Presentation short abstract

What is low chemical agriculture, and why does a definition for it matter? Based on Costa Rica's proposal to FARM+, this paper explores the significance of defining such an ambiguous term, arguing that it could address essential political and social aspects of alternative farming transitions.

Presentation long abstract

FARM+ is a Global Environmental Facility-funded project that aims to support countries in transitioning from unsustainable agricultural practices to sustainable, climate-resilient farming. The project, to be implemented in several countries around the world, does not promote a particular agrarian model but invites countries to engage with different forms of less chemical-dependent agriculture, such as regenerative agriculture, agroecology, and/or organic agriculture. Costa Rica's proposal, developed over 2025, embraced the idea of "low chemical load agriculture" as an agrarian model that both fits all of them and represents a more realistic alternative to them. While the model was presented as self-explanatory, during the mandatory consultation process for the project, between May and July 2025, a member of Costa Rica's agroecology network suggested that the term needed an explanation. However, the project document, which was validated in October 2025, did not include any. In this paper, I take such a request for a definition seriously. What is low chemical agriculture, and why does a definition for it matter? I will argue that while such a model might be a more realistic solution to lower Costa Rica's high dependence on agrochemicals than other "romantic" models, it risks depoliticizing alternative farming transitions by overlooking the material politics and affective relations that underpin them. I conclude by speculating on how defining low chemical load agriculture could help unravel the ambiguities surrounding alternative farming transitions and perhaps turn it into a politically meaningful proposition.