Agro-ecology is not a new system but a concept. To find a way out from the current or threatened deadlocks (or lock-ins) all agricultural systems can be studies based on agro-ecological principles and insights. These are initially based on the ecological relations between the natural resources that are used in agriculture.

From a broader perspective, agro-ecology has three forms: transdisciplinary knowledge (of scientists), interdisciplinary agricultural practices (by farmers) and social movements (from the society). Their integration has yielded a joint action mode to contest  the dominant agricultural and food regime and to develop alternatives.

Agro-ecology emerges as an important concept, especially in the South, to make best use of the possibilities for ‘ecological intensification’ at an acceptable cost. For capital intensive agricultural production systems the solutions seem more complex.