Social reproduction, sustainability, agroecology: a possible dialogue?

Abstract

The present theoretical essay aims at a critical approach to agroecology analyzes that support
the role of the economic performance of farmers’ production systems. Therefore, it is anchored
in the Theory of Agrarian Systems and in the categories of Historical Materialism Dialectic to
differentiate two fundamental processes: sustainability and social reproduction. The methodologies
present in Agroecology tend to prioritize the former and neglect the latter in their
analyzes. However, the procedural nature differs significantly and leads to the conclusion that
the promotion of sustainability is a collective commitment, that is, of society and, above all, of
the State. Thus, the position of merely transferring this responsibility to the farmer is mistaken.