The transition from agricultural systems to agroecology

Dear readers, achieving a sustainable agricultural system is one of the current objectives that we have worldwide, to achieve a more environmentally friendly design and management is the challenge that producers and professionals in the area, For no one it is a secret that to be able to concretize paradigm must be implemented strategies that allow a change from the conventional to the ecological, this process can be called transition. For this reason, the present publication analyzed some aspects related to sustainability as a process of change of the current agricultural situation.

To begin with it is necessary to mention that in modern agriculture there is a low level of natural diversity, a situation that can be evidenced by any person at first sight without being very expert in the area since, there is a predominance in the agricultural fields of monoculture (a single crop), losing the balance of agro-ecosystems because it does not depend on internal natural mechanisms or processes but on external elements from technological packages such as agrochemicals, which cause output to increase in the short term but in the medium and long term lose productive or adaptive capacity if these external resources are not used.

The vision of agriculture mentioned in the previous section should be left in the past and transformed into a more sustainable one where sustainability prevails by increasing the diversification of systems and improving the recycling of nutrients, Of course they are more suitable models that incorporate more ecological elements. In this sense, the father of agroecology Altieri (1999), mentioned several decades ago that the use of organic matter in agricultural systems produces an increase in the efficiency of the use of moisture, nutrients and sunlight, In addition, there is a reduction in the incidence of weeds, pests and diseases, minimizing some agents that can become toxic to the agricultural ecosystem.

In this same order of ideas, the vision of sustainability should be focused on aspects such as the growth of agricultural productivity and maintain the quality and quantity of resources that are used within the agricultural production processes, To this end, the use of renewable resources will be in low percentages compared to the percentage in which they are generated, in addition to decreasing the use of toxic wastes that can be absorbed by the environment.

The theme of the conversion of agricultural ecosystems to an agro-ecological system has now been promoted by large institutions related to agriculture, where many specialists in the area are determining production strategies that focus on internal mechanisms and the conservation of natural resources. In terms of reconversion, some authors such as Venegas (f.f), point out that there are three stages mentioned below:

- Efficiency Improvement Phase :At this stage the systems are modified in the sense of reducing the consumption of scarce resources and reducing production costs, it is about achieving high levels of efficiency with the use of resources, by reducing the pollution rates associated with agricultural production processes.

- Replacement stage:At this stage it is proposed to eliminate the use of agrochemicals by replacing them with organic or biological based compounds and elements that do not negatively impact the environment. Synthetic nitrogen sources can be replaced by organic alternatives such as manure and compost, synthetic products can also be replaced by eco-compatible ones such as Nim, fungi of the genus Bauveria and Metarrhizium, respectively.

- Redesign stage: At this stage what is sought is the design of systems in which animal and plant populations are made to act looking to simulate the relationships that exist in natural ecosystems, in diversified systems such as the association of legumes and grasses there is an increase in the number and diversity of populations with important functions within the ecosystem.

Dear readers, sustainable development is based on the idea that the current generation must provide future generations with an environment that has a renewable and non-renewable resource base of a similar or better condition than that which the generation has managed present. In agroecosystems, any conception of sustainability requires that research and production not only seek results in relation to high agricultural yields, but also that the system be optimized as a whole, where there is an economic balance with other variables such as ecological stability.

- Altieri, M. and Nicholls, C. 2007. Agroecological conversion of conventional production systems: theory, strategies and evaluation. Ecosystems scientific and technical review of ecology and environment. Vol. 16 (1). p 3-12.

- Altieri, M. 1999. Agroecology. Scientific bases for sustainable agriculture. Montevideo. Editorial Nordan-Comunidad. 338 p.