Agroecology

by Miguel A. Altieri

Based on new research results and practical findings, this new, revised edition of a classic text re-emphasizes the importance of agroecology as the discipline that provides the basic ecological principles of how to study, design and manage agroecosystems

Genres: Agriculture, Food, Ecology, Gardening, Science

430 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Jeremy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was pretty interesting. I can't give it a very high rating because It just wasn't that fun to read. It was however very informative. I goes into brutal detail regarding mixing and rotating crops to utilize space, maximize production, control pests/disease, and enhance soil quality. All angles were covered all the way down to the biochemical explanations for why these methods work. In addition the author used traditional models from past generations include rice patties with grazing fish or raising chickens with produce to control bugs. I will continue to read books like this because they provide alternatives to our already failing food system

[Luis Andrade M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Siempre imaginé a la agricultura como una actividad amigable al ambiente, pero no había caído en cuenta en que las prácticas intensivas, monocultivo y el abuso de pesticidas dañan tanto como la industria a nuestro planeta.

Excelente libro.

[Bram · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative, though of course not entirely up-to-date anymore. What bothered me greatly was the fact that many scientific/botanical names were spelled wrong to such an extent that often the only hit I got on Google was a quote from the book itself.

[Adam · Rating 1 out of 5]

Altieri's book is one of the foundational texts of Agroecology, and it seemed like a logical read to pursue my interest in that field. But it turns out that it's not really a very good book. I skimmed it, reading a few of the examples they give.

The flaws: Way too many flowcharts, graphs, charts, etc. They rarely convey information but instead express these typologies and lists. The text is filled in with the exposition of the same ideas - few specifics, huge generalizations, and nothing concrete to grab on to. This is really problematic because of the complexity of agroecology. There are no generalizable solutions, and everything that is done ought to be deep place-based, with a thorough understanding of the natural history of your crops, of your markets, and of the environmental history of the area. All of that makes the discipline fascinating, but it makes it almost incomprehensibly abstract when discussed in non-specific terms.

The examples themselves are essentially just lists of crops with some basic descriptions of interactions. Difficult to focus on and without any concrete lessons.

The book comes from the early days of the field, so it suffers from an incredible dearth of data. Techniques used by traditional farmers are appropriately respected, and the authors usually just take the benefits and values of their systems at face value. That's fine, but data is one of the few relatively objective and convincing ways to present this stuff, and it really helps tie observed phenomena to the places and environments where they have been proven (this is key because much of this research is so underfunded that it is rarely reproduced in multiple places - extrapolation is the de facto best-case habit but it is not always justifiable).

Worse than all that, but not a fault of the book's, was that everything that was interesting or compelling was stuff I already knew. Having been to the MOSES Organic Farming conference three years in a row, using cover crops, biological pest management, and intercropping was no news to me. Having toured the Chagga homegardens, I understand the logic of perennial polycultures fairly well. The book may have been interesting and revelatory when it was first published, but this stuff has all been worked into the mainstream of the sustainable ag movement by now.