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5LEARNING AND INNOVATIONIN ORGANIC AND AGROECOLOGICAL FARMING1.1.SOME DEFINITIONSWhilst first publications mentioning agroecologyalready appeared in the early 20th century, it was onlyafter the 1970s that studies in agroecology grew morerapidly. A milestone in the development of agroecologywas the publication of Miguel Altieri’s book “Agroecology,the Scientific Basis of Alternative Agriculture” in 1983.Altieri defined agroecology as the application of ecologyto agriculture. However, he gave it a political dimensiontoo, embodying a strong criticism of the impacts of theGreen Revolution. Twenty years later, Francis et al. (2003)enlarged agroecology to the whole food system linkingproduction with the food value chain <strong>and</strong> consumption.It is now more than just a scientific discipline, <strong>and</strong> is alsoa movement, <strong>and</strong> indeed a practice (Wezel et al., 2009),with a global presence, but by its inherent nature, withvery regional manifestations.As a scientific discipline, agroecology studies thefour properties of agroecosystems (productivity,stability, sustainability <strong>and</strong> equitability) through aninterdisciplinary lens. It encompasses agronomy,ecology, sociology, economics <strong>and</strong> indeed politics, <strong>and</strong>at all relevant scales from gene to biome, from field toglobal.As a movement, agroecology has become a framework<strong>for</strong> integrating ecological, socio-economic <strong>and</strong> politicalaspects of agro-food systems. This framework challengesstereotypical boundaries between society <strong>and</strong> nature,likewise boundaries between science <strong>and</strong> society.biodiversity <strong>and</strong> the environment from the productionof food (l<strong>and</strong> sparing as opposed to l<strong>and</strong> sharing). Rather,agroecology emphasizes inherent linkages betweenthem. It explores alternatives based on autonomy<strong>and</strong> the careful use of resources (Stassart et al., 2012),so as to reduce dependence on external inputs <strong>and</strong>improve sustainability. At the same time, agroecologyis becoming a new buzzword, perhaps analogous to‘sustainable agriculture’. The term ‘agroecology’ has beenrecently adopted by some actors who also promoteconventional agriculture.Organic farming first emerged in Europe, <strong>and</strong> wasthe result of several influences. Rudolf Steiner gave aseries of eight lectures in Austria in 1924 that laid thefoundations of biodynamic agriculture. Then LadyEve Balfour espoused the links between the health ofsoil, <strong>plan</strong>ts, animals <strong>and</strong> people, founding the UK SoilAssociation in 1946. Also in the 1940s in Switzerl<strong>and</strong>,Hans <strong>and</strong> Maria Müller <strong>and</strong> Hans-Peter Rusch developeda natural approach to farming particularly using rockdusts. There were developments in the USA too, whereJ.I. Rodale started publishing Organic Farming <strong>and</strong>Gardening in 1942.Most of the organic movements around the globeare united by the International Federation of OrganicAgriculture Movements (IFOAM). It has developed fourprinciples of organic agriculture, specifically: health,ecology, fairness <strong>and</strong> care. These encapsulate the ethos<strong>and</strong> practice of organic production <strong>and</strong> are widelysupported.As a practice, agroecology eschews the dominantmonoculture model with its dependence on externalinputs, where maximising yield (output per hectareor per man hour) is the main criterion of success. Itquestions likewise the dominant model of natureconservation that separates the protection ofOrganic agriculture is now also well defined in law. Itsproduction rules, marketing requirements <strong>and</strong> controlprocedures have legal status in many countries, alsoin the EU <strong>and</strong> the Codex Alimentarius Commission ofFAO. Despite this, with the widely differing geographical,climatic <strong>and</strong> developmental conditions in different