What is agroecology?
Although our department’s name includes the word agroecology, are we sure that we agree on what the term actually means? An AGRO group calling themselves ‘Juniors in action’ has taken this question up for consideration.
You would think that our understanding in the department of the meaning of the concept ‘agroecology’ is rather straightforward, considering the fact that it is the name of our department. Things are, however, not always simple! A group of junior scientists, including both postdoc and Ph.D, in Foulum has discovered that there are various understandings within our department of what agroecology means – and they have set things in motion to investigate the issue more thoroughly.
The differing views in the department of the concept of agroecology reflect the situation in the outside world, as Chiara de Notaris, KLIMA, realised when she attended a meeting in the forum Agroecology Europe (which Jørgen Eriksen, JORNÆR, is one of the founding members of). Some people and places take a scientific view, some look at agroecology as a social movement, and some view it as a certain type of agricultural practice.
On her return from the meeting, Chiara took the subject up in the KLIMA Journal Club. One thing led to another and a group of juniorVIPs sent a questionnaire to all VIPs in the department.
The answers that came back (22 percent response rate) showed that two thirds of the respondents felt that the term ‘agroecology’ covers their own work and the work carried out in the department as a whole. When asked which keywords best describe agroecology, the words ‘integrated’, ‘sustainable’ and ‘system’ were most prevalent. So far so good.
When asked which types of management systems, crops and cultivars, or landscapes and habitats the respondents associated with agroecology, the answers varied more. You can see the questions and answers from the questionnaire in the presentation here.
The group of junior VIPS, that has now taken to calling itself ‘Juniors in action’, decided to set various things in motion regarding the concept of agroecology. These initiatives include a new 2 ECTS course for juniorVIPs (obligatory for PhD students) on the concept of agroecology, a series of articles and videos on AGRO’s external website about the topic, and ways and means of setting the good sustainability example.
You will hear more about each of these initiatives as they are kicked off, so keep your eyes peeled and read coming issues of AGRO Biweekly!