Converting to Ecologically Based Management - Agroecology: The Ecology of Sustainable Food Systems - page 290

FIGURE 20.1 The experimental farm at the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, University of California,
Santa Cruz. Innovative research on the design and management of sustainable agroecosystems is carried out at this unique facility.

• Eliminate the use of nonrenewable off-farm

human inputs that have the potential to harm the
environment or the health of farmers, farm
workers, or consumers.

crop system or season.

• Emphasize conservation of soil, water, energy,

and biological resources.

• Incorporate the idea of long-term sustainability

into overall agroecosystem design and man-
agement.

• When materials must be added to the system,

use naturally occurring materials instead of syn-
thetic, manufactured inputs.

• Manage pests, diseases, and weeds instead of

“controlling” them.

The integration of these principles creates a syner-
gism of interactions and relationships on the farm that
eventually leads to the development of the properties of
sustainable agroecosystems that will be discussed in
more detail in Chapter 21. Emphasis on particular prin-
ciples will vary, but all of them can contribute greatly to
the conversion process. We should neither be satisfied
with an approach to conversion that only replaces con-
ventional inputs and practices with environmentally
benign alternatives; nor should we be satisfied with an
approach dictated solely by market demands, or one that
does not take into account the economic and social health
of agricultural communities. Conversion must be part of
ensuring long-term food security for everyone in all parts
of the world.

• Reestablish the biological relationships that can

occur naturally on the farm instead of reducing
and simplifying them.

• Make more appropriate matches between crop-

ping patterns and the productive potential and
physical limitations of the farm landscape.

• Use a strategy of adapting the biological and

genetic potential of agricultural plant and ani-
mal species to the ecological conditions of the
farm rather than modifying the farm to meet
the needs of the crops and animals.

• Value most highly the overall health of the agro-

ecosystem rather than the outcome of a particular