SOME METHODOLOGICAL DIFFICULTIES OF CONDUCTING AGROECOLOGICAL STUDIES FROM A STATISTICAL PERSPECTIVE

It is widely accepted that statistical analyses are essential tools for improving agronomic techniques, and our goal was to discuss the importance of such tools to alternative agronomic approaches. Effective comparisons between organic and conventional production systems are not as common as they could be, because it is usually difficult to meet the assumptions of traditional statistical approaches in making such comparisons. In this context, the current paper indicates that alternative approaches (such as organic farming) should be promoted not only by encouraging farmers to deploy agroecological techniques, but also by providing agroecologists with robust analyses based on rigorous statistical procedures. Keywords: agroecology; multivariate statistics; ecological agriculture