Weaving knowledge and territories: transdisciplinary training in ECOSUR’S professional Master’s in Agroecology

Information from the abstract

Agroecology has made great strides in recent years as a scientific field, a set of practices originating largely from traditional knowledge, as well as a social and political movement. However, challenges remain for its widespread adoption, including the training of people with a transdisciplinary approach and strong territorial roots who can accompany agroecological transformations. In this study, we share the experience of the Master’s in Agroecology program (MAE) at El Colegio de la Frontera Sur. The MAE is committed to building collective subjects capable of facilitating agroecological transformation from a critical, holistic perspective, commitment to social and environmental justice, territorial autonomy, and strengthening of adaptable, resilient, and fair food systems. Using a participatory action research approach, participant observation, and semi-structured interviews, we analyze how the MAE contributes to the formation of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes crucial for the territorialization of agroecology. We identified nine core knowledge and skill areas as well as pedagogical mediators and critical incidents. The training contributed to personal and collective transformations and promoted territorialization of agroecology in the graduates’ organizations and communities. However, we identified persistent challenges to deeper transformation. Among these, we highlight the ongoing construction of interdisciplinarity, the tension between personal and collective motivations and strategies, the maintenance of the relationship between students and their organizations during the coursework phase, the consolidation of horizontal knowledge dialogues in multicultural contexts, and the need for more technical and practical training in the field.

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Related topics: Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development · Organic Food and Agriculture · Diverse Educational Innovations Studies