IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/agrhuv/v41y2024i1d10.1007_s10460-023-10490-y.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Agroecological management of spontaneous vegetation in Bachajón’s Tseltal Maya milpa: a preventive focus

Author

Listed:
  • Betsabe Guillen Pasillas

    (Carretera Panamericana y Periférico Sur, Barrio de María Auxiliadora)

  • Helda Morales

    (Carretera Panamericana y Periférico Sur, Barrio de María Auxiliadora)

  • Bruce G. Ferguson

    (Carretera Panamericana y Periférico Sur, Barrio de María Auxiliadora)

  • Evelio Gómez Hernández

    (Corral de Piedra 2 Ciudad Universitaria Intercultural)

  • Guadalupe del Carmen Álvarez Gordillo

    (Carretera Panamericana y Periférico Sur, Barrio de María Auxiliadora)

  • Mateo Mier y Terán Giménez Cacho

    (Carretera Panamericana y Periférico Sur, Barrio de María Auxiliadora)

Abstract

In recent years, a great deal of evidence has accumulated on the health risks and environmental impacts of some herbicides. Both conventional agriculture and agroecology are searching for alternatives to address the challenges posed by the consequences of herbicide use. In this search, peasant and indigenous agroecosystems have much to contribute since their crops evolved thousands of years ago together with diverse communities of weeds, and farmers have carried out sophisticated strategies to manage them. Through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, free lists, and botanical collection, we document a milpa design that integrates and manages spontaneous vegetation to take advantage of its presence and minimize risks of crop loss. The objective of this article is to critically contrast agroecological mechanisms in this milpa design which matches the prevention principle with a set of recommendations recognized as preventive in conventional weed science.

Suggested Citation

  • Betsabe Guillen Pasillas & Helda Morales & Bruce G. Ferguson & Evelio Gómez Hernández & Guadalupe del Carmen Álvarez Gordillo & Mateo Mier y Terán Giménez Cacho, 2024. "Agroecological management of spontaneous vegetation in Bachajón’s Tseltal Maya milpa: a preventive focus," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 41(1), pages 331-344, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:41:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s10460-023-10490-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-023-10490-y
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10460-023-10490-y
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10460-023-10490-y?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Helda Morales & Ivette Perfecto, 2000. "Traditional knowledge and pest management in the Guatemalan highlands," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 17(1), pages 49-63, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nathan Einbinder & Helda Morales & Mateo Mier y Terán Giménez Cacho & Bruce G. Ferguson & Miriam Aldasoro & Ronald Nigh, 2022. "Agroecology from the ground up: a critical analysis of sustainable soil management in the highlands of Guatemala," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(3), pages 979-996, September.
    2. Kris Wyckhuys & Robert O’Neil, 2007. "Local agro-ecological knowledge and its relationship to farmers’ pest management decision making in rural Honduras," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 24(3), pages 307-321, September.
    3. Tamar Diana Wilson, 2023. "Hegemony, Quasi-Counterhegemony, and Counterhegemony in Pesticide Use in Latin America With Special Reference to Mexico," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 55(3), pages 373-389, September.
    4. Surya Rathore & Manish Chandola & Rupan Raghuvanshi & Manmeet Kaur & Kundan Veer Singh, 2021. "Indigenous Pest Management Practices of Indian Hill Farmers: Introspecting Their Rationale and Communication Pattern for Secure Ecosystems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-17, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:41:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s10460-023-10490-y. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.