Exploring the Contribution of Public Policies to the Scaling Up of Agroecology in Peru

This article evaluates the combined contribution of Peruvian public policies to laying a foundation for scaling up agroecology. Through qualitative content analysis, the study explores Peruvian public policies and identifies the conditions they foster or fail to support, which may respectively facilitate or hinder the scaling up of agroecology in the country. Results show that, although agroecology gained limited institutional recognition in Peru in 2021, public policies remain largely focused on economic growth, agribusiness development, and market integration. While some measures support ecological practices and acknowledge cultural and social aspects, these are often framed within goals of productivity and profitability or directed toward organic agriculture, thereby hindering the comprehensive scaling up of agroecology. Nevertheless, the research identifies openings in public policy, such as efforts to strengthen governance structures among smallholder and family farmers, legitimize rural communities' rights, and recognize diverse knowledge systems, that present opportunities for grassroots agroecological initiatives to expand. The study concludes that for agroecology to meaningfully scale up in Peru, public policy must shift from an economic-centric model to one that fosters ecologically sound, culturally grounded, and socially just farming systems, with greater autonomy for local producers from global markets.