Reinforcing ecosystem health and biodiversity in smallholder farming systems through agroecological principles

Ensuring a sufficient food supply while preserving ecosystem health is crucial for researchers and agricultural stakeholders. Agroecology offers a framework for developing biodiverse agroecosystems that sustain their functionality. This study investigates how agroecological practices such as crop diversification, agroforestry, and intercropping can improve the sustainability of food systems. Through a systematic literature review, this research assesses the impact of these practices on soil productivity, water use, pollution reduction, and economic viability for farmers. It also explores how agroecology can promote social equity by supporting small-scale farmers, integrating indigenous knowledge, and fostering participatory decision-making, thereby advancing food sovereignty and community resilience. Furthermore, by combining a literature review with data analysis from major academic databases, this review aims to identify current knowledge gaps and suggest future research directions. The findings will highlight agroecology’s potential as a transdisciplinary principle to transform agricultural practices and address critical issues such as food sovereignty, nutrition quality, hunger, environmental degradation, climate change, soil erosion, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, rural poverty, the viability of small-scale farming, social inequalities, and the erosion of traditional agricultural knowledge, among others.