Agroecología. A tongue-twister word that came up many
times as we toured with Heifer Ecuador. Agroecology originally defined as 'the
application of ecological principles to agriculture' and first defined and used by Miguel Altieri of University of California Berkeley in 1983.
The concept has continued to evolve. Agroecology is the sustainable use and management of natural
resources, accomplished by using social, cultural, economic, political and
ecological methods that work together to achieve sustainable agriculture
production. We found living illustrations of this in the province of
Tungurahua, in the Andes south of Quito.
In the high Andean fields of Señor Anibal Moreta, we learned
that he and his fellow farmers have been dedicated to amending their soil with
compost (only one agroecological practice of many). It is gorgeous soil,
fertile and friable, supporting all manner of vegetables. Señor Moreta plunged
his hand into a furrow to demonstrate that no hoe or shovel — nor tractor — was
needed to work this ground. He pointed out the mixed plantings, opposite the
practice of mono-cropping, where the diversity of plants helps to foil pests. His
fields are surrounded by hedgerows specifically planted to attract beneficial
insects.
Fellow tourist Profesora Jacquelyn Contreras of Catholic
University of Quito, currently working on her Ph.D in agroecology, explained
that although the discipline has only been formalized in the past 30 years, the
bodies of knowledge it draws from are as ancient as the indigenous presence in
the Americas.
As we gazed out over the rows of healthy plants to the
Andean foothills beyond, we began to sense the farm’s place in a long continuum —
ancient knowledge to present well-being to future planetary health.
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