What does agroecology mean for peasant and indigenous producers working with development NGOs and social movements in Mexico?

The need to create a food system capable of feeding a growing global population, withstanding climate change and creating sustainable rural livelihoods, is becoming increasingly apparent. Agroecology is often cited as a solution to this challenge. It is advocated by growing numbers of influential organisations, from social movements and peasant organisations, to NGOs and intergovernmental development agencies, including the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation. Interpretations of agroecology vary however. Initially established as a scientific discipline applying ecology to agriculture, the term can now refer to an environmentally sustainable agricultural practice, a rural development model benefiting small-scale farmers, or a method for transforming the global, industrial food system.
Such divergences have stimulated academic debate and led to polarised opinions over agroecology's meaning and transformative potential. Some scholars celebrate its potential to generate a sustainable food system and improve the lives of rural communities (Altieri et al., 2012; Rosset & Martinez-Torres, 2018) whilst others are highly sceptical and criticise its idealization of the 'peasant way' (Bernstein, 2013). As anthropologists have stressed, it is important to understand how social, cultural and political realities affect the implementation of development models (Mosse, 2013; Li, 2007). However, discussions on agroecology are often theoretical, with little known about how the concept is engaged with, negotiated and applied by different actors on the ground.
In response, this research will engage in ethnographic study of rural communities in Tlaxcala, Mexico, using qualitative methods, namely participant-observation and semi-structured interviews. I will recruit participants through El Movimiento Agroecológico Mexicano (MAM), a coalition of civil sector, private and academic bodies, and the peasant organisation Grupo Vicente Guerrero (GVG), who have long disseminated agroecology in Tlaxcala, Mexico. I will participate in and observe these organisations' activities (for example, agricultural labour, workshops, community visits and political meetings) in order to enhance my relationship with participants, to explore how agroecological approaches are formulated and disseminated, and to compare and contrast the opportunities and constraints presented by different actors. Semi-structured interviews will allow triangulation and in-depth exploration of this data. These methods will elucidate the nuances and complexities of agroecology and highlight the ways in which it is negotiated and contested by different actors.
The Tlaxcala region of Mexico has long played an important role in generating influential rural development policies and practices and has a rich network of organisations adopting agroecology. It therefore offers an important opportunity to understand the ways in which agroecology functions as a tool for rural development when interpreted and applied by different actors.
As agroecology becomes a core component of development policy worldwide, insight into the ways in which agroecology functions in different contexts is essential. This research will reveal the tensions and complications that might affect the implementation of agroecology, and will thus allow rural development NGOs, national policy makers and intergovernmental organisations to generate meaningful work on the topic based on realities on the ground. This research will advance polarized and largely theoretical debates on agroecology and will make an important contribution to scholarship on food systems and rural development, exploring the possibilities and challenges of integrating an ecological approach in the context of climate change and the global food crisis.