Principles of Agro-ecology
Principles of Agro-ecology
By
Dr. Abdel-Ghani Hamdan
Plant Physiologist
1-
Sense of place. Agro-ecology recognizes
sense of place as a factor in the co-evolutuion
of culture and nature and the adaptation of agro-ecosystems to the physical and
biological properties of localities.
2-
Local knowledge. Agro-ecology values the preservation of local
knowledge over the imposition of universal mechanistic knowledge and recognizes
the sustainability of traditional agro-ecosystems.
3-
Poly-cultures.
Agro-ecology privileges the production strategies of traditional poly-cultures
over modern monocultures as a way to correct inequalities in agricultural
research and extension services.
4-
Local
self-management. Agro-ecology empowers traditional farmers by favoring local
self-management of the natural conditions of production and promoting local
control of political economic institutions.
5-
Ecosystem
principle. Agro-ecology views the farm
from a biological or eco-systemic perspective and eschews mechanistic or
industrial models of productivity and efficiency. A fundamental principle of agro-ecology is
that the farming system is above all a human artifact and yet the farm does not
end at the edge of a field; instead, it
exists within a broader ecosystem or watershed context.
6-
Multiple
systems. Agro-ecology emphasizes the idea that agriculture is embedded in
multiple systems: biophysical, social, political-economic, and cultural.
7-
Assessment
strategy. Agro-ecology provides a specific set of criteria for evaluating the
sustainability of a farming system that includes the following variables: crop
diversity, temporal permanence, isolation, stability, genetic diversity, human
control, and natural pest control.
8-
Principle
of bio-mimicry. Agro-ecology seeks to protect traditional farming systems, in
part, because they involve strategies of production that mimic (imitate)
nature’s own diversity.
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