species, varieties, crop rotations, etc.) leads to more varied products. The consequences will be significant on the commodity chains, and more precisely on agri-food systems, from production methods to product consumption. These changes are long-term. The agroecological transition, which is adaptive, co-constructed with all actors, is in itself a research subject, and will rely on experimental devices, farms, and ‘Territories of innovation’.

The french version of this book, Agroécologie : des recherches pour la transition des filières et des territoires, is available on our website.

La version française de ce titre, Agroécologie : des recherches pour la transition des filières et des territoires, est disponible sur notre site.

Foreword
Introduction
Founding principles
National and international societal expectations
Research based on new paradigms and new approaches
References

1 - Integrating agroecology into agri-food systems
Products resulting from agroecology and their properties
Actors’ strategies
Spatial organization of markets
Dynamics and coherence of the agri-food system
Research questions
References

2 - The agroecological transition of farms
Recent scientific advances
Some examples
Research questions
Developing the necessary transdisciplinarity
References

3 - Leveraging ecological and hydrobiogeochemical processes in multifunctional landscapes
Recent scientific advances
Some examples
Research questions
References

4 - Leveraging genetic diversity in plant and animal breeding
Recent scientific advances
Some examples
Research questions
References

5 - Modelling interactions between living organisms in their environments and socio-economic contexts
Recent scientific advances
Some examples
Research questions
References

6 - Contribution of agricultural equipment and digital technology to agroecology : considering living organisms better
Recent scientific advances
Some examples
Research questions
References

Conclusions
Diversity and diversification: observe, translate, direct
From massive acquisition of biological data to new types of experiments
Understanding risk and uncertainty: modelling and sharing of experiences
Scaling up and changing agri-food organization for agroecology
Outlook