The National University of Luján (UNLu) was the setting for the First Congress of Agroecology of the Peoples, an event that brought together family producers, indigenous communities, cooperatives, researchers, and social organizations with the aim of promoting a fair, healthy, and environmentally sustainable agri-food model.
Over three days—from June 5 to 7—debates, workshops, and cultural activities were carried out focusing on food sovereignty, environmental care, and social justice, questioning the impacts of the agroindustrial model and reaffirming agroecology as a life project and political strategy.
Criticisms of agribusiness and the state approach
Carla Fernández, a member of the organizing team, stated, “Agribusiness imposes an unhealthy way of producing with the environment and health, and also a way of consuming functional to the business of a few”.
Furthermore, Fernández questioned the role of the State: “It proposes an agroecology that coexists with an agribusiness that is making us sick. We propose an agroecology that is a political project, without exploiting the environment or people”.
Concrete experiences: regeneration, bioinputs, and production without toxins
One of the highlighted panels was “Hands to the Earth, experiences and possibilities”, where practices of soil regeneration, use of bioinputs, sustainable water management, and animal husbandry in mixed systems were shared.
Challenges such as were also addressed:
- The autonomy of agroecological producers.
- The tensions with the conventional model.
- The new ruralities based on rootedness, cultural diversity, and production without agrochemicals.
A challenging yet urgent transition
“The biggest challenge is for conventional producers to transition to agroecology. It’s returning to life”, stated Claudia Carolina Sánchez, a technician and producer from General Rodríguez.
Sánchez emphasized the commitment to an anticapitalist agroecological movement, defending territories, food sovereignty, and free seeds, in the hands of the people and not corporations.
Confluence of actors and institutional demands
The event saw the participation of workers from INTA, environmental collectives from Buenos Aires municipalities, and university professors, who discussed:
- Lack of institutional recognition for agroecology.
- Obstacles to financing productive initiatives.
- The need for coordination between the State and social organizations to promote public policies that support the transition.
Celebration, knowledge, and community
The Congress was also a celebration of life, biodiversity, and community ties:
- Fair of agroecological products.
- Audiovisual projections and artistic presentations.
- Recreational spaces for children.
“Agroecology is not only a way to produce food; it is a way of living, of recovering ancestral knowledge, and building more loving relationships with the land”, expressed the organizers.
From monoculture to biodiversity, towards a new agri-food paradigm
Under the motto “From monoculture to biodiversity”, the Congress promoted the encounter between scientific, peasant, and popular knowledge, consolidating a network of actors who believe that another model of production and consumption is possible.
This event in Luján reaffirmed that in Argentina there is a plural and expanding agroecological movement that resists extractivism and promotes a transition based on equity, respect for the environment, and the sovereignty of peoples.
