Agroecology and Food Security

It is now globally recognized that sustainable food security is not achievable by productionoriented paradigms which result in resource and agroecosystem damage, but it is attainable by applying agroecological approach which aims at sustainability and productivity as well as resource conservation and environmental health. Many researchers and policy-makers strongly believe that agroecology is a win-win solution relying on minimization of off-farm input consumption and maximization of on-farm input and practice reliance. Food safety improves agroecosystem resilience, especially in harsh environments, like arid and semi-arid regions where climate change aggravates environmental stresses including drought, salinity and heat. Iran has to follow knowledge-based, environmental-friendly, economic-viable and carrying capacity-based agroecology to attain sustainable food security.