Agroecological cooperations: interpersonal links, institutions, networks and associations in the Buenos Aires countryside

Abstract

The field of agroecology has been expanding for several decades. From theory and practice, a consensus has been forged on the need for cooperation between the subjects that carry it forward. In this article, we explore how, why, and around what problematic issues agroecological farming families associate and cooperate, and how this collaboration changes over time. Based on a qualitative methodological approach focused on the field of extensive agroecology in the province of Buenos Aires, we find that collaboration materializes through interpersonal links, farmer groups, virtual social networks, formal educational spaces and cooperatives, networks, and associations. These forms of linkages are expressed in an overlapping and variegated manner, react to contextual changes (such as the presence or absence of public policies, or the level of visibility of alternative agricultural practices), and are indispensable for the construction and consolidation of agroecology.