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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Agroecology As A Science, A Movement And A Practice. A Review, A. Wezel, S. Bellon, T. Doré, Charles A. Francis, D. Vallod, C. David Jan 2009

Agroecology As A Science, A Movement And A Practice. A Review, A. Wezel, S. Bellon, T. Doré, Charles A. Francis, D. Vallod, C. David

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Agroecology involves various approaches to solve actual challenges of agricultural production. Though agroecology initially dealt primarily with crop production and protection aspects, in recent decades new dimensions such as environmental, social, economic, ethical and development issues are becoming relevant. Today, the term ‘agroecology’ means either a scientific discipline, agricultural practice, or political or social movement. Here we study the different meanings of agroecology. For that we analyse the historical development of agroecology. We present examples from USA, Brazil, Germany, and France. We study and discuss the evolution of different meanings agroecology. The use of the term agroecology can be traced …


Farming Systems Education: Case Study Of Swedish Test Pilots, Lennart Salomonsson, Anna Nilsson, Sofia Palmer, Adam Roigart, Charles A. Francis Jan 2009

Farming Systems Education: Case Study Of Swedish Test Pilots, Lennart Salomonsson, Anna Nilsson, Sofia Palmer, Adam Roigart, Charles A. Francis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

We describe and analyze a pedagogical experiment that introduced a broad and holistic perspective on complete farming systems, systemic learning tools, and a participatory learning strategy at an early stage in agronomy education. The paper describes the adventure of three students, who came from a conventional agronomy program at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), who were frustrated with the lack of integrated approaches to the study of agricultural systems and a strong focus on molecular-level processes in their first year of education. They encountered a narrow focus in most courses and the overall curricula of agricultural education that …