Animal Production in Agroecological Approach

Animal production contributes to climate change, mainly due to methane emissions (43.4 % of GHG from livestock production, mostly from enteric fermentation within the ruminant digestive system) but also nitrous oxide (19.3 %) from manure, fertilizer and crop residues and carbon dioxide from feed, land-use change, post-farm and direct energy. Animal production is also at the heart of multiple global challenges: food security, chronic diseases incidence, animal welfare, deforestation and resource degradation. The future of livestock farming is and will be linked to the effects of climate change on rainfall, heat, extreme events, and the level of independence from fossil fuels (chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and fuel). Animal production is a part of the problem but also part of the solution (e.g. recycling of organic materials and valorization of crop residues and by-products as feed).
Agroecology approaches integrate ecological and social principles to develop/target sustainable and fair food systems. Promoting research in agroecology requires a paradigm shift where interaction science is more important than science by research area.

The agroecology approaches are one approach among others suggested by research to meet the global challenges of food security, limitation of greenhouse gases and fossil energy consumption. Research on this topic requires a holistic vision and solutions that consider the preservation of global health (human beings, animals and ecosystems in which they evolve) and the co-creation of knowledge, combining knowledge from academic science and from the farmers. One of the challenges in research is to acquire detailed knowledge on complex biological regulations, combining animal and plant functions, and to propose efficient agroecological solutions.

This Research Topic aims to offer a broad overview of original research or review articles on the following topics:
- Crop-animal integration at the farm or territory level
- Agroecology innovation approaches using animals
- Agroecology management methods in animal production
- Multi-purpose animals in the whole-farm systems
- Low input animal farming systems
- Participatory science in animal production for agroecology perspectives

Keywords: Agroecology, Crop-livestock integration, Diversity, Climate change, Ecosystem Services

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