Call for scientific articles for the 20th anniversary special issue of the Revista Brasileira de Agroecologia (Brazilian Journal of Agroecology)

2025-11-01

CALL FOR SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES FOR THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL ISSUE OF THE BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF AGROECOLOGY



Reaffirming Agroecology as a Critical Science: reflections and perspectives

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In 2026, the Revista Brasileira de Agroecologia will celebrate 20 years of publications. To commemorate this moment, the Editorial Committee decided to organize a special issue dedicated to the discussion of Agroecology as a science. The special issue aims to highlight both the advances achieved and the opportunities that arise, based on different research and in different areas of knowledge, as well as the limitations and threats that the area faces and how it is possible to overcome them.

In recent decades, Agroecology has become a reference to overcome problems caused by the agricultural modernization model. This model was based on the idea that increasing productivity would be the solution for confronting world hunger and that this was a necessary path for economic development in the rural world. However, the adoption of this model did not take into account the different social, cultural, and environmental contexts of each agroecosystem, nor the reality and ways of life of traditional peoples and communities and of family and peasant agriculture, which has caused serious social, economic, and environmental problems throughout the planet. The socio-environmental problems caused by the use of pesticides and other chemical inputs, the incorporation of genetically modified organisms in agriculture, and inadequate equipment and production systems will aggravate the environmental crisis if nothing is done to overcome the hegemonic model of agriculture. This logic, based on the unbridled expansion of agriculture and the exploitation of nature and people, is destroying ecosystems that are fundamental to maintaining life on the planet. In this sense, Agroecology is a tool and an agricultural concept capable of answering some of the questions that arose with the promotion of development models that prioritize sustainability.

There is no doubt that Agroecology has greatly expanded its horizons in recent decades. On all continents, the insertion of Agroecology is visible as a way to change agriculture, improving the lives of those who produce and those who consume, contributing to food and nutritional sovereignty and security, contributing to social equity in the countryside, and without damaging the environment. Today it is possible to find research projects in Agroecology with the support of public and private science and technology financing organizations. And there are several formal and non-formal education programs and courses in Agroecology, in addition to extension activities, whether rural extension or university extension. There have been a lot of successes, which have been widely reported in both traditional and social media.

However, although the progress made by the agroecological perspective in the generation of knowledge and the transition to ecologically based agricultural models is recognized, there are still many challenges to overcome. The success achieved in many cases is still small compared to the universe that needs to be changed. And this is especially true in the scientific and academic dimension of Agroecology. Today, although there are good experiences in education, research, and extension in Agroecology, many still follow disciplinary and Cartesian models of academic production. Agroecological knowledge must be developed more effectively from the standpoint of integrating traditional and scientific knowledge in a synergistic way. There are many methodological deficiencies, especially with regard to the application of methods that implement the systemic approach, central to agroecological science. Agroecology education has brought about some new ideas, but it's still very hard to get past the resistance of formal teaching models and curricula that are still based on the agricultural modernization model. At the same time, other interdisciplinary and transformative horizons have been presented in the territories, for example, from the integration of Agroecology with rural education in formal education in basic and higher education.

In rural extension, even in cases where Agroecology is accepted, the technology transfer model is often still applied. And, as a consequence of the difficulties of changes in teaching, research, and extension, the contribution of Agroecology to a more effective transition of agricultural production and rural development systems remains limited.

Thus, the Revista Brasileira de Agroecologia, taking advantage of the celebration of its 20 years of continuous publication, intends to publish a special issue to discuss the moment of Agroecology as a Science. It aims to open a space to discuss how Agroecology is related to the main debates on the future of agriculture and the construction of sustainability in the processes of territorial development and rural development. It is necessary to point out methodological possibilities to strengthen the capacity of Agroecology to contribute to the construction of agroecological knowledge. And, in particular, analyze the perspectives for Agroecology and the indications of how it will be possible to expand the achievements and what needs to be done to assume a greater role.

For the special issue, submissions are expected that seek to analyze the current Science of Agroecology, addressing both theoretical and methodological aspects, with a deep and current vision, contributing to the qualification of Agroecology in the academic field. Articles that discuss education, scientific research, and extension in Agroecology are also encouraged, analyzing the progress made and the challenges to be faced, including in the institutional environments and the contribution of resources on which they depend to be viable. And, finally, articles are desired that can analyze how Agroecology is linked to the main social and environmental issues that demand from society the ability to change direction, assuming guidelines that favor life, social justice, and sustainability for future generations. Considering the topics planned for this special issue, authors will have greater freedom to organize their texts, and it is not necessary that they completely follow the items suggested for agroecological articles and notes. Proposed topics include

  1. Theoretical and methodological references applied to Agroecology;

  2. Agroecology and the systemic approach;

  3. The institutionalization of Agroecology in teaching, research and extension institutions: advances, threats and opportunities;

  4. Agroecology, public policies and sustainable development objectives;

  5. Agroecology and formal and non-formal education processes for sovereignty and food and nutritional security;

  6. Methodologies applied to the agroecological transition.

 

1. Timeline until publication of the Dossier:

The special issue will be published in October 2026, and submissions went through an editorial process with double-blind peer review. The schedule will be quite strict:

  1. Call launch: October 2025;

  2. Receiving submissions: January 1st to April 30th, 2026;

  3. Evaluation of submissions: Until July 1, 2026;

  4. Publication of the RBA 20th anniversary special issue: October 16, 2026.

Throughout the evaluation, text editing and layout editing process, actions may be requested from authors, with deadlines stipulated in the communications. If deadlines are not met, submissions may be archived.


2. About the editorial process:

The stages of the RBA editorial process are as follows:

  1. Submission of articles, in Portuguese, Spanish and/or English, by authors registered in the RBA system and following the journal's guidelines, is carried out at <https://periodicos.unb.br/index.php/rbagroecologia/about/submissions>;
  2. Pre-evaluation of submissions by the RBA editorial board, checking adherence to the call for the special issue and the magazine's editorial policy;
  3. Submissions admitted to the pre-evaluation will be evaluated by reviewers, in a Double Blind system, with at least two opinions being necessary to reach an editorial decision;
  4. Modifications to the texts indicated by reviewers, carried out by authors;
  5. Decision by editors, accepting or rejecting submissions, following the recommendations of reviewers;
  6. Translation of approved texts into other languages, provided by authors, if interested. The RBA strongly encourages that articles can be published in at least two languages;
  7. Text and layout editing, improving the form and composition of articles;
  8. Publication of the final version of the article, on October 16, 2026.

3. About the submissions:
  1. The submission must be original and unpublished, not being submitted and\or being evaluated, with your data, for publication by another journal;
  2. The submission must comply with the rules of the Guidelines for Submissions, with a spelling and grammar review of the text, and all "URL" addresses active. As it is a special issue, dedicated to the discussion on the science of Agroecology, theoretical essays will be accepted in the categories of “Articles” and “Agroecological notes”, with freedom of organization of the texts, not being required to include sub-items such as material and methods, results and discussion and conclusions.
  3. Bibliographic citations must be referenced and all references cited in the text, in accordance with the standards of the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards - ABNT (NBR 6023, updated in 2020, and NBR 10520, updated in 2023);
  4. Authors must be aware that they are responsible for the content of the submissions and will provide clarifications directly to interested parties when requested;
  5. Templates available on the RBA page must be used:
    • The “RBA - template artigos”, for Articles, or “RBA – Template nota agroecológica” for Agroecological Note, without authorship information, in MicroSoft Word (.doc, .docx) or LibreOffice Writer (.odt) format. It is not necessary to follow the suggested organization for the main text, and they should not be sent in PDF format;
    • The file with the authorship list (RBA Folha de rosto), in editable format (.doc, .docx or .odt);
    • A letter of authorship consent (template de Carta de anuência para submissão) (in .pdf), with authors' agreement with the submission, informing the absence of conflict of interest, and describing the contributions to the work;
    • supplementary files (in .jpg) with the graphic elements that appear in the text, such as Figures and Tables, in good resolution (one file for each graphic element);
  6. At the time of submission, all requested metadata must be filled in, including data requested from coauthors, and other mandatory data (submission metadata).
  7. All "URL" addresses in the text must be active.
4. About ad hoc review and editorial decisions:

Each submission will be evaluated by invited reviewers with renowned knowledge in Agroecology. The opinions may be: acceptance without adjustments; request for modifications; or rejection of the submission. The editors will make an editorial decision based on at least two opinions. When modifications are requested, there will be a deadline for corrections or justifications for not being adopted. The editorial decision will be communicated by email, with proof of value. Accepted texts will undergo text editing, seeking form adjustments. Small spelling changes to the text may be made, at the discretion of the editors, without consulting the authors. Before publication, the final texts will be submitted to authors for final checking (proofreading).

5. Copyright and Creative Commons License

Submissions to the Revista Brasileira de Agroecologia are subject to the following terms, with which their authors must agree.

  • Copyright for articles published in this journal belongs to the author, with first publication rights for the journal. By virtue of appearing in this open access journal, the articles are free to use.

  • Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License CC BY 4.0 – Allows sharing and adaptation, even for commercial purposes, as long as due credit is given to the source and without restrictions.



Final provisions:
  1. Participation in this selection process implies complete awareness and acceptance of the terms and conditions established in this Call, about which authors cannot appeal or claim ignorance;
  2. Authors of accepted submissions allow RBA to use the published articles, including their names and images, for the purposes of institutional promotion of the special issue to be published;
  3. Questions can be resolved by email: rba-aba@unb.br;
  4. Authors are responsible for the veracity, ideas, discussions and images presented in their submissions, under penalty of Law;
  5. Authors of selected submissions will submit to the publication rules and conditions of the Revista Brasileira de Agroecologia adopted in accordance with this Call;
  6. Omitted cases will be decided by the Guest Editors of the Special Issue and by the RBA Editorial Board.
Guest Editors for publishing this special issue of RBA:

Viviane Camejo Pereira (Universidade Federal do Paraná/Brazil)

Santiago Javier Sarandón (Universidad Nacional de La Plata/Argentina)

Fábio Kessler Dal Soglio (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul/Brazil)