A/HRC/16/49 processes in which external inputs serve to produce outputs in a linear model of production. Instead, agroecology seeks to improve the sustainability of agroecosystems by mimicking nature instead of industry.15 This report suggests that scaling up agroecological practices can simultaneously increase farm productivity and food security, improve incomes and rural livelihoods, and reverse the trend towards species loss and genetic erosion. 11. The following sections explain what agroecology is, and how it contributes to the realization of the right to adequate food in its different dimensions: availability, accessibility, adequacy, sustainability and participation (Section III). However, in moving towards more sustainable farming systems, time is the greatest limiting factor. Whether or not we will succeed will depend on our ability to learn faster from recent innovations and to disseminate works more widely. Section IV is dedicated to public policies that States should adopt to scale up agroecology. III. Contribution of agroecology to the right to food 12. Agroecology is both a science and a set of practices. It was created by the convergence of two scientific disciplines: agronomy and ecology. As a science, agroecology is the “application of ecological science to the study, design and management of sustainable agroecosystems.”16 As a set of agricultural practices, agroecology seeks ways to enhance agricultural systems by mimicking natural processes, thus creating beneficial biological interactions and synergies among the components of the agroecosystem. It provides the most favourable soil conditions for plant growth, particularly by managing organic matter and by raising soil biotic activity. The core principles of agroecology include recycling nutrients and energy on the farm, rather than introducing external inputs; integrating crops and livestock; diversifying species and genetic resources in agroecosystems over time and space; and focusing on interactions and productivity across the agricultural system, rather than focusing on individual species. Agroecology is highly knowledge-intensive, based on techniques that are not delivered top-down but developed on the basis of farmers’ knowledge and experimentation. 13. As a way to improve the resilience and sustainability of food systems, agroecology is now supported by an increasingly wide range of experts within the scientific community,17 and by international agencies and organizations, such as the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UNEP18 and Biodiversity International.19 It is also gaining ground in countries as diverse as the United States, Brazil, Germany and France.20 15 16 17 18 19 20 6 Miguel A. Altieri, Agroecology: The Science of Sustainable Agriculture, 2nd ed., Boulder, Colorado, Westview Press, 1995; S. Gliessman, Agroecology: the ecology of sustainable food systems, Boca Raton, Florida, CRC Press, 2007. M.A. Altieri, Agroecology: The Science of Sustainable Agriculture, cited above n. 15. International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), Summary for Decision Makers of the Global Report, approved by 58 governments in Johannesburg, April 2008, see Key Finding 7; see A. Wezel et al., “A quantitative and qualitative historical analysis of the scientific discipline of agroecology,” International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 7:1, 2009, pp. 3-18 (showing the rising interest for agroecology in scientific literature). Miguel A. Altieri and Clara I. Nicholis, Agroecology and the Search for a Truly Sustainable Agriculture, UNEP, Mexico, 2005. Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD) Policy Brief 11, 2007. For a review of the developments in these four countries, see: A. Wezel et al., “Agroecology as a science, a movement and a practice. A review,” Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 29, 2009, pp. 503-515.