Publication Details |
| Category | Text Publication |
| Reference Category | Journals |
| DOI | 10.1080/21683565.2026.2710291 |
| Title (Primary) | Beyond soil health and input reduction: gaps in the social dimension of agroecology research in India: a review |
| Author | Kumari, C.; Shukla, R.; Maskell, G.; Nunes Carvalho, T.M.; Riar, A.; Gornott, C. |
| Source Titel | Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems |
| Year | 2026 |
| Department | SUSOZ |
| Language | englisch |
| Topic | T5 Future Landscapes |
| Supplements | Supplement 1 |
| Keywords | Sustainable agricultural systems; food security; climate resilience; agroecological principles |
| Abstract | The agroecological transformation in the agri-food system – through thirteen foundational principles – focuses on implementing agricultural practices that enhance ecological balance, reduce dependence on external inputs, and prioritize social equity and participatory governance. The study examines 448 studies in the academic literature on agroecology in India (1980–2024) using two complementary Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques, a machine learning-based text mining based on Latent Dirichlet Analysis (LDA) and keyword extraction based on Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF), to map dominant topics and keywords. Results show that principles of input reduction (81%), agrobiodiversity (58%), and soil health (50%) were significantly addressed. However, the principles of participation (21%), animal health (12%), and connectivity (8%) were among the least reported. This indicates that principles which are more easily measurable tend to be more incorporated into field practice and hence are reported more frequently. If ongoing planned agroecological projects continue to focus predominantly on the incremental steps of input reduction and resource (soil and water) management with limited focus on integrating and addressing nuanced social equity, the agroecological transition of Indian agri-food systems will struggle to achieve the broader envisaged goal of agroecological transformation. |
| Kumari, C., Shukla, R., Maskell, G., Nunes Carvalho, T.M., Riar, A., Gornott, C. (2026): Beyond soil health and input reduction: gaps in the social dimension of agroecology research in India: a review Agroecol. Sustain. Food Syst. 10.1080/21683565.2026.2710291 |
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