Let's talk about sustainable agroecological systems

Agricultural ecosystems are anthropogenic systems, that is, their origin and maintenance are associated with the activity of man who has transformed nature to obtain mainly food; currently, agroecosystems are usually divided into their fundamental parts and try to enhance each of them separately, but as long as it continues to be posed in this way it is impossible to increase production and solve problems such as: the increased incidence of pests that attack crops and animals, soil compaction and biodiversity loss, just to name a few of the situations that occur in the agricultural sector.

On the other hand, in an alternative to conventional methods of modern agriculture, more sustainable production models have been applied in recent years; where the properties are determined by the level of interactions between their various biotic and abiotic components. Moderna According to Altieri and Nicholls (2000), these interactions that move the system are those in which certain products or results of one component are used in the production of others, for example, arvenses as livestock feed, manure used as fertilizer in crops, and mixtures of manure and straw for compost.

In summary, as the first steps to share the agroecological paradigm with producers, we must identify the area of action, identify limitations, potentialities and opportunities to develop an agroecological design together with producers, where the best agricultural practices are carried out with the aim of integrating the components of the ecosystem and increasing the type of biodiversity that can strengthen the sustainability of agroecosystems through an ecological balance (biological pest control, nutrient cycling, renewable energy and soil conservation, among others).

Dear readers, agroecological design is to integrate the components in such a way as to increase the overall biological efficiency, preserve biodiversity and maintain the productive capacity of the agroecosystem. It is also to design an agroecosystem that mimics the structure and function of local natural ecosystems, that is, a system with a high diversity of species, a biologically active soil that ensures the recycling of nutrients through the decomposition of organic matter generated by plant biomass and waste generated by animals present in agroecosystems.