OASIS - the Original Agroecological Survey and Indicator System
Many indicator systems that assess the sustainability of agricultural systems have been developed in the past. OASIS, however, is one of the first analytical frameworks specifically designed to assess where a farm is on the trajectory of transition towards agroecology.
OASIS allows the necessary data to be collected in a two-and-a-half-hour interview per farm, which makes national surveys possible. The selected criteria are simple and easily understandable. They look at agricultural activities from the farmer’s point of view.
Five main dimensions are addressed in the framework:
– Agroecological farming practices
– Economic viability
– Socio-political aspects
– Environment and biodiversity
– Resilience
OASIS can be used to help farmers in evaluating their progress through yearly evaluations. It can also be useful for other stakeholders such as decision-makers, advisors, researchers, students, and citizens. It may be used for mapping the state of development of agroecological practices in a geographical area and collecting statistical data. It can also support an agroecological certification system that would inform buyers about the agroecological transition level of the farm selling a product, and in this way promote food products produced in an agroecological way.
OASIS - tWO BROCHURES TO UNDERSTAND ITS PRINCIPLES AND DISCOVER ITS METHODOLOGY!
The indicator system is described in two brochures:
- The first brochure introduces the system of indicators and describes its principles.
- The second brochure focuses on the methodology of the
indicator system in detail and guides the evaluator on how to assign a value to each criterion, conduct the assessment and interpret the results.
1 - Discover OASIS - the new system of agroecological indicators!
2 - Discover in more detail the methodology behind our OASIS indicator!
FIRST OASIS REPORT IN KYRGYZSTAN, 2018
In 2017, the FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia asked to Agroecology Europe to make a mapping of agroecological initiatives in Kyrgyzstan. At this occasion, a first version of an agroecological indicator system was developed. It has been called ‘OASIS’. The report has been published in 2018. The report and its annexes can be found below.
- Peeters A., Semenova T., Diusheev E., Wezel A. and Migliorini P., 2018. Identification of agroecological farming and other agroecology related activities in Kyrgyzstan. Report, Agroecology Europe, Brussels: 84 pp.
Link to the Report
- Peeters A., Semenova T., Diusheev E., Wezel A. and Migliorini P., 2018. Identification of agroecological farming and other agroecology related activities in Kyrgyzstan. Annexes, Agroecology Europe, Brussels: 238 pp.
Link to the Annexes