Agroecology is a school of climate-friendly, socially responsible farming that uses sustainable techniques and cutting-edge understanding ranging from soil science to social sciences to create durable, resilient food systems. The approach has been advocated by UN rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier de Schutter, and even found support within the UK government, with the formation of an all-party parliamentary group on the discipline in 2011.

At the Oxford Real Farming Conference, held last week ,sustainable farming experts from a range of organisations came together to announce the launch of the Agroecology Alliance, a new coalition which aims to promote agroecology in policy and practice. Elsewhere in the world, most notably South America, agroecology is used as a "rallying point for sustainable agriculture," and although concept is relatively new to the UK it is gradually gaining support; the new alliance aims to mainstream agroecology without losing sight of its social aspects.

A range of speakers, representing different members of the alliance, from academics to members of the Soil Association, said that, whilst the companies and players responsible for the current fragile and asymmetrical state of the food system have become conscious of environmental challenges they face, there is little hope for creating a genuinely sustainable future system unless fundamental changes are made to the way we view food and farming.

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Professor Tim Lang, of the Centre for Food Policy and City University, London said last month at a conference on Local Food, being held at the University, "Big food farming has dominated the discussions about agriculture. Nothing will improve until British farmers start growing 'food' rather than commodities."

Sharing the view that agriculture must shift away from commodities and rediscover its cultural and social heritage, Dr Ulrich Schmutz, of the Centre for Agroecology and Food Security based at Coventry University said in Oxford that agroecology is a better placed discipline to bring about sustainable food reforms, as, not only is it intrinsically socially conscious, but its relative novelty in the UK means it has less associations than other fields. Dr Schmutz added that, unlike the organic movement, agroecology is not a certified system with codified rules, which means it is more accessible and wider in scope.

Scientific support for agroecology

Perhaps the most prominent advocate of agroecology on the world stage is Olivier de Schutter, UN special rapporteur on the Right to Food, and a lawyer by trade. De Schutter has said, "Today's scientific evidence demonstrates that agroecological methods outperform the use of chemical fertilizers in boosting food production where the hungry live – especially in unfavourable environments. A large segment of the scientific community now acknowledges the positive impacts of agroecology on food production, poverty alleviation and climate change mitigation – and this is what is needed in a world of limited resources."

In Oxford last week, Dr Schmutz said this level of UN support is an encouraging step on the path to mainstreaming agroecology. The findings of de Schutter's Agroecology and the Right to Food report, published in 2010, and the 2008 IAASTD report also add weight to the case for agroecology.

Upon releasing his report, UN rapporteur de Schutter also opined on the factors limited the approach's spread; he said, "The approach is gaining ground in developed countries such as United States, Germany and France. However, despite its impressive potential in realizing the right to food for all, agroecology is still insufficiently backed by ambitious public policies… Agroecology is a knowledge-intensive approach. It requires public policies supporting agricultural research and participative extension services. States and donors have a key role to play here. Private companies will not invest time and money in practices that cannot be rewarded by patents and which don’t open markets for chemical products or improved seeds."

The new Alliance was forged as, five years after the publication of the IAASTD report, which was compiled by over 400 scientific experts and endorsed by governments across the world, including the UK's, there has been next to no action on its findings.

The report found that small-scale, biodiverse systems are more socially responsive, more resilient to the effects of climate change and more productive overall. It called for a paradigm shift in agriculture towards "the design and adoption of ecologically and socially sustainable agricultural systems" and famously pronounced "Business as usual is not an option."

Launch of the Agroecology Alliance

Peter Riley, speaking at the launch, said 'techno-fixes' would have little role in creating a resilient food system, and instead urged for agronomy and soil science to be moved up the research agenda. He said the Alliance would aim to increase understanding and support amongst the media and public and put pressure on government to act to create a model of agriculture that, "[works] within the biological and physical limits of the planet to create a sustainable and durable food system – the first and foremost principal of farming."

Nick Lampkin, of the Organic Research Centre added that the Alliance must ensure "funding and research initiatives are not seized by the corporate agenda." Dr Julia Wright, also of CAFS said that the new partnership could also attempt to counter myths which benefit private companies, at the expense of the world's hungry.

Agreeing with Elm Farm's Professor Lampkin, Patrick Mulvaney, of the UK Food Group (a constellation of sustainable farming and research organisations in the UK) said there is a need to act against attempts for corporations to co-opt the term in the attempt to address the "Social, ecological and economic problems of industrial agriculture".

ORFC founder and biologist Colin Tudge concluded, "This alliance could provide that critical mass [to mainstream agroecology] and if that happens, the next few years could well be pretty exciting."