Agroecology: an assessment of Campi Aperti transformative potential

Abstract: Food systems are central to human well-being and development. Nevertheless, they also represent a significant source of environmental and social negative impacts. Additionally, the recent and multiple disruptions, like the coronavirus pandemic and the Ukraine war, have demonstrated that the systems are unprepared to face unforeseen shocks. For these reasons, in recent years, the concept of agroecology has been rediscovered and emphasized. The holistic framework proposed by agroecology is considered an innovative solution as it not only encompasses environmental measures for agriculture but also social and economic ones. Nevertheless, there is no  official or precise definition of the criteria that need to be satisfied for a system to be considered agroecological. This situation increases the risk that mainstream food systems will appropriate the term  without undergoing the fundamental transformational actions that are needed to create sustainable food systems. This thesis applies a  framework with which to test the level of transformation achieved by Campi Aperti, an agroecological system in northern Italy, to understand the extent  of the transformability they propose through the development of ecological farming methods and local farmer’s markets. The assessment is based on three sources of data: a summary of the association documents, semi-structured interviews, and a survey. The association has obtained an optimal score in almost all the indicators of progress towards transformation. Nevertheless, the results have also identified difficulties, challenges, and some areas for improvement, like access to nature, the ability for everyone to participate, and the relationships with the government. The results have highlighted the importance of undergoing an assessment of agroecological systems, not only to understand their transformability potential but also to help in defining the themes that need to be addressed to create a truly innovative agroecological system.