The International Symposium on Agroecology and System Approach for Sustainable and Resilient Horticultural Production will be held within the XXXI International Horticultural Congress that will take place from 14 to 20 August 2022 in Angers, France.

Agroecology has developed strongly in the last decade and can be considered as a way to take up the challenge faced by agriculture to produce food and non-food products in a sustainable and equitable way, with a high degree of adaptability to global change. In this context, horticulture in its diversity occupies a central position since fruits and vegetables are of utmost importance in the dietary intake (e.g., health and cultural dimensions) and are, of course, a source of income for farmers. However, the current systems are still generally intensive and specialized ones to face an increasing food demand and economic competitivity at the expense of environment and/or people. Conversely, food crops may decline due to limited access to land, urban migration, global change and side effects (e.g., new pests) and/or changing lifestyles. A paradigm shift in horticultural systems is therefore needed that stakeholders in all parts of the world are invited to take up. One way to overcome negative externalities due to the intensification is to design more diversified and ecosystem service-based systems that may be more resilient with respect to climatic and economic risks, and less dependent on external inputs and resources. The design of such innovative agroecological systems is complex and knowledge-intensive.

This new Symposium offers a significant opportunity to promote the principles of agroecology, enhance participatory processes, strengthen agroecology networks, give visibility to agroecological experiences in different countries of the world at different scales, support the construction of agroecological-based knowledge to achieve resilient agri-food systems and analyze the theoretical, practical and political advances in the field of agroecology.

The issues addressed in this Symposium may include ecological, agro-technical, political and/or socio-economic dimensions, e.g. community based agriculture, gender equity, education and knowledge building, health, nutrition or food sovereignty. Multidisciplinary as well as participatory approaches are encouraged. Field, farm, landscape, agri-food and/or global scales as well as scaling up studies are considered. Long-term projects and research are welcome. The sessions of this Symposium will encompass design, management and evaluation of agroecological systems at different scales as well as transition processes towards agroecology.

The deadline to submission of abstracts is now extended until 20 December 2021.