Is the Current Educational Landscape Suited for Agroecology?

Agroecological agriculture strives for an overall decreased dependency on external resources, by following a systemic approach where ecological and socio-economic aspects of a farm are considered strongly interconnected. As such, it is increasingly recognized as an alternative for more conventional farming systems. However, such an approach also requires the development of specific competencies in farmers, requiring specific education and/or training. The present research assesses both the explicit, i.e. the actual incorporation of agroecology and alternative farming systems in education, and implicit, i.e. through attention for educational methods in support of agroecology, inclusion of agroecology. We thereby focus on the formal and non-formal educational landscape for (future) farmers, for the case of Flanders. We could discern several influencing factors, at the level of society, institution (school or training center and classroom), but further analysis and structuring of our results according to these 3 levels, is needed to better grasp the most important factors and to identify opportunities for improvement.