SAVIA

Considering the social and ecological obsolescence of the conventional agricultural model and the crisis facing rural areas, alternative models that promote food production while preserving the provision of ecosystem services under inclusive and peer-to-peer governance models are required. This project explores agroecology from a socio-ecological point of view, as a scientific discipline that promotes the sustainability of agroecosystems. The main objective of the proposal is to identify and characterize agroecological initiatives and practices that contribute to a transition from the conventional agricultural model to a model that has an impact on maintaining the ecological and social resilience of agricultural systems. The project has five specific objectives: (1) to identify and compile emerging innovative agroecological practices in Spain, (2) to evaluate and compare the provision of ecosystem services through measurement of indicators in agroecological and conventional horticultural farms in the Community of Madrid (CM), (3) to evaluate in a multidimensional way the degree of agroecological transition of the selected farms in the CM and their capacity to scale up their positive impact on the rural environment, (4) to explore the role of women in the agricultural sector in the CM, and (5) to analyze, from the point of view of decision making, the incidence of the different elements of agroecology in the development of agricultural policies. Thus, the main contribution of the project is to generate knowledge on the transformative potential of agroecological initiatives, incorporating a gender perspective and cooperation between actors. SAVIA’s transdisciplinary perspective will integrate approaches from the natural, social and agricultural sciences. Projects in this direction can have an impact on the new Common Agricultural Policy through the incorporation of agroecological practices in agri-environmental schemes. The project involves the participation of 13 researchers from 8 entities.