Sustainability assessment of family agroecological farming systems through the application of the MESMIS framework under a systems approach

Abstract

In rural environment, agroecosystems have required a systemic, participatory and interdisciplinary approach in order to be analyzed from the sustainability perspective. The MESMIS framework (Indicator-based Sustainability Assessment Framework for Natural Resource Management Systems) adopts a participatory and multidimensional approach that promotes an analysis and feedback process to guide agroecosystems´ sustainability. This paper presents results obtained from applying the MESMIS framework in five agroecological systems located in Chapecó city, Santa Catarina, Brazil. The characterization of the agroecosystems enabled the identification of highlight points for the environmental, economic and social sustainability dimensions; namely, agroecosystem´s diversity, agroecological management, soil health, water, sewerage and solid waste, labor, crop yields, dependence on external inputs, commercialization, profitability and financial and administrative control, quality of life, access to information, access to technical assistance and rural extension and participative action. The highlight points were analyzed under a systems approach to understand their interactions and organization, and for each one of them, one or more indicators were selected. The assessment of the indicators calls attention to opportunities and challenges, with emphasis on the expansion in agroecological management and strengthening of cooperation activities between families as key opportunities for improving the sustainability of agroecosystems, and labor and profitability as the main challenges.