Agroecology Knowledge Hub

Recycling: more recycling means agricultural production with lower economic and environmental costs

Waste is a human concept – it does not exist in natural ecosystems. By imitating natural ecosystems, agroecological practices support biological processes that drive the recycling of nutrients, biomass and water within production systems, thereby increasing resource-use efficiency and minimizing waste and pollution.

Recycling can take place at both farm-scale and within landscapes, through diversification and building of synergies between different components and activities. For example, agroforestry systems that include deep rooting trees can capture nutrients lost beyond the roots of annual crops. Crop–livestock systems promote recycling of organic materials by using manure for composting or directly as fertilizer, and crop residues and by-products as livestock feed. Nutrient cycling accounts for 51 percent of the economic value of all non-provisioning ecosystem services, and integrating livestock plays a large role in this. Similarly, in rice–fish systems, aquatic animals help to fertilize the rice crop and reduce pests, reducing the need for external fertilizer or pesticide inputs.

Recycling delivers multiple benefits by closing cycles and reducing waste that translates into lower dependency on external resources, increasing the autonomy of producers and reducing their vulnerability to market and climate shocks. Recycling organic materials and by-products offers great potential for agroecological innovations.

Database

Este libro muestra cómo diferentes actores del sistema cubano de innovación formal e informal responden al desafío que presenta la crisis del sistema alimentario mundial. Desde una visión concertada, presenta los resultados del proyecto ""Desarrollo de sistemas descentralizados y participativos de garantías ambientales en Cuba"". El texto propone un acercamiento al...
Cuba
Book
2011
The COVID-19 pandemic is a multidimensional threat that has affected the political, economic, social, environmental, and food sectors. Therefore, an adequate response is needed to protect both urban and rural areas. In line with "Agenda 2030", it is proposed, Agroecology as a solution to promote an urgent transition towards sustainable...
Chile
Video
2020
Following the basic organization hierarchy of biology, eco-agricultural models can be classified into the following fundamental classes: landscape model (at landscape level), in which agricultural land arrangement pattern is essential; cycling model (at ecosystem level), in which the core model is linked to different compartments of agro-ecosystems through energy and...
China
Journal article
2009
Modern agroecosystems require systemic change, but new redesigned farming systems will not emerge from simply implementing a set of practices (rotations, composting, cover cropping, etc.) but rather from the application of already well defined agroecological principles. These principles can be applied using various practices and strategies, each having different effects on productivity, stability...
Journal article
2016
Palopuro Agroecological Symbiosis Pilot Project 2015-2016 This model of production and processing of local organic food is being developed through a project called “Palopuro Agroecological Symbiosis”, which is funded by the Ministry of Environment’s RAKI programme. The project partners include the participating producers and processors together with University of Helsinki...
Finland
Video
2017