agroecología: innovaciones para sistemas agrícolas y alimentarios sustentables

This executive summary by Friends of the Earth International argues for a paradigm shift in global food and agricultural systems, moving away from high-input agro-industrial models toward agroecology. It proposes a comprehensive framework of 13 criteria to evaluate the sustainability of agricultural innovations and provides a series of public policy recommendations to scale up agroecology and achieve food sovereignty.

• The current dominant agro-industrial model of high-input agriculture is identified as a primary driver of environmental degradation, climate change, and threats to the human right to adequate food and nutrition.
• Innovation in agriculture should not be limited to technology and productivity but must adopt a holistic, multidisciplinary perspective encompassing social, economic, cultural, and environmental processes to benefit small-scale food providers and workers.
• The document establishes a framework of 13 interconnected basic evaluation criteria to determine if an innovation is sustainable. These include dimensions of governance (participatory governance), social/economic justice (gender justice, eradication of hunger), environmental health (climate justice, biodiversity preservation), and implementation processes (affordability, usability).
• Agroecology is presented as a viable science, practice, and social movement that integrates ancestral and customary knowledge from indigenous peoples and peasants to provide stable yields, restore ecosystems, and build resilience against climate change.
• The text warns against 'false solutions' such as 'climate-smart agriculture' and 'sustainable intensification,' arguing that these approaches risk co-opting the term 'agroecology' to serve industrial interests without addressing structural crises.
• Food sovereignty is defined as the right of peoples, nations, and states to define their own food, agricultural, livestock, and fishing systems and policies, serving as a pillar for the transition to sustainable agro-food systems.
• To scale up agroecology, the document recommends several public policy actions: guaranteeing land rights and collective control of common goods, eliminating industrial agrofuel production, protecting peasant seed systems from privatization, and redirecting subsidies toward territorial markets and cooperatives.

APA

Ortega-Espès, D. (2018). agroecología: innovaciones para sistemas agrícolas y alimentarios sustentables. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Agroecologia-innovacion-Resumen-ES.pdf

Chicago

Ortega-Espès, Delphine. agroecología: innovaciones para sistemas agrícolas y alimentarios sustentables. Friends of the Earth International, 2018. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Agroecologia-innovacion-Resumen-ES.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ortega-Espès |first1=Delphine |title=agroecología: innovaciones para sistemas agrícolas y alimentarios sustentables |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=November 2018 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Agroecologia-innovacion-Resumen-ES.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ortegaesps2018agroecologa, author = {Ortega-Espès, Delphine}, title = {{agroecología: innovaciones para sistemas agrícolas y alimentarios sustentables}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2018}, month = nov, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Agroecologia-innovacion-Resumen-ES.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }