Agroecology in Practice

Industrial agriculture has taken a toll on our soils, environment and local food cultures. Agroecology in Practice offers a beacon of hope. This practical guide shares ideas and techniques with readers seeking to implement agroecological principles.

This book presents innovative examples from across the globe on how to:

Rebuild soil health and fertility
Enhance biodiversity on your farm
Conserve water resources
Manage pests and diseases sustainably
Ensure humane livestock care
Support farmer cooperation
Build local food systems

This book inspires the reader with real-world examples. It also explores the multiple ways in which video can contribute to building the necessary knowledge to transform food systems.

Agroecology in Practice is a must-read for:

Farmers seeking to transition to more sustainable practices
Agricultural professionals and educators
Students of agroecology
Policymakers and anyone interested in a healthier future for our planet

Each short section in the book is linked to a relevant video on the award-winning platform Access Agriculture (www.accessagriculture.org). These 132 high-quality video demonstrations and explanations bring the book's content to life, thereby enriching the learning experiences for readers.

These videos share a visual and engaging way to learn, complementing the written content in the book. We hope that having this rich multimedia component will make the book attractive to a wide audience.

Jeffery W. Bentley

Jeffery W. Bentley (Ph.D., University of Arizona) is an agricultural anthropologist with a lifelong interest in farmer creativity, and language. He has worked extensively with farmers and agricultural scientists in Latin America, Africa, South Asia, and Portugal. Previously at New Mexico State and Zamorano Universities, he currently works at Agro-Insight. Jeff has consulted for CABI, CIP, CIMMYT, and the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB), among others. In the early 2000s he played a key role setting up the CABI plant clinics. He lives in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

Paul Van Mele

Paul Van Mele (Ph.D., Wageningen University) is an agricultural scientist who has managed agricultural R&D projects dealing with sustainable agriculture across the global South for over three decades. Since 2002, Paul has spearheaded farmer-to-farmer training video, coordinated research on video-mediated learning and taken it to scale. He runs his own company, Agro-Insight, and co-founded the non-profit organization Access Agriculture to support South-South learning on agroecological transformation.

Sustainable agriculture; agroecological practices; soil health improvement; biodiversity on farms; water conservation; pest management; humane livestock care; local food system development; short food supply chains; on-farm experimentation; farmer-led research; knowledge exchange; digital tools for agriculture; farmer-to-farmer learning; seed preservation; climate change adaptation and mitigation; farmer learning videos

Agroecology in Practice

From Local Initiatives to Global Scaling Through Video

Jeffery W. Bentley

Paul Van Mele