What is the
the dicoAE ?
This online dictionary aims to define the terms and concepts of agro-ecology to enable as many people as possible to understand the issues and practices.
It is a real tool for supporting the agro-ecological transition, helping to think about and support the sustainability of agricultural and food systems.
A multimedia tool
evolving
Agroecology, recognized as a new scientific discipline and paradigm of production, even consumption, is being built. Its perimeter and the concepts involved are still unclear, sometimes subject to controversy and sources of misunderstanding.
This dictionary offers more than 150 scientifically validated synthetic definitions.
Images and videos make it easier to understand the definitions and include testimonials from scientists and agricultural professionals. Original and varied, more than 50 videos are already available!
Its online edition allows free consultation. Its structure and organization offer different levels of reading and make it a dynamic tool thanks to images, videos, author interviews and infographics.
It is also an evolving tool that should allow other actors and territories to take hold of it and participate in its enrichment by commenting on the definitions or by suggesting other terms to be defined.
The result of a
collaborative scientific work
Resulting from a collaborative work, each definition is written by one or several scientific experts, sometimes accompanied by professional partners or students from higher education schools in agrobiosciences (ENSAT, EI Purpan).
During monthly seminars dedicated to scientific animation, the definitions are debated, thus encouraging interdisciplinary exchanges on the terms or concepts of agroecology. These discussion sessions allow scientists from different disciplines to work together on the validation of each document so that it satisfies all of them.
Any interested researcher can thus contribute to improve the first writings. Once collectively validated, the definition is put online.
For a wide audience
The Agroecology Dictionary aims to inform and raise awareness among a wide audience about the challenges of agroecology, which allows for alternative production by rethinking production systems. Whether you are a citizen, an agricultural professional, an actor in development, a scientist, a student… we are all concerned by the issues surrounding agriculture and food.
The dictionary is a real pedagogical tool that meets a broad need for citizens, farmers, development actors, teachers, scientists, etc. to understand what is hidden behind each term currently used by the various actors associated with Agroecology. In this way, it can be used by all those who wish to commit to the agroecological transition and to change practices.
In which territories does
the dicoAE project located?
If the project was initiated in the Occitanie region, its ambition goes beyond the regional borders. Indeed, agroecology concerns all territories and a multitude of actors. The definitions of the dictionary of agroecology are not specific to a territory: they are based on scientific knowledge without borders. The actors of the territories are invited to mobilize them as a basis for exchange, like a common base of knowledge. It is up to them to integrate the specificities of their local contexts!
Our history
The agroecology dictionary is the result of a monitoring and analysis of the French-speaking web on agroecology conducted over the period 2015-2017 on the scale of one of the largest agricultural regions in France, the Midi-Pyrénées region. This monitoring system has made it possible to capitalize on an initial list of more than 300 terms that define, based on the observation and analysis of field practices, the various fields related to the field of agroecology. Based on the observation that these terms lacked clear definitions, Véronique Batifol, in charge of monitoring and information engineering at INRAE, launched the agroecology dictionary initiative. She brought together scientists from different disciplines and gradually turned the dictionary into a teaching tool. As a team, she continues to develop it, and to make it known to a large public.
Notre ambition : accompagner la transition agroécologique
Accompanying the agro-ecological transition towards new, more sustainable and efficient production systems in all their dimensions: economic, environmental and social, is one of the challenges to which agronomic research and agricultural education are responding. Today, the context of the transition of production systems to agro-ecology is leading all actors in the agricultural sector to rethink their practices and develop new knowledge. The terms used by the profession, as well as the concepts used by research, are evolving with this transition.
The use of terms carries meaning for the actors of agroecology, and a dictionary, as a structured collection of terminology, aims to reveal them.
With the agroecology dictionary, our ambition is multiple:
- To identify the terms and question their meaning in order to build a shared language on the subject of agroecology,
- to contribute to training young people in agroecology as future actors in agriculture, food and the environment
- provide tools to agricultural actors wishing to change their practices in order to engage in an efficient agriculture, more respectful of the environment and socially more just.
- to raise awareness among the general public.
