Revamping Ecosystem Services through Agroecology—The Case of Cereals

Gomathy Sethuraman, Nurul Amalina Mohd Zain, Sumiani Yusoff, Yin Mei Ng, Niranjan Baisakh and Acga Cheng
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Gomathy Sethuraman: Faculty of Science, Institute of Biological Sciences, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Nurul Amalina Mohd Zain: Faculty of Science, Institute of Biological Sciences, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Sumiani Yusoff: Institute of Ocean and Earth Science, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Yin Mei Ng: Department of Applied Statistics, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Niranjan Baisakh: School of Plant, Environmental, and Soil Science, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
Acga Cheng: Faculty of Science, Institute of Biological Sciences, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 3, 1-14

Abstract: Globally, farming systems are mostly dominated by monoculture, which has the advantage of profitability at the expense of ecological systems. Recent years have witnessed an increasing momentum in global efforts to deploy sustainable agriculture practices that mimic ecological processes, with agroecology at the forefront. In addition to the ecological aspect, agroecology also encompasses economic and social aspects targeting the whole food system. Transformative agroecology has been recognized as a stepping stone to achieving several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), due to its great potential to build climate change-resilient farming systems while enhancing ecosystem services and reducing biodiversity loss. Nonetheless, the available literature on the recent developments and future trajectories of the adoption of agroecology approaches for improving the production of cereals, the most important group of food crops, is limited. This review aims to highlight the blueprint of agroecology that can contribute to the achievements of the SDGs, allowing explicit interpretation of the term that will benefit twenty-first century agriculture. Using cereal crops as the case study, we provide insights into how far this field has come and the main barriers to its adoption, and conclude that this approach of “science for and with society” is the way forward for building a resilient future.

Keywords: agroecology; biodiversity; climate change; rice; sustainable agriculture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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