The realization of the contribution of peasant
agriculture to food security in the midst of scenarios of
climate change, economic and energy crisis, led to the
concepts of food sovereignty and agroecologically based
production systems to gain much attention in the developing
world in the last two decades. New approaches and technologies
involving application of blended modern agricultural
science and indigenous knowledge systems and spearheaded
by thousands of farmers, NGOs, and some government and
academic institutions are proving to enhance food security
while conserving agrobiodiversity soil and water resources
conservation throughout hundreds of rural communities in
the developing world. Case studies from Cuba, Brazil,
Philippines, and Africa are presented to demonstrate how the
agroecological development paradigm based on the revitalization
of small farms which emphasizes diversity, synergy,
recycling and integration, and social processes that value
community participation and empowerment, proves to be
perhaps one of the only viable options to meet present and
future food needs. Given the present and predicted near
future climate, energy and economic scenarios, agroecology
has emerged as one of the most robust pathways towards
designing biodiverse, productive, and resilient agroecosystems
available today.