La trilogía “sistemas agroforestales-agroecología-agricultura familiar”: una referencia válida para la transformación de los sistemas alimentarios agroindustriales

Currently, there are national and international agreements, programs, and policies aimed at transforming conventional food systems into sustainable and resilient systems, with the purpose of eliminating or reducing the impacts of climate change and industrialized agriculture on natural ecosystems and rural societies. In Venezuela, industrial-based food systems are dominant due to their socioeconomic importance and contributions to feeding the social majority. Even when they are neither unique nor exclusive, they occupy the areas with the most significant comparative ecological and accessibility advantages. However, apart from the aforementioned environmental consequences, they are also criticized for undervaluing territorial identities and local cultures, corporate domination of marketing circuits, and dependence on external inputs. Although progress has been made in overcoming these criticisms, it is still slow in increasing resilience, reducing inequalities and risks, and creating regenerative, circular, and systemic strategies. For this reason, proposals for transformation towards sustainable and resilient systems, capable of reducing or eliminating the negative impacts of climate change are now more frequently emphasized. Traditional systems (agroforestry, agro-ecological, and family systems), on the other hand, share environmental, cultural, territorial, and economic attributes, with adaptations to different environments in the country. By virtue of their own social and technological constitution, much more closely linked to nature, they generate less negative environmental effects, in addition to acceptable profitability and territorial roots. Following this line of thought, the objective of this contribution is to promote the trilogy “Agroforestry-Agroecology-Family farming systems” in the desired processes of agro-ecological changes. Methodologically, the approach to the subject was carried out in three phases: i) review and interpretation of the literature; ii) the importance of agroforestry systems as a strategy for food security and adaptation to climate change; and, finally, iii) the need for ecological improvement of Venezuelan food systems. These purposes are fundamentally inscribed in the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations Organization.