Agroecological Farming: Principles of Sustainable Agriculture
Lecture series in spring 2027
Agriculture is a major driver for environmental pressures through land use change, loss of soil fertility, decrease in biodiversity and dependence on external inputs in form of energy, fertilizers and pesticides. More sustainable agriculture can be developed based on the 10 principles of agroecology, and organic agriculture is a prominent example of agroecology approaches.
FiBL experts in soil, plant, animal and food system sciences will outline the boundary conditions, principles and practices of organic agriculture as an approach for increasing the sustainability of agriculture.
The lectures are open to all FiBL members, associated institutions and project partners. On request, also students from other Universities can attend (no ECTS are awarded but a certificate of attendance).
We also offer two guided excursions - to the FiBL farm and orchards in Frick and to the long-term trial DOK in Therwil.
Topics covered
- principles of agroecology and organic farming,
- soil fertility and climate impact of organic agriculture,
- reduced tillage including results of long-term experiments and meta-analyses,
- sustainable crop rotations,
- nutrient management in organic agriculture,
- plant protection: regulation of diseases and pests,
- plant breeding and variety choice for organic production,
- strategies of organic farmers to increase biodiversity,
- sustainability, ethics and product quality in organic animal husbandry,
- organic support policies,
- organic agriculture's contribution to sustainable food systems,
- organic agriculture in the tropics,
- quality of organic food and food processing.
Lecture attendance
The lectures are taking place online on Fridays from 20th February 2026 to 22nd May 2026 at 8:15 using a Microsoft Teams meeting link.
Please register for the lecture series. You will then receive the access information as well as the detailed program.
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