What is agroecology? (TABLE explainer video series)

What is agroecology? And what are the key debates associated with its use?

This is the first of the TABLE explainer video series. These explainers are short, peer-reviewed introductions to concepts that are important for understanding food systems and food sustainability.

[popeyegordon]

All movements start with causes and good intentions, ” Mugwanya noted. “At its core it’s to promote taking care of social justice – I wouldn’t fight such a cause. The problem comes in when movements get so radical in terms of their ideology. What I’ve seen in Africa, the dominant version of agroecology to me as an ideological extension of the well-fed, privileged folks in in the West who run to places like Africa and use all these narratives like we don’t want Africa to go through the problems of the West, forgetting the contextual problems that Africa has. I’ve seen the problems you have here [in the US] and food is not one of them. Where I come from, I can tell you, I know what it means to go without a meal a day. We need to have a very honest and nuanced conversation about what kind of agroecology are you trying to promote? And are you really caring about the needs of the farmers, getting them out of poverty, helping them have more food, or are you caring for your ideology?”
Mugwanya said that he wrote a critique of the dominant version of agroecology, which “seems to me to be a proxy word for fighting industrial practices.” However, he feels it “diverges from the scientific definition of agroecology, which doesn’t say you can exclude anything” in its practice. “Those with the louder voices, the ideological side, tend to push a point of view that’s very conservative, ” that restricts options and can create additional burdens on women. Genetic Literacy Project dot org Oct 5, 2020

[ujuefresan]

Could only organic farming be considered in "agroecology"? or are minimal (but still some) amounts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides allowed to be used? THANKS for this video :)