Youth, Struggle, and the Historical Context of Agroecology

By Blain Snipstal
Southeast African American Farmers' Organic Network (SAAFON)
USA

I’m speaking from the position of the marginalized — that is, the position where food sovereignty and agroecology come from. So, when you are talking about agroecology or food sovereignty within the context of communities of color in the US, we have to start from a place of history and dig into the classist and racist systems that have (and continue) to oppress and marginalize us. Agroecology is a new codification of our historical struggle given the current onslaught of industrial agriculture on people and the planet. Given this, we have to recognize that Agroecology is part of our history and heritage as people.

At its core, agroecology is the accumulation of ancestral and cultural peasant knowledge. As Youth, we need to think and talk about how we will transfer this knowledge to the next generation and how this knowledge will continue to evolve in perpetuity; this is the role of youth in agroecology — how will agroecology evolve to be in harmony with nature and people?

Agroecology is a process for social and ecological transformation. It is a methodology for advancing the peasant struggle, from within a movement framework. It is not just about increasing organic matter in the soil, alone. It is also a social and political project and methodology enacted at the base in rural communities for, amongst other things, building infrastructure and power.

For people of color, there has been a disruption with regards to our connection to the land. The knowledge that most families had from, say, 1950 or earlier is disappearing and, in some cases, gone. Knowledge that used to be passed down from generation to generation just doesn’t exist, as it once did.

We are facing a profound political moment and opportunity in the transformation of the agrarian dynamics in this society. We have 400 million acres of land up for transition in the next 20 years. What is going to be the future of that land mass in the next 20 years? Will it be stewarded by the industrial model of agribusiness — profit and exploitation — or will it be for small-scale agroecology — feeding people and for more collective and social forms of ownership and organization?

Blain Snipstal is a farmer in Maryland, USA and a member of Southeastern African American Farmers' Organic Network (SAAFON).
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