Cultivation on the slopes of Empung volcano in Sulawesi. B. Locatelli © CIRAD

Agroecological transitions

In response to the challenges involved in adapting production systems in the global South to global change, producters and producers' organizations, civil society and research and development organizations have adopted natural regulation approaches based on the principles of agroecology to test and implement new ways of producing. Agroecology is attracting growing interest and support on the political and institutional agenda and from governments, operators and international organizations.

For many years now, CIRAD has been conducting field research and trials to document and assess the capacity of agroecology to provide an economically and socially viable alternative to conventional intensification models. Clear progress has been made on identifying levers for agroecological transitions and experience built in a wide range of biophysical, institutional and partnership situations, within platforms in partnership, the French overseas regions and partnerships with producers and civil society. The aim is to draw generic conclusions and propose a global approach and support structures tailored to the specific challenges faced by different types of ’agriculture. One of the issues is mobilizing and sharing knowledge generated on a farm scale as well as that generated on a territory and value chain scale.