Agroecology briefing part two

Who is practicing agroecology in the UK and what are they doing?

a.       Agroecological producers – what they produce and how

As outliers to both intensive non-ecological farming and conservation-focused non-farming, there are a considerable number of smaller productive, mixed enterprise, ecologically benign holdings which are making a modest living, from their activities whilst providing meaningful employment opportunities, and nutritious food for their local communities[28].  Many of these enterprises fall within the definition of agroecological holdings.

Agroecological farmers produce a wide variety of animal products, as well as vegetables and crops, with considerable variation across farms.  A recent study in England indicated that they do so with levels of productivity which, for some crops, including beetroot, kale, cabbage, carrots, broad beans, calabrese, French beans and spinach match or outperform the yields per hectare of the average UK farm.[28],[29]  This research corroborates international evidence collected across 37 million hectares which indicates that the adoption of agroecological approaches results in a significant increase in yields, compared with mainstream production methods, while simultaneously conserving ecosystems.[30]

While the Food Standards Agency (FSA) concluded in 2009 that there is no nutritional difference between organically and conventionally produced foods, later and more comprehensive research has concluded the opposite.  While the FSA review only considered 55 publications (across crops, meat and dairy)[31], in 2014, Newcastle University conducted a meta-review of 343 peer-reviewed studies on crops and 196 studies on meat and dairy[32],[33].  In crops, the Newcastle review found a 60% difference in beneficial antioxidants in organic foods compared to conventional crops.  This equates to 1-2 extra portions of fruit and vegetables per day in terms of antioxidants if consumers switched to eating organic.[32]  In meat and dairy the Newcastle team concluded that organic and non-organic meat and dairy had significant differences in nutritional composition.  The review found that organic milk and meat contain a better fatty acid profile (including 50% more omega-3 fatty acids) than those produced via conventional methods [33].  While not all organic farming would be considered agroecological, and not all agroecological production would pass organic certification [34], the emphasis of both systems on reducing agrichemical usage, building soils, improving the diet of animals (e.g. pasturing, conserved forage and low use of concentrate feed for ruminants) and rearing traditional breeds, indicates that these nutritional differences would similarly hold for agroecological production.

b.       Agroecology by land area

Currently, evidence is lacking about the amount of land and number of farms under agroecological production in the UK.  Using the figures from organic farming or from farm scales could give a broad estimate, but both have significant drawbacks as proxies.

According to Defra national statistics, 517 thousand hectares of land were farmed organically in 2017 across the UK.  The area under organic management has declined by about one third since 2008 as indicated in the below table [35].  Currently, land under organic management represents only 3 percent of the utilised agricultural area in the UK.[35]  The low proportion of organic farmland in the UK indicates that organic and agroecological farming is trapped in the niche market.  The sharp decline in 2008 indicates it is largely dependent on consumer incomes, and largely unsupported by public policies.  In contrast, in Europe the amount of organic farmland has increased by 18.7% between 2012-2016.[36]. 

Figure 1: Total number of hectares of organic an 'in-conversion' farmland the UK, from [35]

Using organic farmland as a proxy for land managed in an agroecological way is problematic, for reason given above, and because organic certification is often too expensive for many small farms. Some farms find that short supply chains render it unnecessary given that their customer bases know and trust their practices.[37]   

Another reason why organic acreage is not an adequate proxy for agroecological farming is that some farms are able to receive organic certification but would not necessarily be considered agroecological by some criteria.  In many cases, organic farms are indeed practicing agroecology, but not always.  While organic certifications standardise certain environmental practices, some techniques such as monocultures and low functional biodiversity mean that organic farms simply substitute chemical inputs for ‘organic’ ones (sometimes at levels which result in ecological problems), thus diverting from principles of agroecology.[1]  Further, organic certifications do not include standards for ‘social sustainability’ or transparent and short supply chains and decent working conditions and pay for farm labourers.[7]  This contrasts agroecology’s focus on supporting rural communities as well as producing food sustainably. 

Thirdly, over half of UK farms are 20ha or less, and given that Defra does not collect data on farms under 5 ha, it is possible that a significant amount of agroecological farmland is missing from Defra statistics.[38]  

Attendance of farmers at events such as the Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC), an annual event which generally aligns with agroecological principles, is testament to the fact that there is a growing number of agroecological farmers in the UK.  In 2018, the event sold out at 980 attendees with 250 people turned away.[39] The Land Workers’ Alliance (LWA), a members-based organisation of people who produce or harvest from the land using ecological methods, has more than 1,000 members, most in England though a few in Wales in Scotland.  It is likely that others practicing agroecology are not involved in this organisation[2].  It is also important to acknowledge that there is no clear boundary between agroecology and non-agroecology.  Thus, there may be many farmers practicing some aspects of agroecology alongside non-agroecological practices, and these farmers may not necessarily identify with a social movement related to agroecology.

In sum, while there is a growing number of people practicing and promoting agroecology in the UK, there is currently a lack of data about the number of agroecological farms and the area of land farmed agroecologically in this country, in part reflecting political indifference to the approach.  Research about existing agroecological farms could provide more information about the current scope and characteristics of agroecology in the UK.  In any case, it is likely that those who practice agroecology are small minority of the farming population, though not insignificant.  Membership of the LWA and interest in the ORFC shows that more people are interested to get started in agroecological production as new entrants or would be interested to incorporate agroecological principles in their existing farming practices.  The next section discusses the factors that hinder this from happening, and also provides recommendations for Defra for addressing them. 

---

[1] The difference between organic and agroecological practices has been documented in California (Guthman 2000) and anecdotally elsewhere (Altieri and Nicholls 2003).  To the authors’ knowledge, no similar inquiry has been undertaken in the UK.

[2] Other member-based organisations with agroecological trends are the Organic Growers Alliance and Scottish Crofting Federation

Part Three !!