l’« agroécologie bidon »

The report argues that multinational corporations are promoting a 'fake agroecology' (agroécologie bidon) through initiatives like the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI), the New Vision for Agriculture (NVA), and the Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU). These initiatives are characterized as 'sustainable intensification' rather than true agroecology, as they prioritize technological productivism, market-driven value chains, and public-private governance over social justice and structural transformation. The authors contend that this approach allows industrial giants to 'greenwash' their image while maintaining the existing power structures of the global food system.

• The report distinguishes between true agroecology, which is a 'mode de vie en harmonie avec la nature et fondé sur des principes de justice sociale et écologique', and 'sustainable intensification of agriculture' (SIA), which focuses on increasing productivity per unit area through technological innovations.
• Multinational corporations are accused of a 'strategic but selective recovery' of agroecological goals and practices to create a version of 'fake agroecology' that avoids radical transformation of the industrial food system.
• The Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI), founded by Danone, Nestlé, and Unilever, is dominated by private interests, with 95% of its members representing private interests.
• The New Vision for Agriculture (NVA), a pillar of the World Economic Forum's (WEF) system initiative, is led by 17 powerful transnational companies, including Cargill, Monsanto, and Syngenta, and aims to increase production by 20% while reducing emissions and rural poverty by 20% annually.
• The Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU) promotes a vision of land use that traps more greenhouse gases than it emits and utilizes 'techno-bio-socio-cultural' solutions, including genetically modified crops.
• The report identifies three 'obsessions' driving these corporate initiatives: technological productivism (e.g., CRISPR, big data, precision agriculture), the pursuit of new business opportunities in 'green economy' value chains, and a shift toward multi-stakeholder public-private governance.
• Corporate-led initiatives often frame the poverty of small-scale producers as a residual effect of lacking market access rather than a structural result of the industrial system, focusing on 'inclusion' rather than 'redistribution'.
• The World Economic Forum (WEF) is actively promoting a global governance model that replaces traditional multilateralism with a 'multi-stakeholder' system, which the report argues favors powerful corporate actors.

APA

Alonso-Fradejas, A., Forero, L. F., Ortega-Espès, D., Drago, M., & Chandrasekaran, K. (2020). l’« agroécologie bidon ». Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Lagroecologie-bidon-ATI-TNI-Crocevia-rapport-FR.pdf

Chicago

Alonso-Fradejas, Alberto, Lyda Fernanda Forero, Delphine Ortega-Espès, Martín Drago, and Kirtana Chandrasekaran. l’« agroécologie bidon ». Friends of the Earth International, 2020. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Lagroecologie-bidon-ATI-TNI-Crocevia-rapport-FR.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Alonso-Fradejas |first1=Alberto |last2=Forero |first2=Lyda Fernanda |last3=Ortega-Espès |first3=Delphine |last4=Drago |first4=Martín |last5=Chandrasekaran |first5=Kirtana |title=l’« agroécologie bidon » |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=April 2020 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Lagroecologie-bidon-ATI-TNI-Crocevia-rapport-FR.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{alonsofradejas2020agrocologie, author = {Alonso-Fradejas, Alberto and Forero, Lyda Fernanda and Ortega-Espès, Delphine and Drago, Martín and Chandrasekaran, Kirtana}, title = {{l’« agroécologie bidon »}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Lagroecologie-bidon-ATI-TNI-Crocevia-rapport-FR.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }