Agroecology Blooms in Vermont: Announcing the UVM Institute for Agroecology

The University of Vermont (USA) launches a new Institute for Agroecology (IFA) that works with and for farmers, Indigenous people, social movements, and communities who are driving change in Vermont and around the world. Through research, learning, and action, IFA mobilizes knowledge to nurture agroecology research, practice, and movements.

The roots of agroecology at the University of Vermont (UVM) were set over a decade ago. Since then, agroecology has grown and flourished. By launching a new Institute, agroecology has come into full bloom at UVM, marking a new cycle of research, learning and action aimed at creating more just and sustainable food systems.

Transformative and participatory approach

The Institute’s approach to agroecology focuses on understanding and designing food systems to regenerate the environment, cool the planet, and provide good, healthy food for all. Agroecology is rooted in indigenous practices and ancestral knowledge, which are combined with scientific approaches to reimagine how our food systems can and should function. Its approach to agroecology is not only about changing farming techniques, but is also about transforming policy, science, cultures, and economies to bring about more just food systems.

The Institute for Agroecology works with and for farmers, Indigenous people, social movements, and communities who are driving change in Vermont and around the world. Through research, learning, and action, it mobilizes knowledge to nurture agroecology research, practice, and movements.

The IFA team is committed to co-creating more just and sustainable food systems and know that this work must be done in collaboration with those who are most impacted.

To learn more about the Institute for Agroecology (IFA), click here to visit its new website and read these two new brochures (1-page4-page). You can read a press release about the launch of the Institute here.

See also this article: Gliessman, S. (2023). New leadership for the agroecology movement. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 47(7), 917-918.