There is a growing body of scientific evidence regarding
the outcomes and impacts of agroecology. This
knowledge brief aims to provide a set of evidence, based
on a large-scale analysis of scientific articles (literature
review, meta-analysis, models).
There is a strong theoretical basis and empirical evidence
that food security outcomes (availability, access, utilisation,
stability) are as good or sometimes even better for
agroecological systems than conventional alternatives.
Four levers for agroecology supporting the positive
impacts of agroecology on food security are analysed: crop
diversification, legume-based systems, agroforestry and
mixed crop-livestock systems. Crop diversification is an
effective strategy to improve food security by mobilising
different biological mechanisms. Due to its biological
characteristics for nitrogen (N) fixing, legumes are one
of the most important levers for improving food security
(both availability and food utilisation/nutrition) based
on agroecological principles. Agroforestry contributes to
food availability by recycling nutrients, to food stability by
increasing the resilience of the farming systems and to food
utilisation through better diets. Mixed crop-livestock systems
contribute to food availability by recycling nutrients and to
food utilisation through meat and milk consumption.
As agroecology is more than a set of practices, this
knowledge brief specifically focuses on two approaches with
a high potential to increase food security and efficiently
address environmental challenges. A set of evidence is
analysed for integrated soil health management and
agroecological pest management.