View article

Agroecology is an approach that seeks to improve the integration of food systems through environmentally sustainable production systems. This paper explores the key practices considered to define agroecological farming in Bikita District of Masvingo in Zimbabwe. It reviewed the literature on agroecology and presented a criterion that informed analysis to distinguish between agroecological and non-agroecological farmers. Agroecological farmers mainly comprised resource-constrained farmers who sought to tap on their natural environment, local knowledge, and social networks to move away from conventional agricultural practices to achieve similar food and nutrition security and livelihood objectives as their non-agroecological counterparts. They differed from their non-agroecological counterparts mainly with respect to the diversity of crops grown, agronomic techniques used, and primary sources of income …