Globally Important Ingenious Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS): extent, significance, and implications for development

Miguel A. Altieri University of California, Berkeley

Agroecosystems cover more than one quarter of the global land area, reaching about 5 billion hectares. Agroecosystems are ecosystems in which eo le have deliberately selected cro lants and livestock animals to re lace the natural flora and fauna. !ighly sim lified agroecosystems, "such as intensive cereal cro ing, orchards and lantations, and intensive livestock raising#, vary enormously in their intensity of human intervention, from those with only low$intensity management "e.g. shifting cultivation, home gardens, nomadic astoralism, traditional farms, rotational fallows and savanna mi%ed farming#, and from those of middle$intensity management "including multi le cro ing, mi%ed horticulture, im roved asture mi%ed farming and alley farming#. &ive criteria can be used to classify agroecosystems in a region' "(# the ty es of cro and livestock) "*# the methods used to grow the cro s "chemical or organic# and roduce the livestock) "+# the relative intensity of use of labor, ca ital, and organi,ation, and the resulting out ut of roduct) "-# the dis osal of the roducts for consum tion "whether used for subsistence or su lement on the farm or sold for cash or other goods#) and "5# the structures used to facilitate fanning o erations ".orman (/0/#. Based on these criteria, it is ossible to recogni,e seven main ty es of agricultural systems in the world "1rigg (/0-, also see 2able ( for a more detailed classification#' (. 3hifting cultivation systems *. 3emi ermanent rain$fed cro ing systems +. 4ermanent rain$fed cro ing systems -. Arable irrigation systems 5. 4erennial cro systems 5. 1ra,ing systems 0. 3ystems with regulated led farming "alternating arable cro ing and sown asture#. 3ystems - and 5 have evolved into habitats that are much sim ler in form and oorer in s ecies than the others, which can be considered more diversified, ermanent, and less disturbed. 6ithin the range of world agricultural systems, traditional olycultures require less energy and e%ternal in uts than modern orchards, field cro s, and vegetable cro ing systems to achieve a similar level of desired stability. 2his greater stability a arently results from certain ecological and management attributes inherent to olycultural systems. Modern systems require more radical modifications of their structure to a roach a more diversified, less disturbed state.

Across the world, agroecosystems differ in age, diversity, structure, and management. 7n fact, there is great variability in basic ecological and agronomic atterns among the various dominant agroecosystems. 7n general, agroecosystems that are more diverse, more ermanent, isolated, and managed with low in ut technology "i.e. agroforestry systems, traditional olycultures# take fuller advantage of work usually done by ecological rocesses associated with higher biodiversity than highly sim lified, in ut$ driven and disturbed systems "i.e. modern vegetable monocultures and orchards#. 7ncreasing human intervention has resulted in a deliberate reduction of the diversity of lant, microbial and animal s ecies in whole landsca es. 2he current dominance of intensified cereal roduction has led to a significant reduction of diversity of s ecies and of roduction systems. 3uch change in ecosystem diversity and com le%ity associated with intensification affect a variety of ecosystem functions. Modern agriculture relies on a narrow range of cro s ecies and genetic varieties which have been bred for high yield, including res onse to inorganic fertili,ers and resistance to selected ests and diseases. 8ess intensive systems commonly incor orate a wider range of s ecies and genoty es which serve a variety of roduction goals and9or are used for differential e% loitation of microhabitats, and for their resistance to diseases and ests. :ecreased lant diversity often reduces the overall biomass and almost invariably the structural com le%ity of the ecosystem. Also, decreases in the diversity of lant s ecies have lead to increased est and disease roblems in many modern agroecosystems. A hy othetical attern in est regulation according to agroecosystem tem oral and s atial diversity is de icted in &igure (. According to this ;increasing robability for est buildu ; gradient, agroecosystems on the left side of the gradient are more biodiverse, tend to be more amenable to mani ulation since olycultures already contain many of the key environmental factors required by natural enemies. 2here are, however habitat mani ulations that can introduce a ro riate diversity into the im ortant "but biodiversity im overished# grain, vegetable and row cro systems lying in the right half of &igure (. 7n the midst of these e%treme ty es of agriculture are regional microcosms of traditional farming systems "i.e. in Mesoamerica, the Andean region, and the Ama,on Basin, the rice$based systems of Asia, and the silvo astoral systems of Africa# that have emerged over centuries of cultural and biological evolution and re resent accumulated e% eriences of easants interacting with the environment without access to e%ternal in uts, ca ital, or scientific knowledge "Chang (/00) 6ilken (/<0#. Using inventive self$reliance, e% eriential knowledge, and locally available resources, indigenous farmers have often develo ed farming systems with sustained yields "!arwood (/0/) =ein>tes et al. (//*#. 2hese agroecosystems, based on cultivation of a diversity of cro s and varieties in time and s ace, have allowed traditional farmers to ma%imi,e harvest security under low levels of technology and with limited environmental im act "Clawson (/<5#. 7n 8atin America, alone, the ersistence of more than three million hectares under ancient, traditional agricultural management in the form of raised fields, terraces, olycultures, agroforestry systems, etc., document a successful indigenous agricultural strategy and com rises a tribute to the ?creativity@ of traditional farmers. 2hese

microcosms of traditional agriculture also found in Asia and Africa com rise Aglobally im ortant ingenious agricultural heritage systemsB "17A!3# and as such offer romising models of sustainability as they romote biodiversity, thrive without agrochemicals, and sustain year$round yields "Altieri (///#. 17A!3 have resulted not only in outstanding aesthetic beauty, maintenance of globally significant agricultural biodiversity, resilient ecosystems and valuable cultural inheritance, but above all, in the sustained rovision of multi le goods and services, food and livelihood security and quality of life for millions of eo le. :es ite the onrush of moderni,ation and economic change, a few traditional agricultural management and knowledge systems still survive. 2hese systems e%hibit im ortant elements of sustainability, namely, they are well ada ted to their articular environment, rely on local resources, are small$scale and decentrali,ed, and tend to conserve the natural resource base. 2herefore, these systems com rise a .eolithic legacy of considerable im ortance, yet modern agriculture constantly threatens the sustainability of this inheritance. Because of their significance and the wealth and breadth of accumulated knowledge and e% erience in the management and use of resources that 17A!3 re resent, it is im erative that they be considered globally significant resources and should be rotected and reserved as well as allowed to evolve. 3uch ecological and cultural resource is of fundamental value for the future of humankind. T e rural populations of GIAHS 17A!3 can be found, in articular, in highly o ulated regions or in areas where the o ulation has, for various reasons, had to establish com le% and innovative land$ use9management ractices e.g. due to geogra hic isolation, fragile ecosystems, olitical marginalisation, limited natural resources, and9or e%treme climatic conditions. 7n the ma>ority of cases, 17A!3 have been under the management of resource$ oor farmers " easants and indigenous eo le# with limited access to ca ital, technology or government services. Although estimates of the number and location of resource$ oor farmers vary considerably, it is estimated that about (./ to *.* billion eo le remain directly or indirectly untouched by modern agricultural technology "4retty (//5#. 7n 8atin America, the rural o ulation is ro>ected to remain stable at (*5 million until the year *CCC, but over 5(D of this o ulation are oor and are e% ected to increase. 2he ro>ections for Africa are even more dramatic. 2he ma>ority of the world@s rural oor "about +0C million of the oorest# live in areas that are resource$ oor, highly heterogeneous and risk$ rone. :es ite the increasing industriali,ation of agriculture, the great ma>ority of the farmers are easants, or small roducers, who still farm the valleys and slo es of rural landsca es with traditional and subsistence methods. 2heir agricultural systems are small scale, com le% and diverse and easants are confronted with many constraints. 2he worst overty is often located in arid or semi$arid ,ones, and in mountains and hills that are ecologically vulnerable "Conway (//0#. 2hese areas are remote from services and roads and agricultural roductivity is often low on a cro $by$cro basis, although total farm out ut can be significant. 3uch resource$ oor farmers and their com le% systems ose s ecial research challenges and demand a ro riate technologies ".etting (//+#.

7n 8atin America, easant roduction units reached about (5 million in the late (/<Cs occu ying close to 5C.5 million hectares, or +-.5D of the total cultivated land, which reaches about (05 million hectares ":e1randi (//5#. 2he easant o ulation includes 05 million eo le re resenting almost two$thirds of the 8atin America@s total rural o ulation "Ertega (/<5#. Average farm si,e of these units is about (.< hectares, although the contribution of easant agriculture to the general food su ly in the region is significant. 7n the (/<Cs, it reached a ro%imately -(D of the agricultural out ut for domestic consum tion, and is res onsible for roducing at the regional level 5(D of the mai,e, 00D of the beans, and 5(D of the otatoes. 7n Bra,il alone, there are about -.< million family farmers "about <5D of the total number of farmers# that occu y +CD of the total agricultural land of the country. 3uch family farms control about ++D of the area sown to mai,e, 5(D of that under beans, and 5-D of that lanted to cassava, thus roducing <-D of the total cassava and 50D of all beans "Feiga (//(#. 7n Gcuador, the easant sector occu ies more than 5CD of the area devoted to food cro s such as mai,e, beans, barley and okra. 7n Me%ico, easants occu y at least 0CD of the area assigned to mai,e and 5CD of the area under beans "Ertega (/<5) :e1randi (//5#. 7n addition to the easant and family farm sector, there are about 5C million individuals belonging to some 0CC different ethnic indigenous grou s who live and utili,e the humid tro ical regions of the world. About two million of these live in the Ama,on and southern Me%ico. 7n Me%ico, half of the humid tro ics is utili,ed by indigenous communities and Ae>idosB featuring integrated agriculture$forestry systems with roduction aimed at subsistence and local$regional markets "2oledo *CCC#. 7n Africa, the ma>ority of farmers "many of them women# are smallholders with *9+ of all farms below * hectares and /CD of farms below (C hectares. Most small farmers ractice Alow$resourceB agriculture based rimarily on the use of local resources, but that may make modest use of e%ternal in uts. 8ow$resource agriculture roduces the ma>ority of grain) almost all root, tuber and lantain cro s, and the ma>ority of legumes. Most basic food cro s are grown by small farmers with virtually no or little use of fertili,ers and im roved seed "E2A (/<<#. 2his situation however has changed in the last two decades as food roduction er ca ita has declined and Africa, once self$sufficient in cereals, now has to im ort millions of tons to fill the ga "!arrison (//5#. :es ite this increase in im orts, small farmers still roduce most of Africa@s food "Benneh (//5#. 2he ma>ority of more than *CC million rice farmers who live in Asia, a few farm more than * ha of rice. 7n China alone there are robably 05 million rice farmers who still ractice farming methods similar to those used more than one thousand years ago "1reenland (/-0#. 8ocal cultivars, grown mostly on u land ecosystems and9or under rainfed conditions make u the bulk of the rice roduced by Asian small farmers. 2able * de icts the millions of easants, family farmers and indigenous eo le racticing resource$conserving farming throughout the develo ing world and their contribution to food security. Many of the easants are located in areas characteri,ed by 17A!3. 2he

location and biodiversity features of 17A!3 reflect often rich and sometimes unique agricultural biodiversity, within and between s ecies but also at ecosystem and landsca e level. !aving been founded on ancient agricultural civili,ations, certain of these systems are linked to im ortant centers of origin and genetic diversity "2able +# of domesticated lant and animal s ecies, the conservation of which is of great global value. 17A!3 are found throughout the develo ing world, linked to centers of diversity. 3ome of these systems include "see also more detailed descri tions starting in age /#' Eutstanding terraced mountain sides with rice and com le% agro$ ecosystems in Asia, such as the Cordillera Mountain =ange, 4hili ines) biodiverse systems in the !imalayas and Andes) and Mediterranean fruit gardens. Com le% agro$silvo$ astoral and aquatic systems and diverse tro ical9subtro ical home gardens, roducing multi le foods, medicines, ornamentals and materials, e.g. Gast Halimantan and Butitingui, 7ndonesia) highlands of =wanda and Uganda) 2iticaca in 4eru) Haya o in Bra,il. 2raditional soil and water management systems for agriculture, including ancient water distribution systems allowing s eciali,ed and diverse cro ing systems in 7ran) traditional valley bottom and wetland food management e.g. 8ake Chad, .iger river basin and interior delta. 3 eciali,ed dryland systems, including outstanding range9 astoral systems for the management of grasses, forage, water resources and ada ted indigenous animal races e.g. Maasai in Gast Africa) astoral systems of 8adakh, 2ibet, arts of 7ndia, Mongolia and Iemen, as well as oases in deserts of .orth Africa and 3ahara and ingenious systems in ays :ogon, Mali and ays :iola, 3enegal. !iodiversity features of GIAHS Ene of the salient features of 17A!3 is their high degree of biodiversity. 3uch systems su ort a high degree of lant diversity in the form of olycultures and9or agroforestry atterns "Chang (/00) Clawson (/<5#. 2his strategy of minimi,ing risk by lanting several s ecies and varieties of cro s stabili,es yields over the long term, romotes diet diversity and ma%imi,es returns even with low levels of technology and limited resources "!arwood (/0/#. 3uch biodiverse farms are endowed with nutrient$enriching lants, insect redators, ollinators, nitrogen$fi%ing and nitrogen$decom osing bacteria, and a variety of other organisms that erform various beneficial ecological functions. Many 17A!3, such as the traditional multi le$cro ing systems, rovide as much as (5$ *C ercent of the world food su ly "&rancis (/<5#. 4olycultures constitute at least <C ercent of the cultivated area in 6est Africa and redominate in other arts of Africa as well ".orman (/0/#. At the same time, much of the roduction of sta le cro s in the 8atin American tro ics occurs in olycultures. More than -C ercent of the cassava, 5C ercent of the mai,e, and <C ercent of the beans in the region grow in mi%tures with each other or other cro s "&rancis (/<5#. 4olycultures are also very common in arts of Asia where u land rice, sorghum, millet, mai,e, and irrigated wheat are the sta le cro s. 8owland "flooded# rice is generally grown as a monoculture, but in some areas of

3outheast Asia, farmers build raised beds to roduce dryland cro s amid stri s of rice "Beets (/<*#. 2ro ical agroecosystems com osed of agricultural and fallow fields, com le% home gardens, and agroforestry lots commonly contain well over (CC lant s ecies er field, and these are used as construction material, firewood, tools, medicines, livestock feed, and human food. G%am les include multi le$use agroforestry systems managed by the !uastecs and 8acondones in Me%ico, the Bora and Haya o 7ndians in the Ama,on =iver basin, and many other ethnic grou s who incor orate trees into their roduction systems "6ilken (/00#. 7n the 8atin American tro ics, home gardens are a highly efficient form of land use, incor orating a variety of cro s with different growth habits. 2he result is a structure similar to that of tro ical forests, with diverse s ecies and a layered hysical configuration ":enevan et al. (/<-#. 7n Me%ico, for e%am le, !uastec 7ndians manage a number of fields, gardens, and forest lots that may harbor a total of about +CC s ecies. 3mall areas around their houses commonly average <C$(*5 useful lant s ecies, mostly native and medicinal lants. !uastec management of the non$cro vegetation in these com le% farm systems has influenced the evolution of individual lants and the distribution and com osition of the cro and non$cro communities. Because most traditional agroecosystems are located in centers of cro diversity, they contain o ulations of variable and ada ted landraces as well as wild and weedy relatives of cro s "!arlan (/05#. Clawson "(/<5# described several systems in which tro ical farmers lant multi le varieties of each cro ) this ractice su orts both intras ecific and inters ecific diversity, and also enhances harvest security. &or e%am le, in the Andes, farmers cultivate as many as 5C otato varieties in their fields "Brush (/<*#. 3imilarly, in 2hailand and 7ndonesia, farmers maintain a diversity of rice varieties ada ted to a wide range of environmental conditions, and they regularly e%change seeds with each other "1rigg (/0-#. 2he resulting genetic diversity heightens resistance to diseases that attack articular strains of the cro and enables farmers to e% loit different microclimates and to derive multi le nutritional and other uses from the genetic variation among the s ecies. Many lants within or around traditional cro ing systems are wild or weedy relatives of cro lants. 7n fact, many farmers As onsorB certain weeds in or around their fields that my have ositive effects on soil and cro s, or that serve as food, medicines, ceremonial items, teas, soil im rovers, or est re ellents. 7n the Me%ican 3ierras, the 2arahumara 7ndians de end on edible weed seedlings or AquelitesB "e.g. Amaranthus, Chenopodium, Brassica# in the early season from A ril through July, a critical eriod before cro s mature from August through Ectober. 6eeds also serve as alternative food su lies in seasons when mai,e or other cro s are destroyed by frequent hail storms "Bye <(#. 7n barley fields, it is common for 2la%calan farmers to maintain Solanum mozinianum at levels u to -5CC lants9ha) this yields about (+CC kg of fruit, a significant contribution to agricultural subsistence "Altieri and 2ru>illo (/<0#.

&armers also derive other benefits from weeds, such as increased gene flow between cro s and their relatives. 7n Me%ico, when the wind ollinates mai,e, natural crosses occur with wild teosinte growing in the field borders, resulting in hybrid lants. Certain weeds are used directly to enhance the biological control of insect ests, as many flowering weeds attract redators and arasites of ests to their ollen and nectar. Ether farmers allow weeds such as goosegrass "Eleusine indica# in bean fields to re el Empoasca leafho ers, or wild Lupinus as a tra lant for the estiferous scarab beetle "Macrodactylus s .#, which otherwise would attack corn "Altieri (//+#. !owever, diversity is maintained not only within a cultivated area. Many farmers maintain natural vegetation ad>acent to their fields, and thus obtain a significant ortion of their subsistence requirements through gathering, fishing, and hunting in habitats that surround their agricultural lots. &or the 4@urhe echa 7ndians who live around 8ake 4at,cuaro in Me%ico, gathering is art of a com le% subsistence attern that is based on multi le uses of their natural resources. 2hese eo le use at least **- s ecies of native and naturali,ed vascular lants for dietary, medicinal, household, and fuel needs "Caballero and Ma es (/<5#. :e ending on the level of biodiversity of closely ad>acent ecosystems, farmers accrue a variety of ecological services from surrounding natural vegetation. &or e%am le, in western 1uatemala, the indigenous flora of the higher$elevation forests rovide valuable native lants that serve as a source of organic matte to fertili,er marginal soils, for each year farmers collect leaf litter from nearby forests and s read it over intensively cro ed vegetable lots to im rove tilth and water retention. 3ome farmers may a ly as much as -C metric tons of litter er hectare each year) rough calculations indicate that a hectare of cro ed land requires the litter roduction of (C ha of regularly harvested forest "6ilken (/00#. Clearly, traditional agricultural roduction commonly encom asses the multi le uses of both natural and artificial ecosystems, where cro roduction lots and ad>acent habitats are often integrated into a single agroecosystem. "cological mec anisms underlying t e productivity and sustainability of GIAHS 7n many areas, traditional farmers have develo ed and9or inherited com le% farming systems, ada ted to the local conditions hel ing them to sustainably manage harsh environments and to meet their subsistence needs, without de ending on mechani,ation, chemical fertili,ers, esticides or other technologies of modern agricultural science "Altieri, (//5#. 7ndigenous farmers tend to combine various roduction systems as art of a ty ical household resource management scheme. Much research on the features of these systems suggests that a series of factors and characteristics underlie the sustainability of multi le use systems' (. &arms are small in si,e with a continuous roduction serving subsistence and market demands) *. :iversified farm systems based on several cro ing systems, featuring mi%tures of cro s, trees, and9or animals with varietal and other genetic variability.

+. Ma%imum and effective use of local resources and low de endence on off$farm in uts) -. !igh net energy yield because energy in uts are relatively low) 5. 8abour is skilled and com lementary, drawn largely from the household or community relations. :e endency on animal traction and manual labour shows favourable energy in ut9out ut ratios) 5. !eavy em hasis on recycling of nutrients and materials) 0. Building on natural ecological rocesses "e.g. succession# rather than struggling against them. A number of ecological interaction and ecosystem ro erties emerge from such diversified cro s atial9tem oral arrangements which in turn determine ecosystem function. By inter lanting, farmers achieve several roduction and conservation ob>ectives simultaneously. 6ith cro mi%tures, farmers can take advantage of the ability of cro ing systems to reuse their own stored nutrients and the tendency of certain cro s to enrich the soil with organic matter "&rancis (/<5#. 7n Aforest likeB agricultural systems cycles are tight and closed. 7n many tro ical agroforestry systems such as the traditional coffee under shade trees "Inga s ., Erythrina s ., etc.# total nitrogen in uts from shade tree leaves, litter and symbiotic fi%ation can be well over ten times higher than the net nitrogen out ut by harvest which usually averages *C kg9ha9year. 7n other words, the system am ly com ensates the nitrogen loss by harvest with a subsidy from the shade trees. 7n highly co$evolved systems, researchers have found evidence of synchrony between the eaks of nitrogen transfer to the soil by decom osing litter and the eriods of high nitrogen demand by flowering and fruiting coffee lans ".air (/<-#. Cro s grown simultaneously enhance the abundance of redators and arasites, which in turn revent the build$u of ests, thus minimi,ing the need to use e% ensive and dangerous chemical insecticides. &or e%am le, in the tro ical lowlands, corn$bean$ squash olycultures suffer less attack by cater illars, leafho ers, thri s, etc., than corres onding monocultures, because such systems harbor greater numbers of arasitic was s. 2he lant diversity also rovides alternative havitat and food sources such as ollen, nectar, and alternative hosts to redators and arasites. 7n 2abasco, Me%ico, it was found that eggs and larvae of the le ido teran est Diaphania hyalinata e%hibited a 5/ ercent arasitation rate in the olycultures as o osed to only */ ercent rate in monocultures. 3imilarly, in the Cauca valley of Colombia, larvae of Spodoptera frugiperda suffered greater arasiti,ation and redation in the corn$bean mi%tures by a series of !ymeno teran was s and redacious beetles than in corn monocultures "Altieri (//-#. 2his mi%ing of cro s ecies can also delay the onset of diseases by reducing the s read of disease carrying s ores, and by modifying environmental conditions so that they are less favorable to the s read of certain athogens. 7n general, the easant farmers of traditional agriculture are less vulnerable to catastro hic loss because they grow a wide variety of cultivars. Many of these lants are landraces grown from seed assed down from generation to generation and selected over the years to roduce desired roduction

characteristics. 8andraces are genetically more heterogeneous than modern cultivars and can offer a variety of defenses against vulnerability "2hurston (//(#. 7ntegration of animals "cattle, swine, oultry# into farming systems in addition to roviding milk, meat, and draft adds another tro ic level to the system, making it even more com le%. Animals are fed cro residues and weeds with little negative im act on cro roductivity. 2his serves to turn otherwise unusable biomass into animal rotein. Animals recycle the nutrient content of lants, transforming them into manure. 2he need for animal fed also broadens the cro base to include lant s ecies useful for conserving soil and water. 8egumes are often lanted to rovide quality forage but also serve to im rove nitrogen content of soils "Beets (//C#. Specific examples of GIAHS around t e #orld $atin America Chinam as of Me%ico =aised field agriculture is an ancient food roduction system used e%tensively by the A,tecs in the Falley of Me%ico but also found in China, 2hailand, and other areas to e% loit the swam lands bordering lakes. Called chinampas in the A,tec region, these AislandsB or raised latforms "from *.5 to (C meters wide and u to (CC meters long# were usually constructed with mud scra ed from the surrounding swam s or shallow lakes. 2he A,tecs built their latforms u to a height of C.5 to C.0 meters above water levels and reinforced the sides with osts interwoven with branches and with trees lanted along the edges "Armillas (/0(#. 2he soil of the latforms is constantly enriched with organic matter roduced with the abundant aquatic lants, as well as with sediments and muck from the bottom of the reservoirs. A ma>or source of organic matter today is the water hyacinth " Eichornia crassipes#, ca able of roducing u to /CC kg er hectare of dry matter daily. 3u lemented with relatively small amounts of animal manure, the chinam as can be made essentially self$sustaining. 2he animals, such as igs, chickens, and ducks, are ke t in small corrals and fed the e%cess or waste roduce from the chinam as. 2heir manure is incor orated back into the latforms "1liessman et al. (/<(#. En the chinam as, farmers concentrate the roduction of their basic food cro s as well as vegetables. 2his includes the traditional corn9bean9squash olyculture, cassava9 corn9bean9 e ers9amaranth, the fruit trees associated with various cover cro s, shrubs, or vines. &armers also encourage the growth of fish in the water courses. 2he high levels of roductivity that characteri,e the chinam as result from several factors. &irst, cro ing is nearly continuous) only rarely is the chinam a left without a cro . As a result, + to - cro s are roduced each year. Ene of the rimary mechanisms by which this intensity is maintained are the seedbeds, in which young lants are germinated before the older cro s are harvested. 3econd, the chinam a maintain a high level of soil fertility des ite the continual harvest of cro s because they are su lied with high quantities of organic fertili,ers. 2he lakes themselves serve as giant catch basins for nutrients. 2he aquatic lants function as nutrient concentrators, absorbing nutrients that

occur in low concentration in the water and storing them inside their tissue. 2he use of these lants along with canal mud and muddy water "for irrigation# insures that an adequate su ly of nutrients is always available to the growing cro s. 2hird, there is lenty of water for the growing cro . 2he narrowness of the chinam as is a design feature that ensures that water from the canal infiltrates the chinam a, giving rise to a ,one of moisture within reach of the cro @s roots. Gven if during the dry season the lake levels fall below the rooting ,one, the narrowness of the chinam a allows the chinam ero to irrigate from a canoe. &ourth, there is a large amount of individual care given to each lant in the chinam a. 3uch careful husbandry facilitates high yields "1liessman et al. (/<(#. Andean Agriculture Between +,CCC and -,CCC years ago, a nomadic, hunting and gathering way of life in the Central Andes was su lanted by a village$based agro astoral economy, a system that still revails des ite com etition for land between haciendas and easant communities "Brush (/<*#. 2he im act of the com le% Andean environment on the human economy has resulted in vertical arrangements of settlements and agricultural systems "2able 5.-#. 2he attern of verticality derives from climatic and biotic differences related to altitude and geogra hical location. 2he most im ortant cultural ada tation to these environmental constraints has been the subsistence system' cro s, animals, and agro astoral technologies designed to yield an adequate diet with local resources while avoiding soil erosion "1ade (/05#. 2he evolution of agrarian technology in the Central Andes has roduced e%tensive knowledge about using the Andean environment. 2his knowledge affected the division of the Andean environment into altitudinally arranged agroclimatic belts, each characteri,ed by s ecific field and cro rotation ractices, terraces and irrigation systems, and the selection of many animals, cro s, and cro varieties "Brush et al. (/<(#. About +- different cro s "corn, quinoa, Amaranthus caudatusC, legumes /beans, lu ine, lima beans#, tubers "s ecies of otato, manioc, Arrachocha, etc.#, fruits, condiments, and vegetables are grown. 2he main cro s are corn cheno ods " Chenopodium quinoa and C pallidicaule#, and otatoes. 7ndividual farmers may cultivate as many as 5C varieties of otatoes in their fields, and u to (CC locally named varieties may be found in a single village. 2he maintenance of this wide genetic base is ada tive since it reduces the threat of cro loss due to ests and athogens s ecific to articular strains of the cro "Brush (/<*#. Crop patterns in the agroclimatic !elts 2he local Andean inhabitants recogni,e three to seven agroclimatic belts, distinguished according to altitude, moisture, tem erature, vegetation, land tenure, cro assemblages, and agricultural technology. 2his is considerable regional variation in the cultivation atterns of each belt. &or e%am le, in the communities of Amaru and 4aru$4aru in Cu,co, 4eru, three main belts can be distinguished "1ade (/05#. 3ites in the corn belt have soft slo es, located between +,-CC and +,5CC meters. 2hese sites are irrigated and farmed in three alternative four$year rotations' (. corn9fava beans9corn9fallow)

*. corn9corn9 otato or fallow) +. and otato and barley9fava beans9corn9corn. 2he otato9fava9cereals belt is com osed of sites with stee slo es, located from +,5CC to +,<CC meters. 4otatoes are intercro ed with barley, wheat, fava beans and eas. 7n rainfed areas there are two main four$year rotations' (. fava beans9wheat9 eas9barley and *. Lupinus muta!ilis9barley9fava beans9fallow. 7n irrigated areas, common rotations are' (. otato9wheat9fava beans9barley and *. otato or C quinoa9barley9 eas9fallow. 2he bitter otato asture belt is a cold belt located about +,<CC meters. =ainfed rotations in this belt usually include a four$to$five$year rotation, after a -$year sequence of otato9"y#alis tu!erosa9$llucus tu!erosus and %rapaeolum tu!erosum9barley. &aru'&arus of %iticaca =esearchers have uncovered remnants of more than (0C,CCC ha of ?ridged fields@ in 3urinam, Fene,uela, Colombia, Gcuador, 4eru, and Bolivia ":enevan (//5#. Many of these systems a arently consisted of raised fields on seasonally$flooded lands in savannas and in highland basins. 7n 4eru, many researchers have studied such re$ Columbian technologies in search of solutions to contem orary roblems of high altitude farming. A fascinating e%am le is the revival of an ingenious system of raised fields that evolved on the high lains of the 4eruvian Andes about +,CCC yr ago. According to archaeological evidenc these 6aru$6arus latforms of soil surrounded by ditches filled with water, were able to roduce bum er cro s, des ite floods, droughts, and the killing frost common at altitudes of nearly -CCC m "Grickson and Chandler (/</#. 2he combination of raised beds and canals has roven to have im ortant tem erature moderation effects, e%tending the growing season and leading to higher roductivity on the 6aru$6arus com ared to chemically fertili,ed normal am a soils. 7n the !uatta district, reconstructed raised fields roduced im ressive harvest, e%hibiting a sustained otato yield of <$(- tonnes9ha9yr. 2hese figures contrast favourably with the average uno otato yields of ($- tonnes9ha9yr. 7n Cam>ata the otato fields reached (+ tonnes9ha9yr in 6aru$6arus. 7t is estimated that the initial construction, rebuilding every (C years, and annual lanting, weeding, harvest and maintenance of raised fields lanted requires *0C ersons$days9ha9yr. (ome gardens of Me#ico and Belize Hitchen gardens are im ortant agroecological systems in many cultural landsca es in the tro ics and subtro ics. According to 1ome,$4om a and Haus "(//C#, kitchen gardens "also known as home gardens, dooryard gardens, or huertos familiares# are the second most im ortant agroecological feature among traditional tro ical societies after swidden cultivation. 2hey rovide subsistence and cash income and offer a re ository and domestication e% erimentation site for many lant varieties "Himber (/0+) 8andauer and

Bra,il (//C#. Iet, com ared to other forms of tro ical agriculture, the research conducted on kitchen gardens is scant, es ecially regarding their ecological im ortance "1ome,$4om a and Haus (//C#. Mi%ed tree systems or home gardens are common in the tro ical lowlands of Me%ico where they constitute a common but understudied form of agriculture. 2hese systems involve the lanting, trans lanting, s aring, or rotecting of a variety of useful s ecies "from tall cano y trees to ground cover and climbing vines# for the harvest of various forest roducts, including firewood, food for the household and market lace, medicines, and construction materials "1liessman (//C#. !ome gardens in Me%ico are lots of land that include a house surrounded by or ad>acent to an area for raising a variety of lant s ecies and sometimes livestock. 2he home garden is re resentative of a household@s needs and interests, roviding food, fodder, firewood, market roducts, construction materials, medicines, and ornamental lants for the household and local community. Many of the more common trees are those same s ecies found in the surrounding natural forests, but new s ecies have been incor orated, including a aya "Carica papaya#, guava ")sidium s .#, banana "Musa s .#, lemon "Citrus limon#, and orange "Citrus aurantium#. 7n light ga s or under the shade of trees, a series of both indigenous and e%otic s ecies of herbs, shrubs, vines, and e i hytes is grown. 3eedlings from useful wild s ecies brought into the garden by the wind or animals are often not weeded out and are subsequently integrated into the home garden system. Ene of the most striking features of resent$day Mayan towns in the Iucatan 4eninsula is the floral richness of the home gardens. 7n a survey of the home gardens in the town of Kuilub, -C- s ecies were found where only (,(*C s ecies are known for the whole state. !ome gardens also rovide diverse environments where many wild s ecies of animals and lants can live, although the diversity of s ecies de ends on the si,e of the gardens and the degree of management. Gstimated average family lots range from 5CC m * to 5,CCC m*. 2aking into consideration that most households in rural communities of the Iucatan 4eninsula have some ty e of home garden, local traditional ractices of orchard management have already contributed to the forest cover in the eninsula and have the otential for contributing more "1liessman (//C#. 2he Mo an Maya of southern Beli,e have kitchen gardens that are multi$storied and contain a mi%ture of minor cro s, fruits, ornamental, and medicinal lants. 8ike coffee lantation with an overstory cano y, shrub, and cano y layers. Mo an Mayan kitchen contain do,ens of tree s ecies, shrubs, and herb s ecies, so they are more diverse than coffee lantations, in which the overstory layer usually contains >ust a few s ecies. 2rees are usually the most im ortant com onent of Mo an Mayan kitchen gardens, usually containing +5$-C s ecies. &ruit trees are the most common in the kitchen gardens, with timber and ornamental trees making u a smaller ercentage. A dominant grou of trees in most gardens include the coconut alm " Cocos nucifera#, a aya "Carica papaya#, mango "Mangifera indica#, orange "Citrus sinsenis#, cacao "%heo!roma cacao#, avocado ")ersea americana#, custard a le "Annona reticulata#, calabash "Crescentia cuiete#,

mammee a le "Mammea americana#, breadfruit "Artocarpus altilis#, coffee "Coffea ara!ica#, and several alm s ecies in both the cano y and shrub layer. 4alms often rovide fruit during times of the year when other trees are barren. Coffee systems of Me#ico and Central America 7n Mesoamerica, coffee is cultivated on the coastal slo es of the central and southern arts of the region in areas where two or more ty es of vegetation make contact. Based on management level and vegetational and structural com le%ity, it is ossible to distinguish five main coffee roduction systems in Me%ico' two kinds of traditional shaded agroforests "with native trees#, one commercially oriented olys ecific shaded system, and two AmodernB systems "shaded and unshaded monocultures#. 2raditional shaded coffee is cultivated rinci ally by small$scale, community$based growers, most of whom belong to some indigenous culture grou . 2raditional shaded coffee lantations are im ortant re ositories of biological richness for grou s such as trees and e i hytes, mammals, birds, re tiles, am hibians, and arthro ods. 7n Me%ico, coffee fields are located in a biogeogra hically and ecologically strategic elevational belt that is an area of overla between the tro ical and tem erate elements and of contact among the four main ty es of Me%ican forests. Betewen 5CD and 0CD of these coffee areas are under traditional management and many coffee regions have been selected by e% erts as having high numbers of s ecies and endemics overla with or are near traditional coffee$growing areas. =egretably, original levels of biodiversity are being lost as coffee systems convert into modern coffee lantations. As with other ma>or ecosystem transformations in tro ical latitudes, the transformation of the coffee agroecosystem involves s ectacular landsca e changes. 7n the AmodernB monocultural system that is being romoted all over the world, all the shade trees are eliminated, the traditional coffee varieties are re laced by new sun$tolerant and shorter varieties, which are genetically homongeneous and runed either by row or by lot, and are heavily de endent on agrochemicals, es ecially herbicides and fertili,ers. Agroforestry in tropical South America 7n 3outh America lant associations that resemble the contem orary and ur osefully ursued agroforestry alternative have been in use since re$!is anic times by the Amerindians, and even the agricultural techniques em loyed by the Ama,on basin 7ndians today qualify as agroforestry systems. 2he agroforsetry systems that function in the humid Ama,onian lowlands are largely based on the mi%ing of tree s ecies with assured cash value for their wood or their roducts "rubber in the case of (e*ea !rasilensis# or by the association of shade trees of otential timber value with tree cro s such as cacao, e er or coffee. 4articularly convenient is the combination of cacao with Erythrina, a legume that rovides much of the nitrogen demanded by the cacao trees, and the use of Cordia alliodora as a shade tree with good returns as a timber s ecies. 4e er, which tolerates a ma%imum of *C ercent shading, can be grown under Erythrina and +liricidia trees that are easily runed and rovide additional income from their wood. Coffee has been traditionally associated with Erythrina and +liricidia "!echt (/<*#.

Agroforestry systems in the non$Bra,ilian segments of the 3outh American tro ical lowlands have also develo ed locally, although less elaborate and diverse. En the margins of the Ama,on =iver, close to 7quitos, 4eruvian Ama,onia, different vegetal s ecies have been grown in associations. Umari " )araguei!a sericea#, uvilla ")ourouma cecropiaefolia# and Bra,il nuts are grown for their fruits, and their wood is used for charcoal. 7n the shade of Bactric gasipaes, Inga edulis or cashew, food sta les such as manioc, lantains, and rice are cultivated. 7t is also common to find a aya, inea le and assion fruit in the shade of Ama,onian alms "4adoch et al. (/<5#. Multi$strata mi%tures of erennial s ecies, such as forage legumes "Desmodium o*alifolium# at ground level and Canna edulis, whose roots are eaten by hogs, form the basis for hog farming in Gcuador@s Eriente "Bisho (/<*#. Away from the humid and warm environment of Ama,onia, in 3outh$east Bahia, better results in agroforestry strategies are achieved L in combinations of cacao with rubber trees, clove with e er, cacao with clove in the wake of decayed e er lants "Alvim and .air (/<5#. 7n the drier environment of north$eastern Bra,il, cultivation of erennial cro s such as cashew, coconut, babassu alm " "r!ignya phalerata#, and the carnauba wa% alm "Copernicia prunifera# in combination with natural astures to which some herbaceous foreign s ecies have been added, rovide good gra,ing for sustainable silvo astoral systems "cattle, shee and donkeys#. 7n gra,ing areas the babassu alm rovides shade for the cattle, while in agriculturally oriented laces, it serves as shade for rice, mai,e, cassava and even bananas and lantains "May et al. (/<5#. 2he cashew tree rovides shelter for other roductive cro s such as sorghum, groundnuts and sesame "Johnson and .air (/<5#. Asia 4addy rice culture in 3outheast Asia Beneath the sim le structure of the rice addy monoculture "sawah# lies a com le% system of built$in natural controls and genetic cro diversity "Hing (/*0#. &armers grow a number of hoto eriod$sensitive rice varieties ada ted to differing environmental conditions. 2hese farmers regularly e%change seed with their neighbors because they observe that any one variety begins to suffer from est roblems if grown continuously on the same land for several years. 2he tem oral, s atial, and genetic diversity resulting from farm$to$farm variations in cro ing systems confers at least artial resistance to est attack. :e ending on the degree of diversity, food web interactions among the insect ests of rice and their numerous natural enemies in addy fields can become very com le%, often resulting in low but stable insect o ulations "Matteson et al. (/<-#. 2he rice ecosystem, where it has e%isted over a long eriod, also includes diverse animal s ecies. 3ome farmers allow flocks of domestic ducks to forage for insects and weeds in the addies. Many farmers allow aquatic weeds, which they harvest for food ":atta and Baner>ee (/0<#. &requently one finds addies where farmers have introduced a few airs of rolific fish "such as common car , Sarotherdon mossam!icus, 6hen the water is drained off to harvest the rice, the fish move to troughs or tanks dug in the corners of fields and are then harvested.

2he techniques used for rice9fish culture differ considerably from country to country and from region to region. 7n general, e% loitation of rice field fisheries may be classified as captural or cultural "4ullin and 3hehadeh (/<C#. 7n the ca tural system, wild fish o ulate and re roduce in the flooded rice fields and are harvested at the end of the rice$ growing season. Ca tural systems occu y a far greater area than cultural systems and are im ortant in all the rice$growing areas of 3outheast Asia. 7n the cultural system the rice field is stocked with fish. 2his system may be further differentiated into a concurrent culture, in which fish are reared concurrently with the rice cro , and a rotation culture, in which fish and rice are grown alternately. &ish can also be cultured as an intermediate cro between two rice cro s "Ardiwinata (/50#. 2raditional addy rice growers usually roduce only one rice cro each year during the wet season, even when irrigation water is readily available. 2his ractice is artly an attem t to avoid damage by rice stem borers. &or the remainder of the year the land may lie fallow and be gra,ed by domestic animals. 2his annual fallow, along with the dung dro ed by the gra,ing animals and the weeds and stubble lowed into the soil, will usually sustain acce table rice yields "6ebster and 6ilson (/<C#. Alternatively, farmers may follow rice with other annual cro s in the same year where adequate rainfall or irrigation water is available. 4lanting alternative rows of cereals and legumes is common, as farmers believe it uses the soil resources more efficiently. 6ell$ rotted com osts and manures are a lied to the land to rovide nutrient for the growing cro s. 3owing cow eas or mung beans into standing rice stubble reduces damage by bean flies, thri s, and leafho ers, by interfering with their ability to find their host "Matteson et al. (/<-#. 2he micro$environment of the sa-ah also hel s the wet$rice cultivator to roduce constant cro yields from the same field year after year. &irst, the water$covered sa-ah is rotected from high tem eratures and the direct im act of rain and high winds, thus reducing soil erosion. 3econd, the high water table reduces the vertical movement of water, thus limiting nutrient leaching. 2hird, both floods and irrigation water bring silt in sus ension and other lant nutrients in solution, renewing soil fertility each year. &ourth, the water in the sa-ahs contain A#olla s . "a symbiotic association of the blue$green alga and fern#, which romotes the fi%ation of nitrogenMadding u to 5C kg er hectare of nitrogen. Agroforestry in Southeast Asia According to Adeyo>u "(/<*#, agroforestry in 3outheast Asia has been racticed for over a century under different conditions and in various locations. Cultivation of 3ago alms and sago roduction racticed in su lemented stands similar to the natural forest have been a traditional form of land use in Malaysia for thousands of years "Bruenig (/<-#. 2he successful use of tree s ecies and food sta les or cash cro s has been common in 3ri 8anka since the nineteenth century and it is thought that the 3ri 8ankan Handy gardens are the best e%am les of that farming system@s otential for the humic tro ics "6atson (/<*#. Handy gardens refer to small farms based on a close association of coconut, kitul and betel alms with cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, citrus, mango, durian, >ackfruit,

rambutan and breadfruit, with a lower story of bananas and e er vines, and a eri heral ground story of mai,e, cassava, beans, inea les and other, often su lemented by an outside field of addy rice "McConnell and :harma ala (/0<#. 7n 7ndonesia, manioc, e er and ben,oin are grown under the cano y rovided by coconut alms and lantains. 7n most arts of 3umatra, today more than half of the farming area is lanted with tree and bush cultures, where rubber, coffee and s ices such as cloves, cinnamon and e er, revail as cash cro s. 2ree and bush cultures in combination with fields of addy rice dominate 3umatra@s agrarian landsca e today. 7n 6est Java the 2alun$kebun is an indigenous 3undanese agricultural system that a ears to have derived from shifting cultivation. 7t usually consists of three stageM .e!un, .e!un'campuran and talunMeach of which serves a different function. 7n the kebun, the first stage, a mi%ture of annual cro s is usually lanted. 2his stage is economically valuable since most of the cro s are sold for cash. After two years, tree seedlings have begun to grow in the field and there is less s ace for annual cro s. At this oint the kebun gradually evolves into a kebun$cam uran, where annuals are mi%ed with half$grown erennials. 2his stage has economic value but also romotes soil and water conservation. After the annuals are harvested, the field is usually abandoned for two to three years to become dominated by erennials. 2his third stage is known as talun and has both economic and bio hysical values. After the forest is cleared, the land can be lanted to huma "dryland rice# or sa-ah "wet rice addy#, de ending on whether irrigation water is available. Alternatively, the land can be turned directly into kebun by lanting a mi%ture of annual cro s. 7n some areas kebun is develo ed after harvesting the huma by following the dryland rice with annual field cro s. 7f the kebun is lanted with tree cro s or bamboo, it becomes kebun$ cam uran "mi%ed garden#, which after several years will be dominated by erennials and become talun " erennial cro garden#. 7t is not uncommon to find talun$kebun com osed of u to ((* s ecies of lants. Ef these lants about -* ercent rovide for building material and fuelwood, (< ercent are fruit trees, (- ercent are vegetables, and the remainder constitute ornamentals, medicinal lants, s ices, and cash cro s. A ty ical home garden has a vertical structure from year to year, though there may be some seasonal variation. 2he number of s ecies and individuals is highest in the lowest story and decreases with height. 2he lowest story "less than one meter in height# is dominated by food lants like s ices, vegetables, sweet otatoes, taro, /anthosoma, chili e er, egg lant, and legumes. 2he ne%t layer "one to two meters in height# is also dominated by food lants, such as ganyong " Canna edulis#, /anthosoma, cassava, and gembili "Dioscorea esculenta#. 2he ne%t story "two to five meters# is dominated by bananas, a ayas, and other fruit trees. 2he five to ten meter layer is also dominated by fruit trees, for e%am le sourso , >ack fruit, isitan " Lansium domesticum#, guaga, mountain a le, or other cash cro s such as cloves. 2he to layer "(C meters# is dominated by coconut trees and trees for wood roduction, like Al!izzia and )ar.ia. 2he overall effect is a vertical structure similar to a natural forest, a structure that o timi,es the use of s ace and sunlight. 2he most common lants in the ekarangan are cassava

"Manihot esculenta# and ganyong "Canna edulis#. Both have a high caloric content and are im ortant as rice substitutes. 2he taungya system of 3outheast Asia is considered as one of the most successful agroforestry systems. Among the most common agroforestry roducts of 3outheast Asia are the association of commercial timber " articularly teak# or tree cro s such as tea, cocoa, bananas, breadfruit, mangoes or kitul with groundnuts, e er, mai,e, manioc or inea les Integrated agriculture'aquaculture 7n many arts of Asia, the roductive use of land and water resources has been integrated into traditional farming systems. &armers have transformed wetlands into onds se arated by cultivable ridges. An e%am le is the dike$ ond system which has e%isted for centuries in 3outh China. 2o roduce or maintain the onds, soil is dug out and used to re air the dikes around it. Before being filled with river water and rainwater, the ond is re ared for fish rearing by clearing, saniti,ing, and fertili,ing with local in uts of quicklime, tea$seed cake, and organic manure. 2he fish stocked in the ond include various ty es of car , which are harvested for home consum tion and sale. Mulberry is laned on the dikes, fertili,ed with ond mud and irrigated by hand with nutrient$rich ond water. Mulberry leaves are fed to silkworms) the branches are used as stakes to su ort climbing vegetables and as fuelwood. 7n sheds, silkworms are reared for yarn roduction. 2heir e%crements, mi%ed with the remains of mulberry leaves are used as fish feed. 3ugarcane lants on the dikes rovide sugar. Ioung leaves are used to feed fish and igs, and old leaves to shade cro s, for roofing thatch, and for fuel) the roots are also used as fuel. 1rass and vegetables are also grown on the dikes to rovide food for the fish and family. 4igs are raised mainly to rovide manure but also for meat. 2hey are fed sugarcane to s, by$ roducts from sugar refining, aquatic lants, and other vegetable wastes. 2heir feces and urine, as well as human e%crement and household wastes, form the rinci le organic in uts into the fish ond "=uddle and Nhong (/<<#. Everall integrated farming systems that include semi$intensive aquaculture are less risky for the resource$ oor farmer than intensive fish farms, because of their efficiency derived from synergisms among enter rises, their diversity of roduce, and their environmental soundness. 7n many traditional systems aquaculture goes beyond fish roduction and cash income as ond water and ond biota erform many ecological, social, and cultural services on an intergrated farm. 2hus aquaculture and water management act as an engine driving the sustainability of the entire farming system "8ightfoot (//C#. African traditional agriculture African traditional food roduction systems African farmers have over centuries develo ed farming systems that have adequately res onded to the challenges osed by their hysical and socio$cultural environments. 7n the ast these systems have been sustainable, roviding adequate food to feed the o ulation without causing much damage to the natural resource base. Most food roduction across Africa is by low$resource agriculture. 8ow$resource agriculture roduces the ma>ority of grain, e%ce t wheat and erha s mai,e. Almost all root, tuber,

and lantain cro s, and the ma>ority of food legumes are roduced on low$resource farms. 7n addition, a great variety of secondary cro s such as fruits and vegetable are grown under low$resource conditions to su lement these sta les. An estimated 05 ercent of all livestock in 3ub$3aharan Africa is raised on farms where cro roduction is the rinci le source of subsistence, and livestock are an im ortant source of cash income. Many of these livestock receive little su lementary feed or health care and their roduction can be considered Alow in ut.B 2he ma>or food farming systems include shifting cultivation, the bush fallow system or land rotation, the lanted fallow system, com ound or homestead farming, terrace farming, flood land cultivation, and transhumance astoralism. 2able 5 summari,es ma>or characteristics of each system and indicates the driving forces undermining its stability. By far the most im ortant system of farming is the bush fallow system, which is widely racticed in all ecological regions of 3ub$3aharan Africa. Although no distinction is usually made between shifting cultivation and bush fallow, the latter is a more intensive system. 7t involves rotation of land within fi%ed farmland, whereas shifting cultivation in its original form was characteri,ed by movement of cultivators from one site to another in search of virgin land without making a conscious attem t to return to former cultivated sites. 2he bush fallow system is an e%tensive system of food cro roduction in which natural forest, secondary forest, or o en woodlands are cleared and burnt. 2his system is often called slash$and$burn agriculture. &armers carefully select sites for cultivation using indicator lants as guides, >udging the lu%uriance of lant growth and the volume of vegetable material that will roduce the best chemical$yielding ash when burnt. 2em orary clearings are cultivated until cro yields begin to decline, usually after two or three cro ing seasons when the soil fertility begins to fall. 2hen the land is abandoned to return to forest or bush fallow for a eriod ranging from - to *C years. :uring the fallow eriod, conditions such as low soil fertility, weeds, or est outbreaks are overcome "3anche, (/05#. 2he system de ends on natural ca ital with no e%ternal in uts. 2he farm im lements are sim le' hoe, machete, a%, and dibble stick. 2oday, as a result of increased o ulation ressure, fallow eriods are being reduced. 6here fallow eriod are too shortMless than two yearsMsoil fertility deteriorates and cro yields decline. Between (/<C and (/<5, nearly half of the -C 3ub$3aharan countries for which data e%ist recorded declines in yield growth rates for ma>or cereal cro s ranging from LC.5 ercent to L(5./ ercent "6orld Bank (//5a#. :eclines in cro yields force farmers to clear more forests and woodlands, including fragile and marginal lands where soil and climatic conditions are oorly suited to the cultivation of annual cro s and yields are therefore low. 2hus, much of the increased agricultural roduction in 3ub$ 3aharan Africa has been achieved through e% ansion in cultivated area. According to the &AE, Africa@s arable land e% anded by (- million hectares between (/0+ and (/<<. Most countries reflected this general e% erience. Between (/55 and (/<5 untouched rimary forests in Cote d@7voire were reduced by about 55 ercent, whereas the area under cultivation doubled "Uhui (//+#. 2he cultivated area in northern .igeria increased

from about (( ercent of the total area in the mid$(/5Cs to +- ercent in (//C "Mortimore (//5#. 2here are a number of reasons why agricultural e% ansion on this scale cannot be sustained. 2raditional Marka systems in the 3ahel 2he climate in the 3ahel region of Africa, made u in art by what is now Mali and .iger, is very dry. Average rainfall is less than 5CC mm er year. As a result, the welfare of the Marka, a local ethnic grou who are e% erts in the cultivation of rice, is highly influenced by climatic fluctuations. 2hey have been cultivating native rice since rehistoric times, and they make com le% and so histicated decisions about when to lant and what varieties to lant "Mc7ntosh (//+#. 2heir decisions are influenced by environmental cluesMdifferent varieties of rice have different vegetative eriods, different ada tations to various flood de ths, flood timing, ! tolerance, and fish redation. :ifferent varieties are sown at different time intervals on different soil ty es. 2he knowledge that the Marka ossess about rice and its cultivation is secret and has been develo ed over a long eriod of time. 7t is a means of maintaining a s ecific ethnic identity. 3ocial relations with other grou s have become instituted as buffering mechanisms against otential bad times, allowing trade to occur without the necessity of immediate equal com ensation. 2his buffering is useful, for e%am le, with the Bo,o fishers who trade labor, goods, and services because weather that favors one grou may disfavor the other. Another im ortant as ect of the Marka system is rioriti,ed tenure on ro erty held in common with the entire ethnic grou . A hierarchical system rioriti,es access to land, and the rules regulating access to common ro erty have been encoded into local 7slamic law. 4rioriti,ed access ensures that those with the s eciali,ed knowledge are those that make decisions on varieties of rice to be lanted, as well as the timing of the lanting "4ark (//*#. Agroforestry in tro ical Africa 7n Africa, regional differentiations are reflected in the combinations of trees and agricultural cro s that revail in articular landsca es. 7n the o ulated humid tro ical belt of western Africa, articularly on the northern edge of the 1ulf of 1uinea where the density rises above <C inhabitants er square kilometer, agroforestry is racticed at the edge of the natural evergreen forests. 2he cultivators grow food sta les such as manioc, yam, mai,e and lantains, in combination with cacao, bananas, coffee or oil$ alm. 7n terms of both area covered and o ulation involved, southern .igeria is the heart of agroforestry in the 1ulf of 1uinea states. Ball and Umeh "(/<*# estimate that /*5/ ha and (0,0-- cultivators were involved in agroforestry in (/0/. 3outheast .igeria, s reading over an area of evergreen forests on ferrallitic soils and ferrisols, tends to combine roductive trees, such as banana, cacao and oil$ alms, with food sta les and astures, whereas western .igeria "with slightly lower reci itation rates and less o ulation density# s eciali,es in e% ortable timber s ecies "teak#, mi%ed with cacao, bananas or oil$ alm.

?Managed taungya@ makes intensive use of certain tree s ecies for rotection against wind or e%cessive insolation, such as +melina ar!orea, one of the most utili,ed trees in African agroforestry or %erminalia super!a and Al!izzia spp Ether s ecies, such as the woody legume Leucaena leucocephala and +liricidia sepium, hel restore fertility to the soil. +melina ar!orea a ears to be beneficial when lanted at articularly convenient inters aces with yams and mai,e, but not in combination with manioc "Agbede and E>o (/<*#. +liricidia increases the content of sodium, otassium, calcium and manganese in the soil. Concurrently, a measurable decrease in soil acidity has been observed when +liricidia is associated with mai,e, yams, vegetables and manioc for subsistence ur oses "Agboola et al. (/<*#. 7n the more semi$arid regions of Africa such as 3enegal and the Ninder region of .iger highly roductive agrosilvo astoral systems based on the use of Acacia al!ida have continued to evolve. 2his tree s ecies has several characteristics that are valuable in agricultural systems. &or instance, at the onset of the rainy season the s ecies dro s its leaves. 2hese leaves rovide a leaf litter mulch that enriches the to soil. :uring this wet season, which is when sorghum and millet are roduced, the defoliated cano y ermits enough light to reach the ground for cereal growth and rovides enough shading to reduce the effects of intense heat. :uring the dry season, the Acacia0s long ta root draws nutrients from beyond the reach of other lants and stores these in its fruits and leaves. 2hese dro to the ground at the beginning of the ne%t rainy season and are consumed by livestock. Because the fodder has more nutritive value er unit weight than many other fodder cro s, more livestock can be su orted than without the Acacia. 7n addition, the livestock manure hel s enrich the soil further. 2hus, cro yields are greater when an Acacia is in a field than when it is not. Using the tree with a ro er balance of cro and livestock can also considerably e%tend the length of cro ing without loss of roductivity. &or e%am le, using the Acacia hel ed maintain continuous cro ing of millet in the 3udan for (5$*C years in areas where the norm was + to 5 years. Animal integration &arming systems that combine animal and cro roduction vary across agroecological ,ones "Mc:owell and !ildebrand (/<C#. 7n Asian lowland rice farming areas, buffalos are im ortant animal com onents and rovide "(# traction for cultivating fields and "*# milk and meat that are consumed domestically or sold in markets. Cattle, fowl "mainly chickens and ducks#, and swine are also commonly raised on these farms. &eeds include cro residues, weeds, eelings, to s of root cro s, bagasse, hulls, and other agricultural by$ roducts. 7n highland areas, swine, oultry, buffalo, and cattle are raised in combination with rice, mai,e, cassava, beans, and small grains. 2he cro ing systems of tro ical humid Africa are dominated by rice, yams, and lantains "Mc:owell and !ildebrand (/<C) =uthenberg (/0(#. 1oats and oultry are the dominant animals. 3hee and swine are less abundant, but still common. &eeds include fallow land forage, cro residues, cull tubers, and vines. 2he small farms of 8atin America ty ically include cro mi%tures of beans, mai,e, and rice "Mc:owell and !ildebrand (/<C) =uthenberg (/0(#. Cattle are common and maintained for milk, meat, and draft. 3wine and oultry are

raised for food or for sale. roduction.

4astures, cro

residues, and cut feeds su

ort animal

3everal other benefits accrue from agro astoral systems. 7n effect, incor oration of livestock into farming systems adds another tro hic level to the system. Animals can be fed lant residues, weeds, and fallows with little im act on cro roductivity. 2his serves to turn otherwise unusable biomass into animal rotein, es ecially in the case of ruminants. Animals recycle the nutrient content of lants, transforming them into manure and allowing a broader range of fertili,ation alternatives in managing farm nutrients. 2he need for animal feed also broadens the cro base to include s ecies useful for conserving soil and water. 8egumes are often lanted to rovide quality forage and serve to im rove nitrogen content in soils. Beyond their agroecological interactions with cro s, animals serve other im ortant roles in the farm economy. 2hey roduce income from meat, milk, and fiber. 8ivestock increase in value over time and can be sold for cash in times of need or urchased when cash is available "Mc:owell and !ildebrand (/<C#. %editerranean systems 2he dehesa system of southern 3 ain and 4ortugal A very eculiar agroforestry system, named dehesa in 3 ain and montado in 4ortugal, dominates the landsca e of southwestern 7berian 4eninsula "Joffre et al. (/<<b) 3an Miguel (//-) 1ome, 1uttiere, and 4ere, &ernande, (//5#. Characteri,ed by the resence of a savannah$like o en tree layer, mainly dominated by Mediterranean evergreen oaks L holm oak "1uercus ile## and cork oak "1 su!er# L and to a lesser e%tent by the deciduous 1 pyrenaica and 1 faginea, they occu y more than 5,<CC,CCC ha in the western and south$western rovinces of 3 ain, re resenting 5*D of total utili,ed agrarian area within these rovince "Cam os 4alacin (//*# and more than 5CC,CC ha in southern 4ortugal. Dehesas are an agrosilvo astoral system that has enhanced the maintenance of an e%traordinarily high biodiversity. 2he traditional use is characteri,ed by mi%ed livestock raising at low stocking densities, em loyment of hardy regional breeds and an elaborated maintenance and e% loitation of holm oaks. 8ivestock roduction has traditionally been accom anied by arable systems with long rotations and closed nutrient cycles without e%ternal in uts of fodder, fertili,er and agro$chemicals. Modern trends threatening these systems are a s eciali,ation toward lamb and beef roduction and the em loyment of intensive techniques like free$range gra,ing at high stocking levels or crossbreeding with high$ erformance breeds. %he agroforests of the *inho *erde region of )ortugal 2he agricultural landsca e of .orthwestern 4ortugal is characteri,ed by a attern of small, fragmented farms that roduce mainly for family consum tion, inters ersed with somewhat larger and more mechani,ed farms that s eciali,e in commercial cro s.

At least since the ninth century, 4ortuguese easants have develo ed com le% farming systems, the sustainability of which has stood the test of time. 2hese traditional agroecosystems, which consist of cro olycultures surrounded by vines " 2itis *inifera# u on tree$hosts, reflect the riorities of easant farmers, meeting the needs of a sim le, largely self$sufficient easant society. 2hese vineyard$based agroforestry systems are found mainly in the designated regions of ?Finho verde@ including Minho and a ortion of northern Beira 8itoral "3tanislawski (/0C#. Finho verde gra es traditionally are grown on trees bordering cro fields. 2he combination of high vine and mai,e is characteristic of the area. 2here are a number of traditional agroforestry atterns, all of which re resent an ingenious res onse to land constraints by allowing vertical agriculture "3tanislawski (/0C#' (. Association of vines and trees dis ersed within fields. 2his sim le system consists of a tree with -$< vines lanted around the base. 2he vines ascend and follow the branches. *. 2he ?festoon@ system where younger cross$branches of the vines >oin together every year from the nearest trees lanted along field margins. +. 2he ?ar>oado@ system is a form of festoon, but with vertical wires attached to the wire that runs between the trees. 7n addition to lanting vines against the tree trunks, several vines can be lanted in the intervening area. -. 7n the ?ramada@ system, gra es are grown on elevated arbors "about three meters high and four meters wide# su orted by stone columns with iron crossbars connected to steel wires. 7n systems a$c, referred host trees are 4ortuguese Eak " 1uercus lusitanica#, elm "$lmus s .#, o lar ")opulus s .#, and wild cherry ")runus s .#. 2he trees tolerate heavy trimming, have dee roots, grow fast and are long lived. Most yield roducts such as wood, bark, and fruits. Many trees rovide additional benefits such as altering the microclimate "interce tion of winds and lower eva oration rates# and rotecting vines from winter frosts of the valley bottom. 2rees can also reduce dis ersion of weed seeds, insects, and athogen inocula by forming a hysical barrier. 2he centers of the fields are available for grain "mostly mai,e, 3ea mays#, legumes, and vegetables. .ormal cro rotations include oat grain " (olcus lanatus#, rye grain "Lolium multiflorum# and the legumes "rnithopus sati*a and %rifolium incarnatum, all used as fodder. 3ome fields are left fallow for the growth of volunteer legumes, "mostly s ecies of $le# and Spartium# used fro ?cattle beds@ in the stalls. After semi$decom osed materials fo the beds are worked into the soil of the farms as organic amendment. &ommon features of GIAHS Many of the above described traditional agroecosystems considered 17A!3 are small$ scale, geogra hically discontinuous, located on a multitude of different slo es, microclimates, elevational ,ones, soil ty es, surrounded by many different vegetation associations. 2he combinations of diverse hysical factors are numerous and are reflected in the diverse cro ing atterns chosen by farmers to e% loit site$s ecific characteristics. Many of the systems are surrounded by hysical barriers "i.e. forest,

river, mountain, etc.# and therefore are relatively isolated from other areas where the same cro s are grown in large scale. 3mall farmers living in 17A!3 dominated areas are more likely to lant various cro s on the same field, lant multi le times during the year, and integrate cro s, livestock, and even aquaculture, making more intensive use of s ace and time. Most 17A!3 have roved to be sustainable in their historical and ecological conte%t "Co% and Atkins (/0/#. Although the systems evolved in very different times and geogra hical areas, they share structural and functional commonalities "Beets (/<*) Marten (/<5#' 2hey combine s ecies and structural diversity in time and s ace through both vertical and horti,ontal organi,ation of cro s. 2he higher biodiversity of lants, microbes, and animals inherent to these systems su ort roduction of cro s and stock and mediate a reasonable degree of biological recycling of nutrients. 2hey e% loit the full range of micro$environments, which differ in soil, water, tem erature, altitude, slo e, and fertility within a field or region. 2hey maintain cycles of materials and wastes through effective recycling ractices. 2hey rely on biological interde endencies that rovide some level of biological est su ression. 2hey rely on local resources lus human and animal energy, using little technology. 2hey rely on local varieties of cro s and incor orate wild lants and animals. 4roduction is usually for local consum tion. 2he level of income is low, so the influence of non$economic factors on decision$making is substantial. 4erha s the most striking commonality among such systems includes' (. the ecosystem resilience and robustness that has been develo ed and ada ted to co e with change "human and hysical# so as to ensure food and livelihood security and alleviate risk and *. the human management strategies and rocesses that allow the maintenance of biodiversity and essential ecosystem services "water recharge and quality, nutrient recycling, soil conservation, est control, etc.#. T e landscape ecology of GIAHS 7n easant$dominated areas, the use of traditional farming ractices with minimal industrial in uts has resulted in a varied, highly heterogeneous landsca eM ossibly even more heterogeneous than would e%ist naturally. 7n such heterogeneous environments, natural and semi$natural ecosystem atches included in the landsca e can become a resource for agroecosystems. Most of the above studies of traditional agriculture have focused on the roductive units where cro s are grown, ignoring the fact that many easants utili,e, maintain, and

reserve, within or ad>acent to their ro erties, areas of natural ecosystems "forests, hillsides, lakes, grasslands, streamways, swam s, etc.# that contribute valuable food su lements, construction material, medicines, organic fertili,ers, fuels, religious items, etc. "2oledo et al. (/<5#. 7n fact, the cro roduction units and ad>acent ecosystems constitute a continuum where lant gathering, fishing, and cro roduction are actively undertaken. &or many easant societies agriculture is considered a art of a bigger system of land use. &or e%am le, the 4@urhe echa 7ndians who live in the region of lake 4at,cuaro in Michoacan, Me%ico, in addition to agriculture, include gathering a art of their com le% subsistence attern based on multi le uses of their natural resources "Caballero and Ma es (/<5#. 2hese eo le use more than **- s ecies of wild native and naturali,ed vascular lants for dietary, medicinal, household, and fuel needs. Agriculture$natural ecosystem interfaces are of key significance, and it has been shown that farmers accrue general ecological services from natural vegetation growing near their ro erties. An area of non$cro habitat ad>acent to a cro field, for e%am le, can harbour o ulations of natural enemies, which can move into the field and arasiti,e or rey u on est o ulations "Altieri (//-#. A ri arian corridor vegetated by native lant s ecies can filter out dissolved fertili,er nutrients leaching from cro fields, romote the resence of beneficial s ecies, and allow the movement of native animal s ecies into and through the agricultural com onents of the landsca e. 7n fact several studies have shown that such vegetation ermits easy emigration of natural enemies of insect ests from the surrounding >ungle "Altieri (/<-#. 7n western 1uatemala, small farms de end on nearby forests to manage marginal infertile soils. 8eaf litter is carried from nearby forests and s read each year over intensively cro ed vegetable lots to im rove tilth and water retention. 8itter is raked u , laced in bags or nets, and carried to fields by men or horses, or from more distant sources, by trucks. After s reading, the leaf litter is first laced beneath stable animals, and then, after a week or so the rich mi%ture of ulveri,ed leaves, manure, and urine is s read over the fields and turned under. Although the quantities a lied vary, farmers in Almolonga, Nunil, and Oue,altenango a ly as much as -C tonnes of litter9ha each year. =ough calculations made in mi%ed ine$oak stands indicate that one hectare of cro ed land requires the litter roduction from (C ha of regularly harvested forest, or less, if harvesting is s oradic "6ilken (/<0#. En the other hand, agroecosystems can begin to assume a ositive rather than a negative role in reserving the integrity of natural ecosystems. Many small$scale diversified argoecosystems have been designed and managed in ways that make them more friendly to native s ecies. &or e%am le, by encouraging hedgerows, vertebrates can be rovided with large habitats, better food sources, and corridors for movement. .ative lants can have more suitable habitats and find fewer barriers to dis ersal. 3maller organisms, such as belowground microbes and insects, can flourish in organically managed soils and thus benefit other s ecies since they are such im ortant elements in ecosystem structure and function "1liessman (//<#. By managing agricultural landsca es from the oint of view of biodiversity conservation as well as sustainable roduction, the multi le$use ca acity of agriculture can be enhanced, roviding several benefits simultaneously "2hru (//<#'

(. 7ncrease agricultural roductivity) *. Build stability, robustness, and sustainability of farming systems) +. Contribute to sound est and disease management) -. Conserve soil and increase natural soil fertility and soil health) 5. :iversify roducts and income o ortunities from farms) 5. Add economic value and increase net returns to farmers) 0. =educe or s read risks to individuals, communities, and nations) <. 7ncrease efficiency of resource use and restore ecological health) /. =educe ressure of agriculture on fragile areas, forests, and endangered s ecies) (C. =educe de endency on e%ternal in uts) and ((. 7ncrease nutritional values and rovide sources of medicines and vitamins. 2he ecological services derived from diversified systems can be reali,ed when e%amining the effects of agrobiodiversity in mitigating e%treme climatic effects, such as the drought romoted by Gl .ino. An agroforestry ro>ect reviving the Oue,ungal method, an ancient agricultural system, s ared about <- farming communities from destruction. &armers using the method lost only (CD of their cro s in (//<@s severe drought, and actually obtained a grain sur lus of 5$5 million ounds in the wake of !urricane Mitch. En the other hand, nearby communities which continued the use of slash and burn, were severely affected by Gl .ino, which left a legacy of human misery and destruction of vitally im ortant watersheds. 3urveys conducted in hillsides after !urricane Mitch in Central America showed that farmers using sustainable ractices such as cover cro s, intercro ing and agroforestry suffered less damage than their conventional neighbors. 2he survey, s earheaded by the Cam esino a Cam esino movement, mobili,ed (CC farmer$technician teams and (,0-+ farmers to carry out aired observations of s ecifid agroecological indicators on (,<Cneighboring, sustainable and conventional farms. 2he study s anned +5C communities and *- de artments in .icaragua, !onduras and 1uatemala. 3ustainable lots had *CD to -CD more to soil, greater soil moisture, less erosion and e% erienced lower economic losses than their conventional neighbors. Agroforestry rogrammes which reduce deforestation and burning of lant biomass can rovide a sink for atmos heric carbon dio%ide and also considerably reduce emissions of nitrous o%ide. =ecent research shows that romoting techniques already familiar to thousands of small farmers in 8atin America, such as cro rotation and cutting back on chemical fertili,ers through the use of com osting and cro covers, can act as im ortant sinks for atmos heric carbon dio%ide, storing it below the soil surface. 2he benefits of agrobiodiversity in enhancing multifunctional agriculture e%tend beyond the above$described effects, as shown by the im acts of shaded coffee farms in 8atin America. &armers ty ically integrate into their coffee farms many different leguminous trees, fruit trees, and ty es of fuelwood and fodder. 2hese trees rovide shade, a habitat for birds and animals that benefit the farming system. 7n Me%ico, shade coffee lantations su ort u to (<C s ecies of birds, including migrating s ecies, some of which lay key roles in est control and seed dis ersal. Mo an kitchen gardens a ear to rovide

im ortant habitat for .eotro ical migratory bird s ecies that winter or ass through Beli,e. Around Mo an villages, kitchen gardens are sometimes the only AforestB that remains with any structural com le%ity. Although kitchen gardens may not house avifauna that require large tracts of unbroken forest habitat, any habitat that su orts s ecies whose numbers are in decline should be considered im ortant. 8earning how to manage an agriculture that romotes both environmental as well as roductive functions will require in uts from disci lines not reviously e% loited by scientists, including agroecology, ethnoscience, conservation biology, and landsca e ecology. 2he bottom line, however, is that agriculture must ado t ecologically sound management ractices, including diversified cro ing systems, biological control, and organic soil management as re lacements for synthetic esticides, fertili,ers, and other chemicals. Enly with such a foundation can we attain the goal of a multifunctional agriculture. Some efforts aimed at preserving or vitali'ing GIAHS By understanding the common features of traditional agriculture, such as the ca acity to bear risk, the use of biological folk ta%onomies, and the roduction efficiencies derived from multi le and symbiotic cro mi%tures, agricultural scientists have been able to develo technologies that su ort the needs and circumstances of s ecific farmer grou s. 6hile subsistence farming generally lacks the otential for roducing a meaningful marketable sur lus, ti does ensure food security. Many scientists wrongly believe that traditional systems do not roduce more because hand tools and draft animals ut a ceiling on roductivity. !owever, where roductivity is low, the cause a ears to be social, not technical. 6hen the subsistence farmer succeeds in roviding food, there is no ressure to innovate or to enhance yields. Iet research shows that increased roductivity is ossible when traditional cro and animal combinations are ad>usted and when labor and local resources are used more efficiently "4retty (//5#. As the inability of the 1reen =evolution to im rove roduction and farm incomes for the very oor became a arent, growing enthusiasm for established, traditional agricultural ractices generated a renewed quest in the develo ing world for affordable, roductive, and ecologically sound technologies that could enhance small farm roductivity while conserving resources. 7n the Andean alti lano, develo ment workers and farmers have reconstructed a +CCC$year$old indigenous farming system at an altitude of almost -CCCm. 2hese indigenous farmers were able to roduce food in the face of floods, droughts, and severe frosts by growing cro s such as otatoes, quinoa, oca, and amaranthus in raised fields or Awaru$warus,B which consisted of latforms of soil surrounded by ditches filled with water "Browder (/</#. 2echnicians have now assisted local farmers in re$ constructing (C ha of these ancient farms, with encouraging results, which later led to a substantial e% ansion of the area under warus. &or instance, yields of otatoes from waru$warus roduce (C tons of otatoes er hectare com ared to the regional average of ($- tons9ha. 7n a com letely different ecoregion in the Andes, several institutions have engaged in rograms to restore abandoned farming terraces and build new ones. 7n the Colca Falley

of southern 4eru, 4=AF27= "4rograma de Acondicionamiento 2erritorial y Fivienda =ural# s onsors terrace reconstruction by offering easant communities low$interest loans, seeds, and other in uts to restore large areas of abandoned terraces. 2he main advantages of using terraces are that they minimi,e risk in times of frost or drought, reduce soil loss, am lify the cro ing o tions because of microclimate and hydraulic differences, and thus im rove cro yields. Iield data from new bench terraces show a -+$55 ercent yield increase in otatoes, mai,e, and barley com ared to yield of these cro s grown on slo ing fields. Ene of the main constraints of this technology is its high labor intensity, requiring about +5C$5CC worker$days er hectare for the initial buildling of the terraces. 3uch demands, however, can be buffered when communities organi,e and share tasks "Browder (/</#. Ene of the early ro>ects advocating the reconstruction of traditional farming systems occurred in Me%ico in the mid$(/0Cs when the then e%isting 7nstituto .acional de 7nvestigaciones sobre los =ecursos Bioticos "7.7=GB# unveiled a lan to build Achinam asB in the swam y region of Feracru, and 2abasco. Chinam a agriculture was erfected by the A,tec inhabitants of the Falley of me%ico rior to the 3 anish Conquest. 7t involves the construction of raised farming beds in shallow lakes or marshes, and re resents a self$sustaining system that has o erated for centuries as one of the most intensive and roductive ever devised by humans. Until the last several decades, chinam as demanded no significant ca ital in uts yet maintained e%traordinarily high yields year after year. A wide variety of sta le cro s, vegetable, and flowers are often mi%ed with an array of fruit trees and bushes. Abundant aquatic life in the canals rovides valuable sources of rotein for local diets "1liessman (//<#. .ow threatened by the s rawling growth of Me%ico City and its suburbs, chinam as have nearly vanished e%ce t in a few isolated areas. =egardless, this system still offers a romising model as it romotes biological diversity, thrives without chemical in uts, and sustains year$round yields. 6hen 7.7=GB first began to establish the chinam a system in the lowland tro ics of 2abasco, im lementation and ado tion met with mi%ed success. 3ome critics felt that not market outlets were e% lored or develo ed for the new out uts roduced by the community. .evertheless, the Araised bedsB of 2abasco "or camellones chontales# are still in full o eration in the swam s of this region, and a arently the local Chontal 7ndians have full control of them. 2he Chontal ractice traditional agriculture, and these raised beds roduce a great variety of roducts, which in turn have enhanced the income and food security of these Aswam farmers.B 2he analysis of do,ens of .1E$led agroecological ro>ects throughout the develo ing world have shown convincingly that agroecological systems are not limited to roducing low out uts, as some critics have asserted. 7ncreases in roduction of 5C$(CC ercent are fairly common with most alternative roduction methods. 7n some of these systems, yields for cro s that the oor rely on mostMrice, beans, mai,e, cassava, otatoes, barley Mhave been increased by several$fold, relying on labour and know$how more than on e% ensive urchased in uts, and ca itali,ing on rocesses of intensification and synergy "U hoff *CC*#.

7n a recent study of *C< agroecologically based ro>ects and9or initiatives throughout the develo ing world, 4retty and !ine "*CCC# documented clear increases in food roduction over some */ million hectares, with nearly / million households benefiting from increased food diversity and security. 4romoted sustainable agriculture ractices led to 5C$(CCD increases in er hectare food roduction "about (.0( Mg er year er household# in rain$fed areas ty ical of small farmers living in marginal environments) that is an area of about +.5< million hectares, cultivated by about -.-* million farmers. 3uch yield enhancements are a true breakthrough for achieving food security among farmers isolated from mainstream agricultural institutions. Approac es to preserve t e biodiversity of traditional agroecosystems As many rural societies undergo the conversion from a subsistence economy to a cash agricultural economy, the loss of biodiversity in their ecosystems is mounting at an alarming rate. Because many easants are directly linked to the market economy, e%ternal economic forces are increasingly influencing roduction by favoring genetically uniform cro s and mechani,ed and9or agrochemical ractices. Many landraces and wild lant relatives are being abandoned, which may cause them to become relic o ulations or even e%tinct. 7n some areas, land scarcity "mostly a result of uneven land distribution# has forced changes in land use and agricultural ractices, which in turn have caused the disa earance of habitats that formerly maintained useful noncro vegetation, including wild rogenitors and weedy forms of cro s "Altieri et al. (/<0#. 7n many arts of the world, genetic erosion is occurring at a fast ace because farmers are having to quickly change their farming systems because of economic, technical, and social ressures. As farmers ado t high$yield modern varieties "!IFs#, they often subdivide their farming systems into commercial "mostly devoted to !IFs# and subsistence sectors, growing native varieties in the latter. 2he greatest loss of traditional lant varieties is occurring in lowland valleys close to urban centers and markets "Brusth (/<5#. 1iven these destructive trends, many scientists and develo ment workers have em hasi,ed the need for in situ conservation of native cro genetic resources and the environments in which they occur "4rescott$Allen and 4rescott$Allen (/<(#. !owever, most researchers believe that in situ reservation of landraces would require a return to or the reservation of microcosms of traditional agricultural systems, which some regard as an unacce table and im racticable ro osition "&rankel and 3oule (/<(#. .evertheless, the maintenance of traditional agroecosystems may be the only sensible strategy to reserve in situ re ositories of cro germ lasm. Although most traditional agroecosystems are undergoing some rocess of moderni,ation or drastic modifcation, the conservation of cro genetic resources can still be integrated into agricultural develo ment, es ecially in regions where rural develo ment ro>ects reserve the vegetation diversity of traditional agroecosystems and are anchored in the easant rationale to utili,e local resources and their intimate knowledge of the environment "Alcorn (/<-) .abhan (/<+#.

4revious recommendations for in situ conservation of cro germ lasm em hasi,ed the develo ment of a system of village$level landrace custodians "a farmer curator system# whose ur ose would be to continue growing a limited sam le of endangered landraces native to the region "Mooney (/<+#. Ene suggestion for reserving cro $ lant diversity was for governments to set aside carefully chosen 5$by$*C km stri s of land at as few as (CC sites around the world where native agriculture is still racticed "6ilkes and 6ilkes (/0*#. But given the increasing im overishment and lack of income$generating alternatives for many rural o ulations in less develo ed countries, a ro osition of this kind is clearly unrealistic since it fails to address the subsistence needs of these o ulations. 7n many areas where the urgent short$term goal of the local eo le is survival, diverting the limited land available for conservation ur oses er se might rove totally ina ro riate. A more feasible a roach would be to su ort sustainable farming systems that incor orate native cro s and wild9weedy relatives within and around roduction fields, as well as a ro riate technologies aimed at u grading food roduction for self$sufficiency "Altieri and Merrick (/<0#. 3uch efforts would ensure that germ lasm reservation remains linked to the economic and agricultural viability of local o ulations. An e%am le of how a biodiversity$based grassroots a roach can su ort or even resurrect traditional agriculture is occurring on Chiloe 7sland in southern Chile. 2his is a secondary center of origin of otatoes, and develo ment workers are currently ta ing the ethnobotanical knowledge of elderly female !uilliche 7ndians in an effort to slow genetic erosion and to recover some of the original native otato germ lasm. 2hey intend to rovide im overished farmers with locally ada ted varieties that can roduce without the use of agrochemical fertili,ers. After surveying several agroecosystems on Chiloe, .1E technicians collected hundreds of sam les of native otatoes still grown by local farmers, and with this material, and in collaboration with farmers, they established community seed banks where more than (*C traditional varieties are grown year after year and are sub>ected to selection and seed enhancement. 7n this way, an in situ conservation rogram has been initiated involving farmers from various rural communities, thus ensuring the active e%change of varieties among artici ating farmers. As more farmers become involved, this strategy will rovide a continuous su ly of seeds to resource$ oor farmers and will also create a re ository of vital genetic diversity for future regional cro im rovement rograms "Altieri (//5#. 7f biodiversity conservation is to succeed among small farmers, conservation goals and rural develo ment efforts must be integrated to give equal im ortance to local resource conservation, food self$sufficiency, and equitable market artici ation. Any attem t at in situ cro genetic conservation must struggle to reserve the agroecosystem in which these resources occur ".abhan (/<+#. 7n the same vein, reservation of traditional agroecosystems cannot be achieved unless the sociocultural stability of the community is also assured "Altieri (//5#. 4eeded policy changes 2echnological or ecological intentions are not enough to reserve the integrity of 17A!3. Many factors constraint the im lementation of conservation efforts and ma>or changes

must be made in olicies, institutions and research and develo ment agendas to make sure that 17A!3 are reserved and revitali,ed. 2he evidence shows that sustainable agricultural systems can be both economically, environmentally and socially viable, and contribute ositively to local livelihoods "U hoff and Altieri (///#. But without a ro riate olicy su ort, they are likely to remain locali,ed in e%tent. 2herefore, a ma>or challenge for the future entails romoting institutional and olicy changes to reali,e the otential of 17A!3. .ecessary changes include' 7ncreasing ublic investments in agroecological L artici atory methods. Changes in olicies to sto subsidies of conventional technologies and to rovide su ort for agroecological a roaches. 7m rovement of infrastructure for oor and marginal areas. A ro riate equitable market o ortunities including fair market access and market information to small farmers. 3ecurity of tenure. Changes in attitudes and hiloso hy among decision$makers, scientists, and others to acknowledge and romote alternatives. 3trategies of institutions encouraging equitable artnershi s with local .1Es and farmers' re lace to $down transfer of technology model with artici atory technology develo ment and farmer$centered research and e%tension. (utloo) and prospects 2here is no question that thousands of small farmers that have inherited or develo ed 17A!3 throughout the develo ing world can roduce much of the needed food while conserving biodiversity and material resources "U hoff and Altieri (///) 4retty and !ine *CCC#. 2he evidence is conclusive' a roaches and technologies s earheaded by farmers around the world are already making a sufficient contribution to food security at the household, national, and regional levels. A variety of agroecological and artici atory a roaches su orting farmers@ efforts in many countries show very ositive outcomes even under adverse conditions. 4otentials include' raising cereal yields from 5C to *CC ercent, increasing stability of roduction through diversification, im roving diets and income, contributing to national food security and even to e% orts and conservation of the natural resource base and agrobiodiversity "4retty (//5) U hoff and Altieri (///#. 6hether the otential of 17A!3 is reserved or re$vitali,ed so as to s read local agroecological innovations to other communities de ends on several factors and actions. &irst, ro osed strategies have to deliberately target the oor, and not only aim at increasing roduction and conserving natural resources, but also create em loyment, and rovide access to local in uts and out ut markets. .ew strategies must focus on the facilitation of farmers learning to become e% erts on agroecology, and at ca turing the o ortunities in their diverse environments "U hoff *CC*#. 3econd, researchers and rural develo ment ractitioners will need to translate general ecological rinci les and natural resource management conce ts into ractical advice directly relevant to the needs and circumstances of small$holders. 2he new ro$ oor technological agenda must incor orate agroecological ers ectives. A focus on resource

conserving technologies that uses labor efficiently, and on diversified farming systems based on natural ecosystem rocesses will be essential. 2his im lies a clear understanding of the relationshi between biodiversity and agroecosystem function and identifying management ractices and designs that will enhance the right kind of biodiversity which in turn will contribute to the maintenance and roductivity of agroecosystems. 2echnological solutions will be location$s ecific and information$intensive rather than ca ital$intensive. 2he many e%isting e%am les of traditional and .1E$led methods of natural resource management rovide o ortunities to e% lore the otential of combining local farmer knowledge and skill with those of e%ternal agents in order to develo and9or ada t a ro riate farming techniques. Any serious attem t at develo ing sustainable agricultural technologies must bring to bear local knowledge and skills on the research rocess "=ichards (//5) 2oledo *CCC#. 4articular em hasis must be given to involving farmers directly in the formulation of the research agenda and on their active artici ation in the rocess of technological innovation and dissemination. 2he focus should be in strengthening local research and roblem$solving ca acities. Ergani,ing local eo le around natural resource management ro>ects that make effective use of traditional skills and knowledge rovides a launching ad for additional learning and organi,ing, thus im roving ros ects for community em owerment and self$reliant develo ment. 2hird, ma>or changes must be made in olicies, institutions, and research. 7n fact, 4retty and !ine "*CC(# concluded from their worldwide survey of sustainable agriculture initiatives that if sustainable agriculture is to s read to larger numbers of farmers and communities, then future attention needs to be focused on' (. Gnsuring the olicy environment is enabling rather than disabling) *. 7nvesting in infrastructure for markets, trans ort and communications) +. Gnsuring the su ort of government agencies, in articular, for local sustainable agricultural initiatives) -. :evelo ing social ca ital within rural communities. 2here is also a need to increase rural incomes through interventions other than enhancing yields, such as com lementary marketing and rocessing activities. 2herefore, equitable market o ortunities should also be develo ed, em hasi,ing fair trade and other mechanisms that link farmers and consumers more directly. 2he ultimate challenge is to increase investment and research in agroecology and scale u ro>ects that have already roven successful to thousands of other farmers. 2his will generate a meaningful im act on the income, food security, and environmental well$being of the world@s o ulation, es ecially for the millions of oor farmers yet untouched by modern agricultural technology. &onclusions A key conclusion that emerges from the relevant anthro ological and ecological literature is that, when not disru ted by economic or olitical forces, indigenous modes of food

roduction "17A!3# generally reserve rather than destroy biodiversity and natural resources. 7n fact, in any articular region, ca italist develo ment through the romotion of large$scale, energy$intensive, commercial agricultures is bound to de lete natural resources more than any of the e%isting traditional systems. :evelo ment goals of increasing roduction usually result in ecological deterioration. &or e%am le, in 3enegal, *5,CCC hectares ut under irrigation for rice are now degraded, as ine% erienced eo le quickly erected oorly built irrigation structures in order to satisfy a government requirement for establishing tenure "Ba and Crousse (/<5#. 4olders constructed to control water flow are not fle%ible enough in times of drought. 4olders also affect fishing enough in times of drought. 4olders also affect fishing, as changes in the flow of the river and the dis lacement of water through olders affect fish breeding and feeding. 2he transition to a market economy ignores the nature of the 3ahelian climate and soils and de rives traditional Marka grou s of their ability to res ond fle%ibly in times of environmental distress. 7ntroduction of transgenic cro s into such regions will further accelerate the loss of indigenous knowledge and culture that make the traditional system sustainable. &or e%am le, .igh and colleagues "*CCC# have ointed out that characteristics of genetically altered grain could s read to local varieties favored by small$scale farmers and dilute the natural sustainability of these races. At the landsca e scale, intensification of agriculture commonly includes an increase in the si,e of fields and rogressive s eciali,ation in roduction goals leading to homogeni,ation of the landsca e both within farms and across substantial areas or even regions "6olman and &ournier (/<0#. 2his entails a move away from 17A!3 with a diversity of different roduction systems, e.g. home gardens "gardens for fruit, vegetables, s ices and medicines#, a variety of s eciali,ed or s ecies$diverse cro fields, including systems related to s ecific micro$environments "e.g. wetlands used for rice cultivation# and associated livestock roduction areas "including aquaculture in wetlands# "Ekigbo and 1reenland (/05#. 2his homogeni,ation reduces the com le%ity of the interface between units on the landsca e and leads to reduced biological migration, habitat diversity " articularly of ecotones# and disru tion of nutrient flows. A number of studies have roven that many traditional agricultural systems are highly sustainable and roductive, offering an alternative to the ca ital$intensive agriculture currently romoted by many develo ment and government agencies. Besides em loying cro diversity, traditional farmers use a set of ractices that often cause minimal land degradation. 2hese include the use of terraces and hedgerows in slo ing areas, minimal tillage, mulching, small field si,es, and long fallow cycles "1rigg (/0-) Brush (/<*) =ichards (/<5) .etting (//+#. Confronted with s ecific roblems of slo e, flooding, drought, ests, diseases and low fertility, small farmers have develo ed unique management systems to overcome these constraints "2able 5#. 7t is clear that this more traditional strategy is both ecologically informed and environmentally sound, as the agricultural ractices that are most likely to endure are those that deviate least from the natural lant communities within which they e%ist "Altieri (//5) 1liessman (//<#.

4lant resources are directly de endent on management by human grou s) thus, both s ecies and genetic diversity have evolved in art under the influence of farming ractices sha ed by articular cultures and the forms of so histicated knowledge they re resent ".abhan (/<+#. 2oday, it is widely acce ted that indigenous knowledge is a owerful resource in its own right and com lementary to knowledge available from 6estern scientific sources. 2herefore, in studying such systems, it is not ossible to se arate the study of agricultural biodiversity from the study of the culture that nurtures it. 2his assessment of traditional subsistence agriculture does not romantici,e its origins or ractitioners, nor does it consider develo ment er se to be detrimental. 2he intention is rather to stress the demonstrated value of traditional agriculture in the reservation of biodiversity, native cro diversity, and the ad>acent vegetation communities "2oledo (/<C#. Basing a rural develo ment strategy on traditional farming and ethnobotanical knowledge not only assures the continual use and maintenance of valuable genetic resources, but also allows for the diversification of easant or other indigenous subsistence strategies "Alcorn (/<-) Caballero and Ma es (/<5#, which is a crucial issue in times of economic uncertainty. Gnsuring sustainability of roduction requires a dee understanding of how various social systems work. 3ocial systems have dee ties to the environment through culturally mediated and s eciali,ed relationshi s "!alstead and E@3hea (/</#. 2o know the hysical needs of a articular cro is not enough information to roduce consistent quantities in a sustainable manner. &armers make decisions based on variables that may seem Aunscientific,B because the farmers are considering these variables from a different tem oral and s atial scale than normally understood in the develo ed world. Ene needs to understand the evolutionary nature of Asecret knowledgeB and intergrou relations that function together as art of a subsistence system and that buffer the system against environmental and olitical variability. 2he study of traditional agroecosystems and the ways in which indigenous eo les maintain and use biodiversity can facilitate the discovery of valuable agroecological rinci les, which in turn can contribute to the develo ment of more sustainable agroecosystems and biodiversity conservation strategies in both develo ed and less develo ed countries. 2raditional agriculture is ra idly disa earing in the face of ma>or social, olitical, and economic changes. 2he conservation and management of these systems and associated agrobiodiversity will be ossible only if they are linked to the reservation of the cultural diversity and economic viability of the local farming o ulations. 2he conservation of 17A!3 is vital to the future of humankind, and should be treated at the international level as an ecological9cultural resource of utmost global significance.

*eferences (. Alcorn, J.B. (/<-. (uastec Mayan Ethno!otany Austin' University of 2e%as 4ress. *. Altieri, M.A. (/<0. Agroecology' 2he scientific basis of alternative agriculture. Boulder' 6estview 4ress. +. Altieri, M.A. (//(. 2raditional &arming in 8atin America. %he Ecologist, *('/+$ /5. -. Altieri, M.A. (//-. Biodi*ersity and pest management in agroecosystems. .ew Iork' !aworth 4ress. 5. Altieri, M.A. (//5. Agroecology5 the science of sustaina!le agriculture Boulder' 6estview 4ress. 5. Altieri, M.A. and Anderson, M.H. (/<5. An ecological basis for the develo ment of alternative agricultural systems for small farmers in the 2hird 6orld. Amer 6 Alternati*e Agriculture, ('+C$+<. 0. Altieri, M.A., Anderson, M.H., and Merrick, 8.C. (/<0. 4easant agriculture and the conservation of cro and wild lant resources. 6 Soc Conser*ation Biol , ('-/$5<. <. Altieri, M.A. and !echt, 3.B. (//(. Agroecology and small farm develo ment. Boca =aton' C=C 4ress. /. Altieri, M.A. and Merrick, 8.C. (/<0. 4easant agriculture and the conservation of cro and wild lant resources. 6 Cons Biol , ('-/$5<. (C. Altieri, M.A. and Merrick, 8.C. (/<0. 7n situ conservation of genetic resources through maintenance of traditional farming systems. Economic Botany, -'<5$/5. ((. Beets, 6.C. (/<*. Multiple cropping and tropical farming systems Boulder' 6estview 4ress. (*. Beets, 6.C. (//C. 7aising and sustaining producti*ity of smallholders farming systems in the %ropics !olland' AgBe 4ublishing. (+. Brokenshaw, :.6., 6arren, :.M. and 6erner, E. (/<C. Indigenous 8no-ledge Systems and De*elopment 8anham' University 4ress of America. (-. Brookfield, !. and 4adoch, C. (//-. A reciating agrobiodiversity' a look at the dynamism and diversity of indigenous farming ractices. En*ironment, +5'0$*C. (5. Brush, 3.B. (/<*. 2he natural and human environment of the central Andes. Mountain 7esearch and De*elopment, *'(-$+<. (5. Brush, 3.B. (/<5. 1enetic diversity and conservation in traditional farming systems. 6 Ethno!iol , 5'(5($50. (0. Caballero, J... and Ma es, C. (/<5. 1athering and subsistence atterns among the 4@ure echa 7ndians of Me%ico. 6 Ethno!iol , 5'+($-0. (<. Chang, J.!. (/00. 2ro ical agriculture' cro diversity and cro yields. Econ +eogr , 5+'*-($5-. (/. Clarke, 6.C. and 2haman, =.=. (//+. Agroforestry in the )acific5 systems for sustaina!ility 2okyo' United .ations University 4ress. *C. Clawson, :.8. (/<5. !arvest security and intras ecific diversity in traditional tro ical agriculture. Econ Bot , +/'50$50.

*(. :enevan, 6.M. (//5. 4rehistoric agricultural methods for sustainability. Ad*anced )lant )athology, (('*($-+. **. :enevan, 6.M., 2reace, J.M., Alcorn, J.B., 4adoch, C., :enslow, J., and 4aitan, 3.2. (/<-. 7ndigenous agroforestry in the 4eruvian Ama,on' Bora 7ndian management of swidden fallows. Interciencia, /'+-5$50. *+. Grickson, C.8. and Chandler, H.8. (/</. =aised fields and sustainable agriculture in lake 2iticaca Basin of 4eru. 7n' Browder, J.E. "Gd.# 9ragile Lands of Latin America, . *+C$-+. Boulder' 6estview 4ress. *-. &rancis, C.A. (/<5. Multiple cropping systems. .ew Iork' MacMillan. *5. 1liessman, 3.=. (//<. Agroecology5 ecological process in sustaina!le agriculture. Michigan' Ann Arbor 4ress. *5. 1liessman, 3.=., 1arcia, G., and Amador, A. (/<(. 2he ecological basis for the a lication of traditional agricultural technology in the management of tro ical agroecosystems. Agro'Ecosystems, 0' (0+$<5. *0. 1rigg, :.B. (/0-. %he agricultural systems of the -orld5 an e*olutionary approach. Cambridge' Cambridge University 4ress. *<. !arwood, =.=. (/0/. Small farm de*elopment : understanding and impro*ing farming systems in the humid tropics. Boulder' 6estview 4ress. */. !olt,$1imene,, G. (//5. 2he cam esino a cam esino movement' farmer$led, sustainable agriculture in Central America and Me%ico. 9ood 9irst De*elopment 7eport .o. (C. Eakland' 7nstitute of &ood and :evelo ment 4olicy. +C. Jimene,$Esornio, J. and del Amo, 3. (/<5. An intensive Me%ican traditional agroecosystem' the chinam a. 4roc. 5th 7nternational 3cientific Conference 7&EAM, 3anta Cru,, California. +(. Hlee, 1.A. (/<C. &orld Systems of %raditional 7esource Management .ew Iork' J. 6iley and 3ons. +*. Marten, 1.C. (/<5. %raditional agriculture in Southeast Asia5 a human ecology perspecti*e Boulder' 6estview 4ress. ++. .orman, M.J.2. (/0/. Annual cropping systems in the tropics 1ainesville' University 4resses of &lorida. +-. Ertega, G. (/<5. )easant agriculture in Latin America. 3antiago' Joint GC8AC9&AE Agriculture :ivision. +5. 4retty, J. (//5. 7egenerating agriculture. 6ashington, :C' 6orld =esources 7nstitute. +5. =ein>tes, C., !averkort, B. and 6aters$Bayer, A. (//*. 9arming for the future 8ondon' MacMillan +0. =ichards, 4. (/<5. Indigenous Agricultural 7e*olution Boulder' 6estview 4ress. +<. 3wift, M.3., Fandermeer, J., =amakrishnan, 4.3., Anderson, J.M., Eng, C.H., and !awkins, B.A. (//5. Biodiversity and agroecosystem function. 7n' Mooney, !.A. et al. "Gds.# 9unctional 7oles of Biodi*ersity5 A +lo!al )erspecti*e, . *5($/<. .ew Iork' J. 6iley and 3ons. +/. 2hru , 8.A. (//<. Culti*ating di*ersity5 agro!iodi*ersity and food security. 6ashington :C' 6orld =esources 7nstitute. -C. 2oledo, F.M., Carabias, J., Ma es, C., and 2oledo, C. (/<5. Ecologia y Autosuficiencia Alimentaria. Me%ico City' 3iglo Fientiumo Gditors.

-(. 2reacey, J.M. (/</. Agricultural terraces in 4eru@s Colca Falley' romises and roblems of an ancient technology. 7n' Browder, J.E. "Gd.# 9ragile lands of Latin America Boulder' 6estview 4ress. -*. Fandermeer, J. and erfecto, 7. (//5. Brea.fast of !iodi*ersity5 the truth a!out rainforest destruction Eakland' &ood &irst Books. -+. 6ilken, 1.C. (/<0. +ood 9armers5 traditional agricultural resource management in Me#ico and +uatemala Berkeley' University of California 4ress.

Table +, &lassification of -arming Systems

Tree &rops Tillage #it or #it out livestoc) Tropical
Collection from wild trees, e.g. shea butter 3elf$sown oil alms in 6est Africa Cereal growing in 7nterior 4lains of .. America, am as of 3. America, in unirrigated areas, e.g. 3yria :ry cereal farming in 7srael or 2e%as, U3A Unirrigated cereals in central 3udan

Alternating tillage #it grass, bus or forest Temperat e

3hifting cultivation in .egev :esert, 7srael

Temperat e
Fery e%tensive Cork collection from Maquis in southern &rance 3elf$sown or lanted blue berries in the northeast of the U3A

Temperat e

Tropical

Tropical
3hifting cultivation in Nambia

Grassland or Gra'ing of land consistently in .indigenous/ or man0 made pasture Temperat Tropical e
=eindeer herding in 8a land. .omadic astoralism in Afghanistan 6ool$ growing in Australia. !ill shee in the U.H. "3hee in 7celand#. Cattle ranching in the U3A. U land shee country in .orth 7sland, .ew Nealand Camel$ herding in Arabia and 3omalia .omadic cattle$ herding in Gast and 6est Africa. 8lamas in 3outh America Cattle and buffaloes in mi%ed farming in 7ndia and Africa

G%tensive G%am les

3hifting cultivation in the more arid arts of Africa

3emi$ intensive G%am les

Cider a le orchards in the U.H. 3ome vineyards in &rance

Cocoa in 6est Africa. Coffee in Bra,il

Continuous cro ing in congested areas of Africa. =ice in 3.G. Asia

7ntensive G%am les

Citrus in California or 7srael

=ubber in 3.G. Asia. 2ea in 7ndia and Ceylon

Corn Belt of the U3A. Continuous barley growing in the U.H.

=ice and vegetable growing in south China. 3ugar$cane lantations throughout tro ics

2y ical &ood Chains

A,B

Cotton or tobacco with livestock in the southeast of the U3A. 6heat with leys and shee in Australia 7rrigated rice and grass beef farms in Australia. Much of the east and south of the U.H., the .etherlands, northern &rance, :enmark, southern 3weden A,B,C,:

3hifting cultivatio nin much of tro ical Africa

G% eriment stations and scattered settlement schemes

4arts of the .etherlands, .ew Nealand and Gngland

:airying in Henya and =hodesia highlands

A "C#

C ":#

Table 1, 2artial 3istribution and "xtent of 2easant Agriculture in t e 3eveloping 4orld

*egion 8atin America 5umber of -armers a. b. (5C million easant units 5C million indigenous eo le Area ( ectares or 6) +<D of total land devoted to agriculture, about 5C.5 million hectares. !alf of humid tro ics in Me%ico and Ama,on (CC$(5C million hectares &ontribution to food security a. -(D of food cro consumed domestically

Africa

Asia

5C$<CD labor force involved in agriculture b. 0CD of o ulation living in rural areas "about +05 million# of 3ub$3aharan Africa *CC million small scale rice farmers

a.

<CD of cereals /5D of meat

a. b.

0.+ million hectares of u land rice *C.5 million hectares of rainfed rice

*CC million eo le su orted by u land shifting cultivation

Table 7, T e 8avilou &enters of (rigin of &rop 2lants and Agriculture

I, T e & inese &enter: in which he recogni,es (+< distinct s ecies of which robably the earlier and most im ortant were cereals, buckwheats and legumes. II, T e Indian &enter (including t e entire subcontinent): based originally on rice, millets and legumes, with a total of ((0 s ecies. IIa, T e Indo0%alayan &enter (including Indonesia, 2 ilippines, etc,): with root cro s "Dioscorea s ., %acca, etc.# re onderant, also with fruit cro s, sugarcane, s ices, etc., some 55 s ecies. III, T e Inner Asiatic &enter (Tad9i)istan, :'be)istan, etc,): with wheats, rye and many herbaceous legumes, as well as seed$sown root cro s and fruits, some -* s ecies. I8, Asia %inor (including Transcaucasia, Iran and Tur)menistan): with more wheats, rye, oats, seed and forage legumes, fruits, etc., some <+ s ecies. 8, T e %editerranean &enter: ofm roe limited im ortance than the others to the east, but including wheats, barleys, forage lants, vegetables and fruits L es ecially also s ices and ethereal oil lants, some <s ecies. 8I, T e Abyssinian (no# "t iopian) &enter: of lesser im ortance for mai,e, )haseolus and Cucurbitaceous s ecies, with s ices, fruits and fibre lants, some -/ s ecies. 8II, T e Sout %exican and &entral American &enter: im ortant for mai,e, )haseolus and Cucurbitaceous s ecies, with s ices, fruits and fibre lants, some -/ s ecies. 8III, Sout America Andes region (!olivia, 2eru, "cuador): im ortant for otatoes, other root cro s, grain cro s of the Andes, vegetables, s ices and fruits, as well as drugs "cocaine, quinine, tobacco, etc.#, some -5 s ecies. 8IIIa, T e & ilean &enter: only four s ecies L outside the main area of cro domestication, and one of these "Solanum tu!erosum# derived from the Andean center in any case. 2his could hardly be com ared with the eight main centers. 8IIIb, !ra'ilian02araguayan &enter: again, outside the main centers with only (+ s ecies, though Manihot "cassava# and Arachis " eanut# are of considerable im ortance) others such as inea le, (e*ea rubber, %heo!roma cacao were robably domesticated much later.

Table ;, Agroclimatic crop 'ones of t e central Andes (!rus +<=1),

None
4asture +,<CC

Ma>or Agricultural Cro s9Animals 2echnology

8and 2enure &ocus of 4roduction

Communal Market "es . ownershi and wool# and communal use subsistence

above Al acas 8lamas 3hee Cattle 2uber 4otatoes +,CCC$-,*CCm. Ouinoa9canihua Barley Ether native tubers "mashua, ulluca, oca# Cereal Corn (,5CC$+,CCCm. 6heat Cucurbits Beans 2em erate fruits and vegetable 2ro ical9fruit Cocoa 5CC$(,5CCm. 3ugarcane Cotton 2ro ical fruit Corn

!oe &oot low :ung fertli,er

Communal 3ubsistence ownershi with as individual use

:raft animals 4rivate 3ome ownershi mechani,ation use and chemical fertili,er Mainly agro$ 4rivate industrial ownershi technology use

3ubsistence and "grains# and market "fruits and vegetables# Market and

Table >, African Traditional -ood -arming Systems and T reats to Sustainability (after !enne +<<?)
System 3hifting cultivation %a9or c aracteristics =ainfed agriculture. 3lash$and$burn cultivation. 3im le hand tools. 3oil fertility restored by fallow vegetation. 7ntercro ing. Communal tenure. .o ermanent settlements. Erientation is subsistence. 3ame characteristics as above) however, soil fertility is restored through land rotation within fi%ed area of farmland 4ermanent farming settlements. Erientation is both subsistence and commercial. Communal tenure, sharecro ing, and renting. 3ame characteristics as above, e%ce t more ermanent cultivation. 3oil fertility restored by lanted fallow "Acioa !arterri and Macrolo!ium macrophyllum#. Geograp ic spread &ormerly wides read, now almost e%tinct

Bush fallow system or land rotation

6idely racticed in all ecological regions of 3ub$ 3aharan Africa.

4lanted fallow system

Areas of high o ulation density, such as 7bo, Aba, and 7bibio districts of eastern .igeria.

 Com ound or homestead farming

2errace farming

&lood land cultivation

2ranshumance astoralism

Agroforestry. &amily and individual ownershi , sharecro ing, and renting. 4ermanent system of cultivation. 3oil fertility maintained through a lication of household refuse, night soil, and manure. Mi%ed cro ing. Erientation is subsistence. &amily ownershi . 7ntensive cultivation as above. &amily or individual ownershi . 3 ecial terraces constructed to check erosion and control water. Mi%ed cro ing. 7ntensive seasonal cultivation. Cultivation of different cro s according to whether flood is rising or reducing. Erientation is subsistence and commercial. .omadic gra,ing of livestock determined by seasonal rainfall.

:ensely settled areas in the different ecological ,ones. 3ometimes combined with bush fallow systems.

U land or hilly areas in different ecological ,ones.

:raw$down areas of ma>or rivers, streams, and lakes. Falley bottom during the dry season.

Arid regions.

Table ?, Some examples of soil, space, #ater and vegetation management systems used by traditional agriculturalists t roug out t e #orld (after @lee +<=A), "nvironmental constraint (b9ective *ecommended practice 8imited s ace Ma%imi,e use of 7ntercro ing, agroforestry, environmental resources multi$story cro ing, home and land. gardens, altitudinal cro ,onation, farm fragmentation, rotation. 3tee slo es Control erosion and 2erracing, contour farming, conserve water. living and dead barriers, mulching, leveling, continuous cro and9or fallow cover, stone walls. Marginal soil fertility 3ustain soil fertility and .atural or im roved fallow, recycle organic matter. cro rotations and intercro ing with legumes, litter gathering, com osting, manuring, green manuring, gra,ing animals in fallow fields, night soil and household refuse, mounding with hoe, ant hills as source of fertili,er, use of alluvial

&looding or e%cess water G%cess water

7ntegrate agriculture with water su ly. Channel9direct available water.

de osits, and use of aquatic weeds and muck, alley cro ing with legumes, lowed leaves, branching and other debris, burning vegetation, etc. =aised field agriculture "chinam as, tablones#, ditched fields, diking, etc. Control floodwater with canals and check dams. 3unken fields dug down to groundwater level. 3 lash irrigation. Canal irrigation fed from onded groundwater, wells, lakes, and reservoirs.
Use of drought$tolerant cro s ecies and varieties, mulching, weather indicators, mi%ed cro ing using end of rainy season, cro s with short growing eriods.

Unreliable rainfall

Best use of available moisture.

2em erature or radiation e%tremes

Ameliorate microclimate.

4est incidence "invertebrates, vertebrates#

3hade reduction or enhancement) lant s acings) thinnings) shade$ tolerant cro s) increased lant densities) mulching) wind management with hedges, fences, tree rows) weeding) shallow lowing) minimum tillage) intercro ing) agroforestry) alley$cro ing, etc. 4rotect cro s, minimi,e est Ever lanting, allowing est o ulations. damage, cro watching, hedging or fencing, use of resistant varieties, mi%ed cro ing, enhancement of natural enemies, hunting, icking, use of oisons, re ellants, lanting in times of low est otential.