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Agroecology and CSA

The distinction between climate-smart agriculture and agroecology is a somewhat blurry one. In a recent reprise of a 2015 article, Michel Pimbert takes a fairly hard line in support of agroecology, linking it with food sovereignty, and the re-identification of many people around the world as peasants ('re-peasantisation' if you really, really must).

It's an interesting question, and if it's presented as a choice between a climate-smart agriculture in the pockets of Monsanto et al, and a 're-peasantising' movement aimed less towards commercial expansion than buen vivir, then I know which side I'd be on. I guess it's not that clear-cut though, and so far my experience with organisations promoting CSA here in Vietnam has not led me to view them as peddling 'industrial food and agricultural technologies that allow for economies of scale'. In fact, the current photovoice project - and other activities I've come across - more neatly fits with the 'agroecological' tenet of valuing local knowledge and locally appropriate technologies than promoting a greater dependency on the inputs of 'the corporate version of CSA'.

You can find the Pimbert article here:

https://www.ileia.org/2017/06/26/agroecology-alternative-vision-agriculture/