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Publication Agronomy for sustainable development Gascuel-Odoux C. & al.

A research agenda for scaling up agroecology in European countries

A profound transformation of agricultural production methods has become unavoidable due to the increase in the world’s population, and environmental and climatic challenges. Agroecology is now recognized as a challenging model for agricultural systems, promoting their diversification and adaptation to environmental and socio-economic contexts, with consequences for the entire agri-food system and the development of rural and urban areas. Through a prospective exercise performed at a large interdisciplinary institute, INRAE, a research agenda for agroecology was built that filled a gap through its ambition and interdisciplinarity.

A profound transformation of agricultural production methods has become unavoidable due to the increase in the world’s population, and environmental and climatic challenges. Agroecology is now recognized as a challenging model for agricultural systems, promoting their diversification and adaptation to environmental and socio-economic contexts, with consequences for the entire agri-food system and the development of rural and urban areas. Through a prospective exercise performed at a large interdisciplinary institute, INRAE, a research agenda for agroecology was built that filled a gap through its ambition and interdisciplinarity. It concerned six topics. For genetics, there is a need to study genetic aspects of complex systems (e.g., mixtures of genotypes) and to develop breeding methods for them. For landscapes, challenges lie in effects of heterogeneity at multiple scales, in multifunctionality and in the design of agroecological landscapes. Agricultural equipment and digital technologies show high potential for monitoring dynamics of agroecosystems. For modeling, challenges include approaches to complexity, consideration of spatial and temporal dimensions and representation of the cascade from cropping practices to ecosystem services. The agroecological transition of farms calls for modeling and observational approaches as well as for creating new design methods. Integration of agroecology into food systems raises the issues of product specificity, consumer behavior and organization of markets, standards and public policies. In addition, transversal priorities were identified: (i) generating sets of biological data, through research and participatory mechanisms, that are appropriate for designing agroecological systems and (ii) collecting and using coherent sets of data to enable assessment of vulnerability, resilience and risk in order to evaluate the performance of agroecological systems and to contribute to scaling up. The main lessons learned from this collective exercise can be useful for the entire scientific community engaged in research into agroecology.

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Reference :

Gascuel-Odoux C, Lescourret F, Dedieu B, Detang-Dessendre C, Faverdin P, Hazard L, Litrico-Chiarelli I, Petit S, Roques L, Reboud X, Tixier-Boichard M, de Vries H, Caquet T. 2022 A research agenda for scaling up agroecology in European countries. AGRONOMY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. 10.1007/s13593-022-00786-4

See also

Book "Agroecology : research for the transition of agri-food systems and territories"

Editions Quae – coll. Matières à débattre & décider 

Agroecology was chosen by INRAE as one of its interdisciplinary scientific foresight studies designed to identify research fronts in response to major societal challenges. Eighty researchers drew up an assessment and proposed research avenues for agroecology. This book summarizes their main conclusions. 

Agroecology, as a scientific discipline that puts ecology back at the centre of agricultural system design, is now well established. Diversification of living organisms in agroecosystems is a broad objective that is intended to make these systems more robust and resilient. Research in genetics and landscape ecology must be mobilized so that agroecology can use mechanisms from the field to landscape scales. Progress is being made in modelling agroecological systems to better understand the many biotic and abiotic interactions, to predict them, and to begin to manage some of them. Diversification of living organisms in agricultural production (species, varieties, crop rotations, etc.) leads to more varied products. The consequences will be significant on the commodity chains, and more precisely on agri-food systems, from production methods to product consumption. These changes are long-term. The agroecological transition, which is adaptive, co-constructed with all actors, is in itself a research subject, and will rely on experimental devices, farms, and ‘Territories of innovation’.

Editorial coordination 

  • Thierry Caquet, INRAE, Scientific Director Environment.
  • Chantal Gascuel, agrohydrologist at INRAE in Rennes, studies the relationships between agriculture, landscape and water quality. She is responsible for soil and water issues at INRAE's Environment scientific department.
  • Michèle Tixier-Boichard, INRAE, Animal Genetics, UMR GABI Jouy-en-Josas

Agroecology: research for the transition of agri-food systems and territories - - (EAN13 : 9782759232949) | Librairie Quae : des livres au coeur des sciences

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Modification date : 27 October 2023 | Publication date : 30 June 2022 | Redactor : INRAE - Edition P. Huan