Deep Agroecology

Drawing on the Homeric epics, this multidisciplinary work reveals the cultural transformations which need to take place in order to transition from today’s modern extractive agricultural system to a sustainable natural‐systems agriculture. In order to provide an imaginative foundation on which to build such a cultural transformation, the author draws on the oldest and most pervasive pair of literary works in the Western canon: the Iliad and the Odyssey. He uses themes from those foundational literary works to critique the concept of state sovereignty and to explain how innovative federalism structures around the world already show momentum building toward changes in global environmental governance. The book proposes a dramatic expansion on those innovations, to create eco‐states responsible for agroecological management. Drawing from many years of experience in international institutions, the author proposes a system of coordination by which an international agroecology‐focused organization would simultaneously (i) avoid the shortcomings of the world’s current family of powerful global institutions and (ii) help create and implement a reformed system of local landscape‐based agriculture wholly consistent with ecological principles. Acknowledging the difficulty of achieving reforms such as these, the author suggests that a new cultural‐conceptual narrative can be constructed drawing on values set forth 2,700 years ago in the Homeric epics. He explains how these values can be reimagined to drive forward our efforts in addressing today’s the climate and agricultural crises in ways that reflect, not reject, the natural processes and relationships that make the Earth a living planet. This book will be of great interest to students, academics and policymakers addressing issues of agrarian values, environmental and agricultural law, environmental restoration, agroecology, and global institutional reform.

The ways we farm and the ways we eat will determine the destiny of life on earth. Farms and food are foundational for civilization. Right now our civilization is undergoing massive upheaval. We must build a new foundation, and that imperative task is going to take all of us. Deep Agroecology shows the way. The union of native wisdom ways with sophisticated, sustainable tools and practices can lead to the renewal and the elevation of all forms of life on Earth. Our next, necessary evolutionary step depends on spiritual intelligent, regenerative agriculture: deep agroecology. Agroecology is an ecological approach to growing food and fiber that appreciates farms and orchards as ecosystems. Internationally, agroecology is increasingly recognized as an approach capable of meeting productivity goals while replenishing the soil, sequestering climate destabilizing CO2, and striving toward justice for all the human beings and animals in the food system. Deep agroecology arises from recognition that the way we farm will determine the destiny of life on the earth. This inescapable reality necessarily involves every human being. "The future of humanity depends on our heeding the wisdom of deep agroecology." - John Ikerd, author of Crisis and Opportunity: Sustainability in American Agriculture. While deep agroecology is new territory, it's natural territory, not just for farmers, but for all people.

The evolution of deep learning models, combined with with advances in the Internet of Things and sensor technology, has gained more importance for weather forecasting, plant disease detection, underground water detection, soil quality, crop condition monitoring, and many other issues in the field of agriculture. agriculture. Deep Learning for Sustainable Agriculture discusses topics such as the impactful role of deep learning during the analysis of sustainable agriculture data and how deep learning can help farmers make better decisions. It also considers the latest deep learning techniques for effective agriculture data management, as well as the standards established by international organizations in related fields. The book provides advanced students and professionals in agricultural science and engineering, geography, and geospatial technology science with an in-depth explanation of the relationship between agricultural inference and the decision-support amenities offered by an advanced mathematical evolutionary algorithm. Introduces new deep learning models developed to address sustainable solutions for issues related to agriculture Provides reviews on the latest intelligent technologies and algorithms related to the state-of-the-art methodologies of monitoring and mitigation of sustainable agriculture Illustrates through case studies how deep learning has been used to address a variety of agricultural diseases that are currently on the cutting edge Delivers an accessible explanation of artificial intelligence algorithms, making it easier for the reader to implement or use them in their own agricultural domain

The Call of the Land is a sourcebook exploring positive pathways for food security, economic stability, environmental repair, and cultural renewal. This book shows how everyone can respond creatively to the challenges we face. From community gardens and locavore restaurants to urban farms and local food banks, this book is a survey and synthesis of the great transition that is underway.

This open access book develops a framework for advancing agroecology transformations focusing on power, politics and governance. It explores the potential of agroecology as a sustainable and socially just alternative to today’s dominant food regime. Agroecology is an ecological approach to farming that addresses climate change and biodiversity loss while contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals. Agroecology transformations represent a challenge to the power of corporations in controlling food system and a rejection of the industrial food systems that are at the root of many social and ecological ills. In this book the authors analyse the conditions that enable and disable agroecology’s potential and present six ‘domains of transformation’ where it comes into conflict with the dominant food system. They argue that food sovereignty, community-self organization and a shift to bottom-up governance are critical for the transformation to a socially just and ecologically viable food system. This book will be a valuable resource to researchers, students, policy makers and professionals across multidisciplinary areas including in the fields of food politics, international development, sustainability and resilience.

This book presents the core elements that underwrite agroecology. Expressed across twelve chapters, the universality of the core is the essence of agroecology. This alone would be of interest to researchers, students, and academics. Furthermore, the book contains a long, detailed, and inclusive glossary that, with over 160 entries, elaborates on the topics presented. Included are recent developments as well as time-tested, traditional farm practices. The book also advances the theoretical base, fills gaps in the published research, and suggests future opportunities and future directions. The book is internationally oriented, presenting both temperate and tropical agriculture. The book begins by comparing agroecology against conventional, monoculturally-based agriculture. In doing so, it defines the unique features of agroecology and their significance in achieving sustainable and environmentally-friendly agriculture. The book goes on to discuss the underlying technologies, the various manifestations of biodiversity, and the risk countermeasures associated with agroecology. This includes the farm landscape as a positive base for ecology, and how, if used well, it can produce major economic growth. The book concludes by summarizing the key findings, and assessing the macro-challenges facing agroecology.

Contestations over knowledge – and who controls its production – are a key focus of social movements and other actors that promote food sovereignty, agroecology and biocultural diversity. This book critically examines the kinds of knowledge and ways of knowing needed for food sovereignty, agroecology and biocultural diversity. ‘Food sovereignty’ is understood here as a transformative process that seeks to recreate the democratic realm and regenerate a diversity of autonomous food systems based on agroecology, biocultural diversity, equity, social justice and ecological sustainability. It is shown that alternatives to the current model of development require radically different knowledges and epistemologies from those on offer today in mainstream institutions (including universities, policy think tanks and donor organizations). To achieve food sovereignty, agroecology and biocultural diversity, there is a need to re-imagine and construct knowledge for diversity, decentralisation, dynamic adaptation and democracy. The authors critically explore the changes in organizations, research paradigms and professional practice that could help transform and co-create knowledge for a new modernity based on plural definitions of wellbeing. Particular attention is given to institutional, pedagogical and methodological innovations that can enhance cognitive justice by giving hitherto excluded citizens more power and agency in the construction of knowledge. The book thus contributes to the democratization of knowledge and power in the domain of food, environment and society. Chapters 1 and 8 of this book are freely available as downloadable Open Access PDFs at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.