Women, agroecology and the state: New perspectives on scaling-up agroecology based on a field research in Chile

摘要

This article is based on a qualitative field study in two Chilean regions, Biobio and Nuble, which are characterized by a proletary peasant population and a feminization of agriculture. As we want to contribute to the discussion about the state's role in scaling-up agroecology we analyze different state actors' impact on the trajectories of peasant women from these two regions, who try to make a living from agriculture and apply ecological production methods. Our results show that state policy toward agroecology can be described as ambivalent. On the one hand the ministry of agriculture has found instruments to promote further existence of small farmers, for example by a special support program and the promotion of short distribution channels. On the other hand, neoliberalism and the associated agri-export model present major barriers for a scaling up of agroecology. Finally, we argue that for effectively supporting agroecology, state actors would need to orientate toward feminist theory perspectives and create conditions for peasant organization to bloom.