► Singular agriculture

Rural topic(s): Local ecological knowledge

Type: book

Date of publication: January 1, 2008

Author(s) of the document: Mollard Eric, Walter Annie

Abstract:

Written in a style accessible to all, abundantly illustrated, this book shows us the diversity of « singular agriculture » which, beyond the exceptional heritage it represents, bear witness to the infinite variety of forms of agriculture developed in the world.

In the introduction, the authors explain the aim of the book:

« Although it draws entirely on the traditional knowledge of non-industrialised communities, it is not a hymn to humanity’s agricultural past. Rather, and perhaps most importantly, it is a record of the imagination, adaptability, endurance and observation skills of human communities who, in the most adverse environments or conditions, have found a way to farm and survive. The aim is not to protect this or that type of agriculture at all costs, but rather to understand the principles that underlie them, to recognise the value of popular knowledge and the effectiveness of peasant management methods, so that they can be taken into account in adapting traditional farming methods to the modern world. The book focuses particularly on agriculture in hostile environments, such as marshes, lagoon belts, deserts and all those places where one would not expect to find green fields or even permanent populations.  »

Informations:

Link: https://books.openedition.org/irdeditions/2853

Scale of intervention : International

Keywords: family farming, peasant farming, local food systems, conservation and management of natural resources, traditional knowledge, Farmers Ecological Knowledge

Actors: researcher/academic