The political economy of agroecology

Jan Douwe van der Ploeg

Corresponding authors: Jan Douwe van der Ploeg， e-mail: JanDouwe.vanderPloeg@wur.nl

The Journal of Peasant Studies, Published online

Abstract: This paper examines agroecology within Europe, its dynamics, its position within a broader politico-economic framework and its political significance. It argues that agroecology is contesting and, at least in some places, effectively changing the main social relations of production in today’s agriculture. In this respect, it has a strategically important potential for allowing farmers to regain control over the labour process. Empirically, the paper builds on the case of the Northern Frisian Woodlands, a large territorial cooperative that, has been developing a range of agroecological practices, and (often successfully) advocating for their more widespread adoption.

Keywords: Agroecology; social relations of production; autonomy; conventionalization; labour process analysis

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To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2020.1725489