www.fao.org/about/meetings/second-international-agroecology-symposium Introductory Presentation from Mr. Shiming delivered in occasion of the Second International Symposium on Agroecology, held in Rome, Italy on 3-5 April 2018. © FAO: http://www.fao.org

1. THE EXPERIENCE OF
SCALING UP AGROECOLOGY PRACTICES
FROM CHINA
Luo Shi ming
South China Agricultural University
Guangzhou, China
smluo@scau.edu.cn

2. AGROECOLOGY BEGAN TO DEVELOP IN
CHINA FROM LATE 1970S
1984
1987 2000 2010 2017
Agroecology became a university
course in agricultural universities
since 1984.

3. Agroecology systems and
methods were explored
through investigation,
demonstration and research .
We investigated and
researched on traditional fish
pond and mulberry dike in the
Pearl River Delta.

4. HIGH BED - LOW DITCH SYSTEM IN THE
PEARL RIVER DELTA

5. FIELD EXPERIMENTS ON RICE INTERCROPPING SYSTEMS
RICE-ARROWHEAD INTERCROPPING SYSTEM IN
GUANGDONG PROVINCE

6. RICE-FISH CO-CULTURE SYSTEM IN
QINGTIAN, ZHEJIANG PROVINCE
It has a history of about
1,200 years and became
a FAO named site of
globally important
agricultural heritage
system in 2005.

7. RICE DUCK CO-CULTURAL SYSTEM

8. 1 0 1 1 5 21 48 58 76 110
173207
264300274298314311322
370
455451
584
643
801
1179
1396
1324
1422
1591
1786
2225
24152441
2535257525872568
2749
2940
3160
3260
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Since the first article on
agroecology published
in1975, the number of
articles in Chinese
literature with the subject
on “agroecology”(生态农
业) showed a scaling up
trend. It is one aspect
which reflects the general
agroecology development
situation in China.

9. 1. Clarify those doubts and overcome those worries about
agroecology
I would like to share with you some key experience
Actually many people including government officers, scientists
and farmers are still very confusing about agroecology today.
So it is important to

10. (1) Many people like to know what are the fundamental differences between
agroecology and previous agricultural practices
Agroecology Practices Previous Agricultural Practices
Focus
point
Agroecosystem, even
the whole food system
Only on one or few components
Methods Eco-friendly methods Methods without ecological
consideration
Goals To improve all
ecosystem services
To increase yield and income only

11. (2) There are so many idea and terms related to sustainable agriculture
development. Are they compatible with agroecology, hence within its
“rainbow”, or not?

12. Only clear answers are given,
obstacles can be cleared, and
people can begin to consider
agroecology seriously.
Slash and burn system Traditional family farming
Industrialized farming
(big and small)
Agroecology
Practices
(3) Many people want to know if agroecology is a also the future of their
agriculture, or agroecology is only confined to very specific types of
agriculture.

13. 2. Form local adapted guides for agroecology practices
Then another important subject is to

14. (1) To identify agroecology practices
The first thing is
The eco-friendly methods came out from two approaches in general:
• Bottom up method : to discover the “secret” of our traditional agriculture and
the wisdom of our local farmers
• Top down method: to discover the “secret” behind structure and function of
agroecosystem by scientific research
• We often combine these two approaches together to get good agroecology
practices.

15. After identification, it is useful
(2) To classify Agroecological practices
A good way to classify agroecology practices can let people
handle and understand those agroecology methods much
easier, and benefit for them to create their own new methods
according to the philosophy behind.
We found that classification following the structure of
natural system is one of the workable approach.

16. Natural resources input
Social and Industrial resources
input
Product output
pollutant output
Ecosystem design
Energy, material and
signal connection,
recycling and reuse
Landscape planning
Functional planning, patch and
corridor arrangement in a landscape
Community
Population
Individual
Gene
Biodiversity use
Resources
reducing,
replacing,
replenishing
technique
output treatment technique
System
Structure
System
Input
System
Output

17. After the farmers know what
and how, it is important to
3. Let more people like to join into agroecology movement

18. Do I need to take the
trouble for the change?
Show the great opportunity
Would it be too difficult for me to
handle the change ?
Demonstration nearby, and
experience exchange both
horizontally and vertically
Would it be benefit
for me?
Favorable market and
supporting policy

19. 4. To strengthen international exchange and cooperation – with
my own experience

20. (1) Learn from others around the world

21. I would like to thank FAO. It
was the support from FAO in
1981, I got a chance to have
my further study on
agroecology in the Institute
of Ecology, University of
Georgia, which was led by
famous ecologist E.P. Odum.

22. I learnt a lot from
Dr. Miguel Altieri
from UC Berkeley
and Stephen
Gliessman from UC
Santa Cruz. I first
visited them in
1984.

23. We invited Dr. Alexander Wezel from France to visit China in 2017
and to talk about agroecology practices and policy.

24. (2) Share ideas and experiences with others around the
world

25. Introduction to Agroecology
by Luo Shi Ming
China International Center
for Agricultural Training
(CICAT)
January, 1989
Internal used English Text book
I delivered agroecology course in the
international training classes each year
since 1989 in the China International
Center for Agriculture Training.

26. I delivered agroecology course in the international
training classes each year since 1989 in the China
International Center for Agriculture Training.
This picture was taken in 2017

27. Encouraged by Stephen R. Gliessman
and co-edited with him, an English
book on “Agroecology in China” was
published in 2016.

28. I provided video course for Agroecology Online Congress in Brazil, October,
2017. (Agroecoweb.com.br, Invited by Dr. Milton Padovan)

29. 1. To clarify those doubts and worries about agroecology
2. To form a local adapted guide for agroecology practices
3. To motivate people willing to engage in agroecology movement
4. To strengthen international as well as national cooperation
THE KEY MESSAGES FOR SCALING UP
AGROECOLOGY ARE:

30. THANK YOU!