Agroecology | Pesticide Info

Pesticide-intensive agricultural systems have pervaded communities around the world, bringing severe harm to health, livelihoods, and ecosystems.

Global momentum is building to replace highly hazardous pesticides (HHPs) with agroecology — a productive, ecologically resilient, equitable, economically viable and sustainable approach to farming. Agroecological farming recognizes the multifunctional dimensions of agriculture, as well as local and Indigenous knowledge and practices.

This means farming that not only produces food, jobs, and economic well-being, but also creates cultural, social, and environmental benefits. Agroecology also protects and provides ecosystem services like pollination, natural pest control, nutrient and water cycling, and erosion control.

In study after study, agroecological farming has been shown to:

Increase ecological resilience, especially with respect to volatile weather conditions;
Improve health and nutrition through more diverse, nutritious and fresh diets, and reduced incidence of pesticide poisonings and pesticide-related diseases;
Conserve biodiversity and natural resources such as soil organic matter, water, crop genetic diversity, and natural enemies of pests;
Improve economic stability with more diverse sources of income, spread of labor needs and production over time, and reduced vulnerability to commodity price swings; and
Mitigate effects of climate change through reduced reliance on fossil fuels and fossil fuel-based agricultural inputs, increased carbon sequestration, and water capture in soil.

Knowledge-intensive & inclusive

Agroecology recognizes the value of scientific research and of advanced technological innovation. It also values dialogue and collaboration between researchers, farmers, indigenous communities, and marginalized groups. This approach relies on deep knowledge of cropping systems and farm ecology: soil fertility, biological pest controls, seed varieties, and more.

Indigenous knowledge systems and traditional farming practices often yield crucial site-specific insights, easily overlooked by conventional lab-based research. Examples of effective farmer-scientist collaborations and participatory learning processes include the Latin American Scientific Society of Agroecology, Farmer Field Schools, Community-based Integrated Pest Management, Plant Health Clinics, and agroecological studies in school and urban gardens.

Resilient & adaptive

Agroecology improves the adaptive capacity of agroecosystems and reduces vulnerability to natural disasters, climate change impacts, and new and emerging environmental and economic system stresses and shocks.

A well documented example is the ability of small-scale farmers using agroecological methods to withstand the adverse effects of Hurricane Mitch. In the aftermath of the hurricane, agroecologically managed plots in Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua retained more topsoil, field moisture, and vegetation, and suffered less erosion than conventionally managed, resource-extractive farms.

Researchers found that this resilience was accomplished through:

Physical and biological means: Habitat and crop diversification, location-based conservation of local/indigenous seed and germplasm diversity, maintenance of natural enemies’ species diversity, increased carbon sequestration, improved water capture and retention.
Socio-cultural and political means: Diversification of farming systems and local economies; and technical, legal, and social support networks for small-scale farmers, rural communities, and indigenous peoples that reduce socio-economic and political vulnerability while strengthening adaptive knowledge processes.

Agroecological farmers also experienced lower economic losses than conventional farmers.

How to really feed the world

According to the most comprehensive analysis of world agriculture to date, agroecological farming is one of our best hopes for feeding a hungry world — especially under conditions of increasing social and environmental stress. The science behind this field of practice and investigation runs both deep and broad.

The UN- and World Bank-sponsored International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) took place over five years, with input from over 400 scientists and development experts from more than 80 countries. PAN was a lead author on this report. Its major conclusion was that “Business as usual is not an option” for global agriculture — and agroecological practices are most likely to sustain the world’s population.

In 2014, in his final report as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier De Schutter echoed the IAASTD, emphasizing that the world’s food systems must be “radically and democratically redesigned” to ensure a world free from hunger.

Resources:

PAN International Network’s Position Paper, “Agroecology: the Solution to Highly Hazardous Pesticides” is now available in six languages.

Agroecology: The Solution to Highly Hazardous Pesticides: A PAN International Position Paper (in English)