With the aim of expanding agroecological production in the territories of the Agrarian Reform, the Massification Course in Agroecology began this Wednesday (October 22) in the Northeast region, scheduled to take place in other regions of the country.
Since the 2000s, after several collective debates, the MST has shifted the model of peasant and family farming in Agrarian Reform settlements, understanding that the use of pesticides and chemical additives destroys the environment, the health of all beings and jeopardizes the future of humanity. From this period onwards, the Landless Workers began a process of transition from the conventional production model to another model, with the production matrix based on agroecology and the production of healthy food, in balance with nature.
In recent years, this transition process to agroecology has been gestated and rooted in the MST territories, such as settlements, encampments, schools, training centers, cooperatives, among others. However, at this moment, this process enters a new phase, in which the Movement begins a new stage in the People’s Agrarian Reform project, with the massification of agroecology as a central strategy in confronting the agribusiness model and consolidating sustainable practices as processes of resistance and social transformation. The aim is to trigger a process of reterritorialization and reconstruction of life in the Agrarian Reform settlements.
"The main objectives of this process are the large-scale production of healthy and sustainable food for food sovereignty; environmental recovery and preservation; and the political and pedagogical training of settled families, so that agroecology becomes the dominant productive model, based on the integration of traditional and scientific knowledge," emphasizes farmer Joice Lopes, an agroforester, settled in the Dandara settlement in Promissão, São Paulo, and a member of the MST's national coordination.
In this context, political and technical training in agroecology takes on a strategic role in MST territories, with the resumption of training processes with settled and encamped families, so that they are able to guarantee the production of healthy food, the defense of conquered territories, and the re-signification of peasant identity, in the socio-political construction of a new, more diverse and plural model of society.
Courses in political and technical training in agroecology
As one of the first steps in the new phase of massification, the MST's Production, Cooperation and Environment sector is launching the National Course for the Massification of Agroecology, planned to be held in all regions of the country, in the Movement's training centers and schools.
"The National Course for the Massification of Agroecology is a strategic initiative of the MST to train people, consolidate territories, qualify the People’s Agrarian Reform and dispute, in practice and in the debate of ideas, a new project of society from the countryside and the peasants," summarizes Clarice Rodrigues, from the MST's Production sector in the Northeast.
Joice explains that the training process aims to involve families in MST territories to advance the political and technical understanding of agroecology and leverage experiences, through courses, workshops and exchanges, in which the communities themselves function as laboratories and learning spaces. The intention is to deepen the theoretical understanding of the Landless about this productive model and apply agroecology on a large scale.
“The “Farmer to Farmer” methodology, with the active participation of families, allows for the exchange of knowledge and the construction of agroecological solutions adapted to each local reality, boosting the territorialization of agroecology. Our focus will be on autonomy and cooperation: through cooperation we aim to strengthen the autonomy of families so that they can produce healthy food, guarantee their livelihood and have more control over their work. Cooperation is also seen as essential for mass production and access to quality food for all,” details Joice.
Between the second half of this year and 2026, agroecology massification courses will be held in all regions of the country, starting with the Agroecology Massification Course in the Northeast region, which began this Wednesday (October 22) and will run until November 11, being held in the Ana Primavesi Agroecological Production area, in the Bernardo Marim settlement, in Russas (CE). Between November 12th and December 3rd, it's the turn of the Southern region, which will hold the course at the Milton Santos School of Agroecology in Paiçandu (PR). In other regions of the country, the courses are expected to take place in 2026.
To advance the training process, the massification and technological viability of an agroecological production model, over the years the MST's Production sector has sought partnerships in the organization of production and massification of agroecology, with public and private entities, aiming at strengthening production and marketing, expanding bio-inputs, planting trees, based on the National Plan to Plant Trees, Produce Healthy Food, and promoting education and technical and political training.
From this, Joice reports that in the last period the Movement has defined as its central focus the need to advance in the production of healthy food and the recovery of the environment, based on the promotion of production experiences with bio-inputs, to increase productivity without depending on chemical products; combined with tree planting, implementation of agroforestry systems, collection of native seeds, and organization of nurseries for ecological restoration.
The MST has also intensified exchanges and partnerships, mainly with China, for the mechanization of the countryside, based on the need to guarantee technologies geared towards small and medium-sized family and peasant agriculture. "Brazil has a mechanization deficit that the current model cannot solve, as it is not adapted to the reality of small-scale agriculture, with small machines at an affordable cost. To advance in food production with a focus on agroecology, we need an industrial movement in the country to mechanize small-scale agriculture with technology adapted to each region of the country," emphasizes Joice.
Other challenges faced by landless peasants throughout the country focus on the energy transition, with the use of renewable energies, in a fair way and without destroying the environment and negatively affecting the people of the countryside, water, and forests, also seeking to build water and energy sovereignty for the people; In addition to the need to produce their own agroecological seeds for the production of healthy food in the settlements, the privatization of seeds has become another obstacle that undermines the autonomy of farmers.
Course on the Massification of Agroecology in the Northeast
The intention of the Massification of Agroecology Course in the Northeast is to train "collective subjects" who act as multipliers of agroecology in MST territories, highlights Clarice Rodrigues. "It is a strategic training to empower people in agroecological practices. 'Massification' means taking this practice to the largest number of people possible, making it hegemonic in our settlements and encampments," she projects.
The courses initially take place in the five regions of the country and are then reproduced in the states, regions, and localities, functioning as instruments for rooting and multiplying agroecological knowledge and techniques to establish new results in the implementation of agroecological systems in Agrarian Reform territories. “The expectation is to deepen and unify the political understanding of agroecology as a central element of the MST project. We hope to train cadres who will take this debate to the grassroots. In the debate with society, we expect the graduates to act as ambassadors for a new project for the Brazilian countryside. The course seeks to build bridges and influence the public debate, positioning agroecology and People’s Agrarian Reform as viable and necessary solutions to the country's food, environmental, and social crises,” projects Clarice.
In the implementation phase of concrete experiences, she adds: “The expectation is the material transformation of the territories, with the multiplication of experiences and that each participant will be an agent of change in their territory, settlement, or community, implementing and disseminating agroecological techniques and practices,” she recommends.
The start of the courses in the Northeast region is crucial due to the strategic importance of the region for the MST, in the advancement of agroecological practices in the semi-arid Northeast, in the strengthening of this productive system, and in the consolidation of People’s Agrarian Reform in the region. “The Northeast is a significant hub for settlements and encampments of the People’s Agrarian Reform, with a large peasant social base. Holding this course here is a way to directly strengthen these territories, which frequently face challenges such as the semi-arid climate, the pressure from agribusiness, and the need to consolidate sustainable and resilient agricultural models,” concludes Clarice.
For the MST, in the long term, the expectation is that the experience of the National Course on the Massification of Agroecology in the Northeast and other regions of the country will enable growth in the number of settlements with agroecological knowledge and practices, demonstrating the economic, environmental, and social viability of this system. In addition to strengthening local and regional circuits of production and consumption of healthy food, advancing the generation of autonomy for peasants and food sovereignty in each region of the country.
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From the MST Page | By Solange Engelmann | Edited by Fernanda Alcântara | Translated by the Friends of the MST (US) | Original URL: https://mst.org.br/2025/10/23/massificacao-da-agroecologia-se-torna-prioridade-do-mst-no-proximo-periodo/
