Main hot topics addressed: 1. Innovating to link production and conservation: how to feed the world population and protect the planet at the same time? 4. Acting collectively: what kinds of institutions, policies, and forms of governance can strengthen society’s capacity for resilience? 2. Questioning social equity: how can innovation reduce the fragility of poor populations and make them members of a sustainable society?

Objective: This paper analyses the Association of Agroecological Producers of Ouro Fino (AAOF) trajectory and impact for family based agricultural producers during its ten years of existence. Located in the southern part of Minas Gerais state – Brazil, Ouro Fino’s economy is based on a diversified agricultural production leader by coffee but encompassing also dairy products, vegetables, maize and beans. More than 70% of the agricultural establishments have less than 20 ha and depend on the family labour for its economical viability. With a hilly topography and 900 meters above sea level, the region belongs to Brazil’s most important area for Coffea arabica production. Despite being a crop adaptable to all sizes of proprieties and cultivated equally by small and medium size farmers, the price of coffee beans varies according to international dynamics beyond the farmer’s control, and frequently costs of production are higher than revenues. Growing in the fertility poor latosol soil of the region the coffee plants demand high amounts of fertilizers to keep production, an expense often beyond the smaller farmer’s means. Aiming at a quality improvement and a reduction in production costs for coffee and vegetable growth as well as a more sustainable management of their land, a group of farmers started using organic methods and founded, in 1999, the Association of Agroecological Producers.

Since the 1980’s agroecolgy has expanded in Latin America as an alternative to the green revolution technological packet capable to orientate different strategies of sustainable rural development through the analyses of the social, economical and ecological potentialities of farming systems. Even though agroecology is not a synonym for organic production, farmers that want to have the quality of their products recognised at local and international markets look for an organic certificate. Since its foundation the AAOF has worked towards obtaining a group certificate that could open doors in the international coffee market maintaining at the same time the spirit and cohesion of the group. The Association is now certified by the BCS ÖKO Garantie and sells the coffee through the much larger Cooperativa dos Agricultores da Agricultura Familiar de Poço Fundo e Região (COOPFAM) located some 130 km from Ouro Fino. The Cooperative gathers 4 Farmer’s Associations like AAOF and commercializes their coffee beans in the organic and fair trade markets. This year the COOPFAM associates were able to get an average of US$ 270 per sac of organic coffee against the current US$ 134 per sac. The AAOF has also multiplied by four the interest in organic products among Ouro Fino’s 35.000 inhabitants and since 2007 sells part of the vegetables, fruits, cereals and honey production at the much lager city of Campinas about 130 km away.

But despite the visible economic and environmental benefits shared by the AAOF members, the association fails to attract other small farmers and remains at the meagre number of 15 affiliates. This paper examines the reasons why the agroecological experience has not yet succeeded in becoming a major force directing the local rural development process.

Originality and main contribution: During the past two decades agroecology has been seen by many as an approach to rural development capable to enhance production in a sustainable way by focusing on local solutions compatible with the agroecosystem’s potentials and particularities and the local people’s cultural and social traditions. Many initiatives in Brazil and Latin America have proved its benefits but the challenge of adopting agroecology as one of the tools for promoting sustainable rural development remains. The study of pros and cons of local experiences can indicate the key elements behind more or less successful initiatives. The understanding of a particular agricultural context requires taking into account that agricultural development results from the complex interaction of a multitude of factors and demands an interface between agriculture and social and economical systems.