Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems

ISSN: 2168-3565 (Print) 2168-3573 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wjsa21

Agroecology in Chile: precursors, pioneers, and

their legacy

Rene Montalba, Agustín Infante, Aliro Contreras & Lorena Vieli

To cite this article: Rene Montalba, Agustín Infante, Aliro Contreras & Lorena Vieli (2017)
Agroecology in Chile: precursors, pioneers, and their legacy, Agroecology and Sustainable Food
Systems, 41:3-4, 416-428, DOI: 10.1080/21683565.2017.1288671

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2017.1288671

Published online: 21 Apr 2017.

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Download by: [UC Berkeley Library], [Miguel A. Altieri] Date: 21 April 2017, At: 14:43
AGROECOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS
2017, VOL. 41, NOS. 3–4, 416–428
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21683565.2017.1288671

Agroecology in Chile: precursors, pioneers, and their

legacy
Rene Montalbaa,b, Agustín Infantec, Aliro Contrerasa, and Lorena Vielid
a
Departamento de Ciencias Agronómicas y Recursos Naturales, Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco,
Chile; bNucleo Científico Tecnológico en Ciencias Sociales (UFRO), Temuco, Chile; cCentro de Educación
y Tecnología (CET), Yumbel, Chile; dDepartamento de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad de La Frontera,
Temuco, Chile

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
In Chile, as in many other parts of the world, agroecology was Agroecological history; CET;
first developed from studies on traditional agricultural systems. SOCLA
In the late1970s and early 1980s, when a large portion of
Chilean population was under high poverty, the first notions
for agroecological thinking arised. In the early 1980s, NGOs
were the first entities to do applied agroecology in the country.
Of particular relevance is the Center for Education and
Technology which was a pioneering NGO that implemented
demonstrative agroecological farms making a huge impact in
the development of agroecology in Chile. It also influenced
academics that in the 1990s incorporated agroecology to some
universities, and also state agencies that started to incorporate
agroecology in their discourses. Finally, medium and large
agricultural export-oriented companies made important efforts
to incorporate agroecological principles in their farms. After
more than 30 years, some NGOs are still playing a key role in
promoting agroecology among farmers and rural communities.
However, Chilean agriculture is still mostly dominated by mod-
ern conventional practices. Probably, the future conditions of
high uncertainty and climatic disturbances will increase the
need for agroecological practices that increase farm resilience
and food sovereignty.

Introduction
Positivism has been the dominant scientific paradigm for the last 200 years.
Agricultural science has rejected different paradigms and other types of
knowledge, generating a discontinuity and loss of a large portion of “pre-
scientific agroecology.” Nevertheless, various forms of alternative agriculture
have been preserved by diverse peasant groups and native people, who have
succeeded in resisting the process of modernization and have preserved their
traditional agricultural food systems (Guzmán Casado, González de Molina

CONTACT Rene Montalba rene.montalba@ufrontera.cl Departamento de Ciencias Agronómicas y

Recursos Naturales, Universidad de La Frontera, Francisco Salazar 01145, Temuco, Chile.
Part of the special issue “A Brief History of Agroecology in Spain and Latin America.”
Color versions of one or more of the figures in the article can be found online at www.tandfonline.com/WJSA.
© 2017 Taylor & Francis
 AGROECOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 417

Navarro, and Guzmán 2000). Thus, modern development of agroecology can

be considered a scientific rediscovery of some of these alternative agricultural
systems. Early agroecological knowledge stemmed from pioneering studies of
traditional agricultural systems carried out in the 1960s and 1970s within
diverse scientific disciplines (e.g., economy, rural sociology, anthropology,
and crop ecology), or studies about the consequences of the dominant
economic model in the rural areas and in food systems. This allowed the
tackling of a range of problems caused by lack of sustainability within
modern agriculture (Altieri 1982; Guzmán Casado, González de Molina
Navarro, and Guzmán 2000). Agroecology also incorporates a sociopolitical
discourse that supports current agrarian social movements and aims to
transform current social, economic, and political systems since they are
considered the main cause of global unsustainability (Rosset y Martinez-
Torres 2012).
According to Altieri (2010), the rediscovery of agroecology in Chile started
in the early 1980s by pioneering academics and extension workers. In this
study, we made a thorough revision of the origins and development of
agroecology in Chile, which allowed us to identify who were the precursors
and pioneers, and what were the drivers and influences of this process.
However, the scope of this research study considers agroecology as a science;
consequently, the sociopolitical aspect of agroecology will be included only as
a context. Also, from the institutional perspective, in this research we
reviewed the role played by NGOs, universities, and public institutions.
We identified five experts that were considered as key informants of the
history of agroecology in Chile by their peers and applied in-depth interviews
to each of them. Then, we used the method of snowball sampling (Noy 2008)
to identify further sources of information. Twelve additional experts were
identified and we conducted semi-structured interviews with them. The data
obtained in these interviews was triangulated and complemented with a
revision of references, databases, and documents from institutions and
organizations.

Indigenous and peasant agriculture: reservoirs of agroecology in

Chile
In Chile, indigenous and peasant agriculture did not have such emblematic
expressions compared to Andean and Mesoamerican regions. With the
exception of the northern part of the country, which was under heavy Inca
influence, a large part of the territory was dominated by proto-agrarian
cultures and/or hunter-gatherers; in these cultures, agriculture was not
their main source for food and thus it was not highly developed (Bengoa
1991). Nevertheless, there is concrete evidence that some indigenous and
peasant groups of north-central and southern Chile (mainly Mapuche and
418 R. MONTALBA ET AL.

Figure 1. Agroecological management observed in a Mapuche farm located in the drylands of

south-central Chile.

Huilliche) domesticated and/or developed locally adapted edible plants, such

as potatoes, quinoa, beans, and chili peppers (Bengoa 1991; Montalba y
Stephens 2014). These cultures also developed agricultural practices and
methods which they have used to present day and can be considered agroe-
cological. Likewise, farm systems developed by “criollo” people also adapted
many of these practices and principles, fostering sustainability and resilience
in their farms (Montalba et al. 2015). Traditional peasant and indigenous
agriculture are an important reservoir of knowledge and agroecological
practices, which have served as source of information for the work of
agroecologists in Chile (Figure 1).

The beginnings of agroecology in Chile and its precursors

The key informants concurred in that agroecology started in Chile toward
the end of the 1970s and beginning of the 1980s, when the social, political,
and economic situation in Chile was in high turmoil. Chile was under the
dictatorial rule of General Augusto Pinochet, who imposed a neoliberal
economic model, which, in conjunction with economic liberalization,
promoted the exploitation of natural resources for export. Rural peasants
and indigenous sectors were abandoned by the state to give way to export-
 AGROECOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 419

oriented large-scale farms (Altieri y Rojas 1999). The world economic

crisis of the 1980s was a serious blow to the Chilean economy, which,
since it had been strongly “liberalized,” did not have barriers or protec-
tions for the Chilean local economy. Thus, in those years, an important
part of the population fell into extreme poverty, especially in rural areas
(Schkolnk y Teltelbiom 1988). In this context of high rural poverty, poor
state assistance to peasant agriculture, and high degradation of natural
resources caused by the neoliberal economic model, agroecology started to
develop in Chile.
The first studies which served as precursors for agroecological thinking in
Chile done by visionary academics who were critical of the modern neolib-
eral model and rural development in Chile. Dr. Hernán Contreras Manfredi,
agricultural engineer and professor at Universidad de Chile, was definitely
one of the leading, most inspiring, and pioneering agricultural engineers in
agroecology in Chile. He presented hundreds of conferences between 1960
and 1965, including long-distance courses dictated on Chilean state television
(1973–1974). Dr. Contreras Manfredi inspired an entire generation in envir-
onmental conservation, linking its relevance to human wellbeing and the
country’s development. According to the key informants interviewed, the
first indications of agroecology in Chile are found in a series of courses
dictated by Dr. Contreras Manfredi at the beginning of the 1980s, which were
attended by a large number of professionals and students of rural related
studies. These courses placed a strong emphasis on ethics and had a critical
focus on capitalism, which was already showing signs of having devastating
effects on agricultural landscapes throughout Latin America. Another rele-
vant aspect of these courses is that they proposed an alternative model of
developement, focused on the people’s vision and needs, which is featured in
one of the most influential books on Chilean agroecological thinking,
Ecología, conservación, desarrollo y calidad de la vida (Contreras Manfredi
and Velásquez 1982).
Another precursor of Chilean agroecological thinking is Dr. Juan Gastó
Cordech, who is an agricultural engineer and professor first at Universidad
de Chile, and later at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Dr. Gastó
was also one of the first ecologists in Chile and was the first Chilean
academic to receive a Ph.D. in ecology, in 1963; he was a leader in this
discipline in Chile. In his search for harmonic relations between human
beings and nature, he incorporated ecological principles into agriculture in
his book “Ecología. El Hombre y la transformación de la naturaleza” (Gastó
1979) and “Metodología clínica de ecosistemas” (Gastó 1980). After more than
four decades of teaching, he has left an important legacy of trained agricul-
ture engineers in Chile, who in turn became pioneers and leaders in the
discipline of agroecology in Chile, among whom is Dr. Miguel Altieri.
420 R. MONTALBA ET AL.

The pioneers and the role of the NGOs

Agroecology started in Chile at the beginning of the 1980s, when some NGOs
started working directly with rural communities and poor urban populations,
using working methods inspired by the Brazilian educator and philosopher
Paulo Freire. The technical content of these works exhibited strong agroeco-
logical aspects, focused on self-sufficiency, recycling, and conservation of
natural resources within their farms. Among these NGOs is the Center for
Education and Technology (Centro de Educación y Tecnología-CET), cre-
ated in 1979 by Andrés Yuryevic, Oscar Letelier, Gonzalo Valdivieso, and
Silvestre Jaramillo, among others. Among the many milestones of CET is the
implementation of a demonstration farm on the outskirts of Santiago
(Colina) in 1981, with a strong agroecological design. In this farm, it was
demonstrated that working half a hectare, a family of five could be fed, and
an income could be generated (Centro Educación y Tecnología 1991). This
result had a strong impact among small farmers, and led hundreds of them to
attend courses at CET in Colina, as well as technicians from several other
institutions, who applied what they had learned there in other parts of the
country. Another important contribution by CET to the development of
agroecology in Chile during the early years was the 1982 edition of the first
Spanish version of Agroecology: The scientific basis of alternative agriculture,
written by Miguel Altieri. In its many editions, it is considered a fundamental
textbook on agroecology development in Chile and Latin America. The
intellectual, methodological, and technical development generated during
the first years of CET became a source of inspiration in the creation of
other CET programs in various regions of Chile, which recreated its experi-
ences with other farm communities and in other socioeconomic and cultural
contexts. This led to the creation of the program for Mapuche communities
in Temuco in 1985; the agrarian reform program for farmers of
Chimbarongo in 1983; the program for Huilliche farmers in Chonchi
(Chiloé) in 1986; and finally the Bíobío program for small farmers of the
dryland of the Coastal Range (Yumbel) in 1986. As in Colina, these programs
created demonstration farms which were the principal source of agroecolo-
gical training for farmers and professionals in Chile. In addition, the success-
ful experiences of these farms were used as a model to foster the development
of agroecology across Latin America.
During the difficult social and political context of the 1980s, various
NGOs created instances of common work such as the Agroecological
Movement of Chile (Movimiento Agroecológico de Chile) and the
Colina Agreement, in 1984, which strengthened the individual efforts of
each of them. Toward the end of the 1980s, Chilean NGOs played an
important role in creating international initiatives like the Agroecological
Movement of Latin America (Movimiento Agroecológico de
 AGROECOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 421

Latinoamérica). Also, international alliances of CET with other emblematic

NGOs, like the Center for Education, Research and Development (Centro
de Investigación, Educación y Desarrollo, Perú) and the “advisory body
and services to projects in alternative agriculture” (Assessoria Serviços
Projetos Agricultura Alternativa, Brazil), led to the formation of the
Latin American Consortium of Agroecology (Consorcio Latinoamericano
en Agroecología y Desarrollo—CLADES), in 1989, led by Chilean Andrés
Yurgevic of CET, Jean Marc von der Weid of Brazil and Juan Sánchez of
Perú. The aim of CLADES was to promote a strategy for the development
of farm production units based on agroecology as a tool of social trans-
formation. During those years, professionals who were emblematic for
Chilean agroecology were incorporated into CET, such as Patricio
Rodrigo, Camila Montecinos, Agustín Infante, Raúl Venegas, and Carlos
Venegas. Dr. Miguel Altieri started collaborating with CET at this time
and contributed with a more scientific view of agroecology.
Among the milestones in the development of agroecology of the 1990s in
Chile and Latin America were the numerous programs, courses, and semi-
nars offered by CLADES. They provided the scientific and technical basis for
many academics, professionals, and farmers who gradually started imple-
menting this agroecological knowledge in their various contexts. With
CLADES’ support, but with CET as organizer and host, more than eight
international courses and seminars took place in Chile from 1990 to 1993,
covering various subjects related to agroecology, such as conservation of
genetic resources, sustainable animal husbandry, ecological soil management,
and production of ecological pesticides. These courses were key in the
formation of hundreds of NGO technicians in Chile and throughout Latin
America. Also very important was the publication and distribution of the
journal Agroecology and Development (edited by Andrés Yurjevic and Miguel
Altieri), which was published between 1991 and 1998 (all volumes of this
magazine can be found online, http://www.clades.cl/publica/publica_index.
htm). This magazine promoted technical and methodological developments
in agroecology and practical achievements of those days. In 1996, CLADES
gave a long-distance course titled “Human, Rural and Agroecological
Development” [Desarrollo Humano, Rural y Agroecológico]. This course
was also offered in 1997 and 1998, and was attended by more than 400
persons.
By 1992, more than 26 institutions and organizations with a wide national
coverage participated in the above-mentioned “Colina Agreement,” and from
the beginning they worked on alternative agriculture, which gradually
became a strong sustainable rural development program. In addition, they
developed several rural development initiatives with an agroecological focus,
like the “Centro Regional de Asistencia Técnica y Empresarial” in the Maule
region, “Gestión y Desarrollo Sustentable” in the Araucanía region, a
422 R. MONTALBA ET AL.

demonstrative farm of Lilian Barrientos in Nueva Imperial, also in the

Araucanía region, and the School of Agroecology of Pirque, led by Mary
Anne Müller, in the Metropolitan Region, Santiago.
As democracy returned in Chile in 1990, many members of NGOs went
on to work in public institutions. NGOs then expected to be called on to
contribute with ideas and their experience to the new rural political system of
democratic local administrations. However, their experience and the progress
they had achieved were barely considered, and the state took possession of
their rural work by means of the National Institute for Agricultural
Development (INDAP), which came to replace the NGOs, who in turn
were very adversely affected by a drastic decrease in financial resources
from abroad. This is how many of these institutions gradually disappeared
or became technical consulting enterprises.

Agroecology in academia
In 1992, CLADES offered an agroecology course in Chile, aimed at training
university professors to become professors of agroecology in their depart-
ments throughout Latin America. This course had a strong impact, as many
who took part in it went on to actively work in the development and teaching
of agroecological research, and many of them continue to work actively in
agroecology until today in their respective countries (Altieri 2016). Two
professors from Chile enrolled this course: Aliro Contreras (Universidad de
la Frontera) and Jaime Rodríguez (Universidad de Chile).
CET and its numerous demonstration farms had an important role in
promoting agroecology in universities across Chile. Individuals interviewed
for this work mentioned two cases that illustrated the link between CET and
academia. First, Agustín Cristi, professor at the Universidad de Chile, upon
his return to Chile after having acquired his Ph.D. in ecology in 1980,
implemented a series of organic plots based on practices implemented in
CET of Colina, which were used to teach many agricultural students. Under
Dr. Cristi’s guide, at CET in Colina, the first undergraduate degree thesis
about agroecology in Chile came about (Kerrigan Richard 1984). Second, in
southern Chile, CET in Temuco led by Angélica Celis, Luis Peralta, and
Camila Montecinos, together with the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the
Universidad de la Frontera, conducted the first research in agroecology, led
by Dr. Aliro Contreras. In those years, undergraduate degree theses on
agroecology were done as a result of this collaboration (Oñate 1992).
During the 1990s, a new generation of agroecology academics begins to
rise, many of who were strongly influenced by Dr. Miguel Altieri and the
Masters and Ph.D. programs of the Universidad Internacional de Andalucía
(Spain) and the Instituto de Sociología y Estudios Campesinos of the
University of Córdoba (Spain), led by Eduardo Sevilla Guzmán and
 AGROECOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 423

Manual González de Molina. Within this group of academics are Santiago

Peredo (University of Santiago de Chile), Carlos Pino (Universidad Católica
del Maule), René Montalba (Universidad de la Frontera), Álvaro Carevic
(Universidad Arturo Prat), and Sandra Ríos (Universidad de Los Lagos). As a
result of the work of these academics, several teaching initiatives and pro-
grams were developed, as well as extension work, research, and organiza-
tional initiatives about agroecology. Currently, no university has a career in
agroecology, but at least five universities have consolidated research and
extension groups in this topic: Universidad Nacional Arturo Prat,
Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Universidad de Chile, Universidad
Católica del Maule, and Universidad de la Frontera. In these universities, a
variety of research projects, papers, and extension programs in agroecology
and sustainable rural development have been developed. Meanwhile, other
universities, such as Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and
Universidad de Magallanes, have recently developed initiatives and academic
work in agroecology. In terms of education, the Universidad Católica de
Temuco in cooperation with CLADES offered a master program in
Agroecology and Sustainable Rural Development, but it was only offered
once in 1998. CET-Yumbel was started in 2000 and Universidad de Santiago
de Chile in 2009 to offer a postgraduate diploma in agroecology and sustain-
able rural development every year. In Universidad de la Frontera, since 2005,
master programs of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forests Sciences have
specialization areas in agroecology. In this university, Dr. Altieri has been
recognized for more than 20 years of collaboration with the university by
conferring him the title of Honorific Faculty Professor in 2015. It is also
important to mention that a few technical education centers and agricultural
high schools (e.g., Instituto del Medio Ambiente in Santiago and the Escuela
Agroecológica de Pirque) incorporated agroecological education in their
programs. Also, in the 1990s, university students started agroecology groups
that organized multiple meetings, courses, and extension activities (e.g.,
Grupo de Estudios de Agricultura Ecológica, Coordinadora de Estudiantes
por la Agroecología).

Penetration of agroecology into public institutions and agricultural

enterprises
Starting in the 1990s, some public institutions developed the first programs
or research lines that incorporated agroecology in some way or another, or
provided initiatives that made possible the development of agroecology
within public institutions. The State Institute of Agricultural Research
(INIA) initiated a line of organic agriculture research and development in
the Bíobío region, led by Cecilia Céspedes. This research line was later about
agroecology as well. Later, in the mid-1990s, the National Institute of
424 R. MONTALBA ET AL.

Normalization (Instituto Nacional de Normalización) convened farmers,

public institutions, NGOs, and universities, all of which worked for 2 years
in the creation of norms of organic-agricultural production in Chile. Another
relevant factor was the incorporation of concepts consistent with agroecology
in calls for grant applications by public institutions, especially institutions
like the Foundation for Agrarian Innovation and the Fund for
Environmental Protection (Fondo de Protección Ambiental).
In the mid-1990s, visionary medium-sized farmers started transforming
their conventional farms into more ecological farms. Very gradually, cor-
porations, farmers, and professionals embarked on a long road toward
agroecology, some by means of programs of farming development, others
attracted by market opportunities, others due to past bad experiences with
agricultural chemicals, and yet others simply due to a strong ecological
conscience. There have been various paths toward agroecology. One of the
first farmers was José Hidalgo of the Bíobío region, who converted his
orchards to organic with an agroecological focus. Also, the association of
organic producers of Tierra Viva, in the central region of Chile, promoted
small agroecological production units.
The development of agroecology within agricultural enterprises started in
the mid-1990s, when some companies that produced berries, pome fruit, and
vineyards started using an agroecological approach in their search for a
solution to the unresolved problems related to organic-agriculture based on
input substitution. Some of these enterprises sought support from agroecol-
ogists by means of consulting and developed agroecological production
programs on their farms. A remarkable example of this is the program
“Aconcagua Verde,” for the development of agroecological management of
grapes in Chile’s central region.
During this period, several agroecological professionals started developing
their own agricultural production systems, and also developed small local
market initiatives in various regions, with agroecological products targeted at
a large segment of consumers who were seeking higher-quality products.
Thus, agroecological producers and responsible consumers formed several
cooperatives. The enactment of the National Law of Organic Production in
2000 created markets for these products across the country.

Current conditions and future challenges

For about 15 years, agroecology has generated interest among new profes-
sionals, technicians, and agricultural producers in Chile. Currently, many
institutions throughout Chile do extension work promoting agroecology. For
example CET in Yumbel hosts approximately 7,000 people annually in its
agroecological demonstration farm. They also offer courses, host technical
tours, and carry out teaching programs for professionals, with an emphasis
 AGROECOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 425

on agroecology. This has had a strong impact and has especially led to a large
critical mass of professionals and extension workers linked to governmental
agricultural and rural development institutions.
After more than 30 years, two of the four demonstrative farms are still
active, namely those of CET in Yumbel and Chiloé, which have been joined
by demonstration farms or plots belonging to other agroecological farmers,
and have promoted agroecology by teaching to a wide range of people.
Several thousands of farmers and professionals in the agrarian sciences
have been influenced by these demonstrative farms, which have transformed
food production and social systems and improved the state of natural
resources in their areas of influence. In Chiloé, CET was granted the project
“Sistemas Ingeniosos de Patrimonio Agrícola Mundial” by FAO which has
the purpose of conserving traditional systems of Chiloé and the strengthen-
ing of the conservation of biodiversity and local knowledge.
Universities in Chile have not created careers in agroecology or specializa-
tion areas at the undergraduate level of agroecology; however, at least four
universities have active and consolidated research groups in agroecology
(Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Universidad de la Frontera, Universidad
Católica del Maule, and Universidad Arturo Prat). But it is worth noting that
nine Chilean academics and extension workers were part of the founders of
the Latin American Scientific Society of Agroecology in 2007, and in 2013 the
Chilean chapter of this society was created (presided over by Santiago
Peredo), which has already organized five national scientific events across
the country.
In relation to their influence in agrarian policy, some public institutions
like INDAP, INIA, and the National Indigenous Development Corporation
(CONADI) have recently put together the programs or lines of research
and/or development that incorporate agroecology. An example of this is
INDAP’s request of agroecological courses for their staff and the explicit
inclusion of agroecology in some of CONADI’s public calls for research
proposals.
Many farm worker groups, farmers, and consumers have also adopted
agroecological approaches in their discourse and actions. Likewise, the influ-
ence on civil society can be gleaned from a variety of organizations and social
movements that have incorporated agroecology into their principles and
actions. Examples of this are the Association of Rural and Indigenous
Women and the Network of Free Seeds (Red de Semillas Libres).
Regarding agricultural enterprises, large organic companies, such as
Emiliana and other wine producers and berry producers such as Hortifruit
S.A., have made efforts to incorporate an agroecological approach into their
farm design and management and have sought to transcend the input sub-
stitution that is part of the export-oriented organic production in Chile
(Figure 2).
426 R. MONTALBA ET AL.

Figure 2. Agroecological practices found in a large-scale export-oriented blueberry field in south-

central Chile.

Final remarks
Neoliberal agrarian policies applied during the last few decades in Chile have
failed to solve the problems of agriculture and farmers. After almost 40 years
of pioneering work by farmers, NGOs, and researchers, agroecology has
penetrated, albeit marginally, academic circles and the discourse of organiza-
tions linked to agrarian development. This is due to the success of agroeco-
logical strategies in providing viable alternatives for resolving agricultural
production problems, environmental degradation, and agrarian unsustain-
ability, as well as fostering food sovereignty and the resilience of agricultural
systems in the face of threats like global climate change. In spite of this, the
vast majority of farmers still do not practice agroecology and persist in using
models that are proving to be unsustainable. Also, universities have not
substantially incorporated agroecology into their education and research
agendas and the state has not adopted it decisively into their agrarian
policies. It is a question as to what obstacles remain in the way of fostering
agroecology more widely and getting farmers, research and education insti-
tutions, and governments to adopt agroecology.
As in many other parts of the world, agroecology emerged in Chile as a
viable alternative in periods of economical and/or ecological crisis. In these
 AGROECOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 427

periods, the role of agriculture as a source of food provision is especially

recognized by the population. Future conditions of increasing uncertainty, in
addition to climatic and economic disturbances, will probably increase the
need for agroecological practices that increase the resilience of agricultural
systems and food sovereignty. Agroecology represents an alternative agricul-
tural development model and is being incorporated (at least semantically)
into the framework of some national policies of agricultural development.
This constitutes a great challenge for agroecologists in Chile, since it repre-
sents a challenge to the capacity of coordination, influence, and the consis-
tency of the discourse and practice of agroecology in Chile.

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