Towards sustainable agriculture in the developing world: Theoretical perspectives and empirical insights

Agroecological practices increasingly have been recognized as major development alternatives that could ensure rural people’s basic needs while enhancing the ecological capacities grounding their livelihoods. This paper explores the multifaceted dimensions of agroecological practices that could potentially address the compelling livelihood necessities of less advantaged smallholder farmers in developing countries. It is argued that, despite its claim to uphold interdisciplinary approaches, agroecology as a scientific discipline has originally been led by ecologists and agronomists, with interdisciplinary collaboration largely limited to anthropologists. The concept of agricultural multifunctionality is proposed to help address the existing limitations in agroecology and thus overcome the conventional chasm between ecological research and social realities in agroecology-based development.