Contribution of citizen science to public policies on sustainable agriculture

This work addresses the integration of Citizen Science in public policies aimed at generating sustainable, productive and resilient agri-food schemes in the face of climate change. Policies on sustainability in agriculture, especially in Latin America, forget that farmers can contribute knowledge and experience, which has generated a low rate of adoption of agroecological practices and consumption of chemical fertilizers that erode arable soils. Citizen Science, understood as a model of social participation defined by citizens and scientists who collaborate with each other, is proposed as a factor that allows farmers to become actors by sharing the knowledge acquired from tradition and practice, and linking it to the existing one. Based on theoretical proposals on the role of Citizen Science in governance and the report of the European Commission, a theoretical explanation is offered and in the conclusions the proposed operating mechanism in public policies for sustainable agriculture.