Scientific agroecological excursion in Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais – building the links between science, practice and movement

Abstract

This experience report describes the scientific excursion in which professors and students
from Brazil, the Netherlands and Mexico experienced the agroecological movement in the
municipalities of Araponga, Divino and Espera Feliz. The group visited properties of family farmers,
took part in meetings of rural laborers unions, associations and cooperatives, and participated
in a peasant-to-peasant exchange in a quilombola community. The group could learn
about the agroecosystems and management practices, the history and culture of the families
and communities that were visited. Farmers were recognized as researchers that generate and
spread agroecological knowledge and are actors of social and environmental transformation
in their territories.