INTEGRATING AGROECOLOGY FOR SUSTAINABLE HORTICULTURE

Abstract

The world population is increasing rapidly and projections for the coming years show that the population will be over 10 billion in the next century. The most important risk arising with the increasing population is the elevated demand for food and non-food products leading to vast monocultures and long-distance transfer of goods. The challenges of producing more on the one hand and creating resilient agri-food systems globally underscores a critical need for transformative approaches in agriculture and value chains. Beyond simply increasing output, there is now a pressing demand for sustainable practices that balance long-term soil and environmental health, social fairness, and economic viability in agri-food systems. Agroecological practices represent a holistic approach while managing the agroecosystem, aiming to produce substantial amounts of quality food by embedding ecological processes and ecosystem services at the core of production systems. Unlike conventional approaches that often rely on external inputs like chemical fertilizers, synthetic pesticides, and genetically modified organisms, agroecology seeks to harness natural processes within the ecosystem itself to sustain productivity and resilience. Agroecological management bases on principles that aim to create ecologically sound, economically viable and socially just agricultural systems. It does not follow a precise standard or does not seek certification as of today. Due to changes in consumer demand and effects of climate change, integration of an agroecology in the management of the system is essential especially in horticulture, which is an input intensive system, to enhance sustainability.