SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
Lesson 1: What is Agroecology?
- Definition of key terms; conventional agriculture and its problems; principles, foundations, and evolution of agroecology.
SECTION 2: AGROECOLOGY AS A SCIENCE
Lesson 2: Introduction to Systems Thinking.
- Sustainable development/sustainability; systems, systems thinking and relationships; food systems; nexus thinking.
Lesson 3: Agroecosystems
- Functional (agro)biodiversity and ecosystem services
Lesson 4: Food and Nutrition Security (FNS)
- Definitions and dimensions of FNS, the right to food, and enablers of food security.
SECTION 3: AGROECOLOGY AS A SET OF PRACTICES
Lesson 5: Organic Farming and Permaculture
- Principles of agroecological agriculture, organic farming, permaculture
Lesson 6: Conservation Agriculture and Agroforestry
- Definitions, principles, benefits and challenges
Lesson 7: Cross-cutting practices: Soil and Water Conservation
- Principle of the living soil, ISFM strategies, water management strategies, water footprints, pollination and water use
Lesson 8: Cross-cutting practices: Weed, Pest, and Disease Management
- Natural pest control practices, IPM, ecological weed management, adoption challenges
SECTION 4: AGROECOLOGY AS A MOVEMENT
Lesson 9: Introduction to political ecology/economy
- Conceptions of power and politics, political ecology/economy analysis (PEA), political agroecology.
10: Lesson 10: Political ecology of modern agriculture
- Introduction to neoliberal capitalism, the neoliberalisation of agriculture, agro-extractivism, corporate capture of the food system, and land grabbing.
11: Lesson 11: Food and seed sovereignty
- Definitions and principles, food sovereignty and the Nyeleni declaration, food sovereignty and food security, implementing food sovereignty, seed sovereignty, UN Declaration on Peasants Rights, seed sovereignty in Kenya
Section 5: CONCLUSION
Lesson 12: Transitions and Transformations
- Definitions, Gliessman’s 5 levels of agroecological transitions, dimensions and domains of transformations, challenges, and opportunities