1.

1 Outlines of Agro ecology

1.1.1 Agroecology, a 21" Century Agricultural Revolution?

Eric Maletieux

1.1.1.1 The Emergence of Agroecology and Its Context

Over the past decade, the world's major agricultural issues have altered under the combined influence of
ecological and sociological changes: climate change, bio-diversity loss, land scarcity, urbanization, and
demographic pressure. These changes are interacting variables that continue to contribute to a major change in
the way agriculture is done. With increasing urbanization, the relationship between society and nature is
changing, and the ecological and social robe of agriculture is evolving and changing at a rapid pace in most
societies, both in the North and in the South. In addition to the matter of food security. There are many
questions concerning the role of man: and economic and social development in our society. The answers of
which are often contradictory and/or antagonistic. Since the 1960s, agriculture in developed countries has
changed profoundly, greatly increasing the productivity of land and labour, due in particular to the use of new
'improved" crop varieties, the massive use of chemical inputs (fertilizers and pesticides), mechanization and
irrigation. This increase in productivity is not an effective way to achieve sustainable development. It has often
been done at the cost of negative impacts on the environment at local and global levels, including water quality
degradation due to the massive use of chemical inputs. biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas production.
Degradation of soil quality, etc. At the same time, the negative effects of agricultural pesticides on human health
are becoming clearer (Inserm 2013). Contributing to the rejection, by society. of intensive agriculture highly
reliant on chemical inputs. According to data from the international scientific literature published over the past
3() years and analyzed by experts, there appears to he a correlation between occupational exposure to
pesticides and certain pathologies in adults (cancers, neurodegenerative dis-eases such as Parkinson's disease,
decreased fertility). Prenatal and perinatal exposure to pesticides during early childhood appears to be harmful
to infant development (Inserm 2013).

Agroecology lies at the centre of this multi-faceted and controversial state of affairs. Them are intense debates
on the future of global agriculture which age intensified by international politics on climate change and
environmental protection. Horticulture is a central component of these debates as it habitually requires massive
amounts of pesticides—fruits and vegetables are particularly vulnerable to pests, and they are also essential for
human health (through a balanced diet). Confronted with this paradox. Agroecology offers the creation of a
virtuous circle for the development of sustainable food systems in horticultural production. In this part we shall
analyze the principles underpinning Agroecology, a science which has, in a short space of time, become the
prevailing wisdom in most universities and agronomy schools in Europe. as well as in agricultural reality.

1.1.1.2 Diversity and Coherence of Agroecology

Agroecology today is a multi-faceted concept a scientific discipline, a social movement and a set of agronomic
practices (Wczel et al. 2009). It can he defined in several ways (Anonymous 2013). Although the term appeared
in the 1930s, since the end of the 1980s. Agroecology has undergone significant development, both in terms of
ideas and at an operational level. Although it may appear as an attempt to link the disciplines of ecology and
agronomy, social science is an important, though controversial founding principle. Francis et al. (2003) define
agroecology as “the integrated study of the ecology of the food system as a whole, including its ecological.
Economic and social dimensions or more simply the ecology of food systems”
 In Latin America. agroecology is often seen as a social movement combating social exclusion and maintaining
the food sovereignly of small-scale farmers in the face of industrial and capitalist agriculture (Alfieri and Toledo
2011). Its principles are also based on traditional knowledge from tropical countries where family farms make
judicious use of natural resources and local biodiversity (Alfieri 1989. 1995).

Recently. the term has been used by various national and international scientific and political bodies as part of a
review of agricultural models to ensure an adequate and balanced food supply for the world's population (Dc
Schutter 2011). In Europe. and in France in particular. agroecology is a major focus both for government
agricultural policy, technical and university agricultural courses and in the strategy of agricultural research
organizations. In their guidance documents. INRA and CIRAD identify it as a priority scientific project (CIRAD
sometimes uses the term ecological intensification, but the two names are essentially identical). In 2014. the
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) organized a symposium on agroecology for food and nutrition security.
This demonstrated the organization’s commitment to agroecology, although the symposium did reveal
differences in conceptions and opinions as to its implementation (FAO 2014).

While these debates are taking place, agroecology is developing rapidly as a scientific discipline. Today, it
encompasses ecology, environmental sciences, agro-nomic sciences and human and social sciences (Dalgaard et
al. 2003). Although the corpus of scientific articles using the term agroecology sensu stricto is relatively small
(about 1500 ankles indexed in all international databases since the I950s). the association of ecology and
agronomic sciences is currently identified in nearly 6000 indexed articles per year (Soussana 2015), revealing the
intense scientific activity taking place in this field.

1.1.1.3 The Scientific Principles of Agroecology

Despite an important improvement in definitions of agroecology since the term first appeared in the 1930s.
there are three core principles (these awe principles come together to increase ecosystem services): }

I. aiming for production founded on ecosystem function:

2. Maximizing functional biodiversity;

3. Strengthening biological regulations in agroecosystems.

pests and natural enemies, both airborne and underground. The regulation of weed communities. Pathogenic
microorganisms and arthropod and nematode pests depends strongly on interacting plant species. Different
processes. examined in specific sections in this book. will thus be put to work (Ratnadass et al. 2012). The
composition of planned crop species affects these processes. directly (dilution effect of the host species sought
by a pest. barrier effect) or indirectly (habitats. presence of attractant or repellent compounds produced by
certain plant species, organization of food webs).

In addition to new areas of research in agroccusystern function (focusing on understanding pat behavior
through chemical ecology, for example). research is required to create innovative systems using this new
knowledge. The procc-"Ns of designing new agroecological technical systems and associated innovation pro-
cesses bring new scientific challenges that require contributions from the humanities. Social sciences and
agroecology. The combination of the empirical knowledge of fanners and scientific knowledge from various
disciplines is in itself a source of innovation.
1.1.1.4 . Agroecology at the Territorial Scale

While agricultural practices take place at the scale of the crop (or plot) and a farmer acts on the scale of his
farm. the objectives of ecosystem services (such as conservation of biodiversity, biogeochemical cycles, water
quality, reduction of greenhouse gases, carbon storage, soil conservation. etc.). Are mainly to be studied at the
scale of agricultural landscapes and ternaries. Indeed. the organization of agricultural activities within a
landscape or a watershed can affect (or improve) water balance and water quality. Soil quality. as well as
pollination and pest regulation (Med*ne et al. 2011).

The different ecosystem services fur disservices). which interact on a set of spatial scales (from plot to
landscape) and time scales (season to decade), can also be antagonistic to one another and thus generate
conflicts between landscape users. Moreover, at territory scale, the preferences of different landscape users are
not necessarily the sane: some, for example. view biodiversity as a resource: others as a brake on development
(Bretagnolle and Baudry 2015). The communication between the different levels of organization on a plot
(where practices are applied), the farm (where these practices are decided upon) and the rural territory (where
the services arc developed) has become both a scientific and political issue for agroecology (definition of public
policies).

1.1.1.5 The Challenges for Tomorrow

At a scientific level. agroecology actually induces a real epistemological break in the field of agronomic sciences,
which results in a profound modification of objectives, research issues, approaches and tools. In contrast to the
reductionist

Approach, agroecology is based on holistic approaches that take complexity into account—complexity being
seen as the key to sustainability of the system. In agroecology, pest control is an important component,
particularly because in horticultural production, fruits and vegetables are highly susceptible to pests and the
constraints of markets for fresh produce. The transition from an "agrochemical" model based on the use of
pesticides to an "agroecological" model based on biological pest control requires new knowledge at the
embedded scales of the plant, the crop species and the cropping system, and, finally, the landscape. As a habitat
and/or food, plants are a central part of the life and behavior of pests: knowledge of plant-pest interactions and,
more broadly, of trophic networks in cropping systems is essential to take advantage of pest control based on a
keen understanding of agricultural biodiversity.
-The approach consists mainly in (or) introducing and piloting functional bio-diversity in agroecosystems at
different scales, from plot to landscape. Making better use of biodiversity thus constitutes a basic axiom for
agroocology (Reboud and Maldzicux 2015). Using plant production as an illustration. the approach consists in
introducing and piloting different plants/crops simultaneously and/or overlapping in order to maximize use of
space. taking advantage of the comple-mentarily of adaptive and functional characteristics of these crops,
ensuring optimal soil function to guarantee the effectiveness of the processes involved. A similar approach can
be taken for livestock farming as well as the interface between crop and livestock production with the
management of a herd in an orchard. for example. Multispecies systems (which sustainably combine several
species) are thus likely to yield benefits by increasing the overall productivity of the system, providing honer
pest control and providing more ecosystem services (Malezieux et al. 2009). The establishment of multispecies
systems in cultivated ecosystems relies on a cognitive framework (essentially derived from ecology) on the role
of functional biodiversity in ecosystem functions and its use in a controlled context: the concepts of competition
versus facilitation, analysis (and optimization) of resource distribution (light. water, nutrients) in complex
systems, analysis (and optimization) of interactions and biological regulations between plants and pests (eftixts
of dilution. physical barriers. habitats. chemicals, etc.) constitute the biophysical basic of agurecology.
Biodiversity plays a vital role in the function of natural ecosystems. It is possi-ble to define several principles on
which agroccological systems are based (Malezieux 2012): - use of complementarily of functional traits of
cultivated species to ensure productivity and resilience: - maintenance of soil fertility through permanent soil
cover; - facilitation rather than competition between crops: - use of trophic networks to regulate pests; - use of
beneficial properties of plants to control pests (repellents. attractants. etc.): - use of ecological successions
following disturbances to create sustainable crop-ping systems. These principles reflect new scientific
knowledge on the function of cultivated ecosystems and in particular the role of biodiversity in these
ecosystems. This has always been the subject of much work by ecologists. who have applied it to nat-ural
ecosystem.: ii is now a central research component for agroecologisti and for cropping systems. The general
assumption that a complex community is more stable and/or more productive than a community unity with a If
ed number of species has not yet been established and it is essential to identify the functional traits of the
different species that are likely to have a positive influence on the stability and productivity of the system. Plant
protection poses, of course, key challenges for agroecokagy: the diversity of crop species (which can he called
planned biodiver-sity) strongly determines the associated -unplanned- biodiversity. which includes