Abstract

In Chile, as in many other parts of the world, agroecology was first developed from studies on traditional agricultural systems. In the late1970s and early 1980s, when a large portion of Chilean population was under high poverty, the first notions for agroecological thinking arised. In the early 1980s, NGOs were the first entities to do applied agroecology in the country. Of particular relevance is the Center for Education and Technology which was a pioneering NGO that implemented demonstrative agroecological farms making a huge impact in the development of agroecology in Chile. It also influenced academics that in the 1990s incorporated agroecology to some universities, and also state agencies that started to incorporate agroecology in their discourses. Finally, medium and large agricultural export-oriented companies made important efforts to incorporate agroecological principles in their farms. After more than 30 years, some NGOs are still playing a key role in promoting agroecology among farmers and rural communities. However, Chilean agriculture is still mostly dominated by modern conventional practices. Probably, the future conditions of high uncertainty and climatic disturbances will increase the need for agroecological practices that increase farm resilience and food sovereignty.