Agroecology and a vision for sustainable agriculture in spite of global climate change

Abstract

Global climate change, although partially understood, is becoming more and more responsible for unpredictable weather patterns that can eventually undermine food security and quality of life for all. The consequences of this phenomenon for agriculture are relevant to a growing human population, which is becoming increasingly vulnerable and often displaced by environmental disasters ever as political leaders are still challenged to find an accord to cap CO2 emissions to remediate to the ongoing climate crisis. The purpose of our work was to review recent literature about the effects of global climate change on food production in the upper Midwest region of the US and the Panama Republic to propose an original paradigm for achieving sustainability in agriculture through agroecology. Our model is adaptable to diverse agrarian contexts. It envisions small scale farming (microagriculture), which is often practiced in urban settings, and industrial agriculture (macroagriculture), as two inter-linked paradigms. Strong connections and a higher level of transparency in agriculture (at both micro and macro levels) can enhance the flow of knowledge occurring between these two models of food production. As a result, a single, unified model merges as a vehicle to educate people about food systems, in an effort to achieve sustainability in modern farming systems. Thus, an empowerment of agriculture is achieved to better cope with the necessary resiliency that farming will require to withstand the whims of climate unpredictability.