PEASANT AGRICULTURE… ECOLOGY WITHOUT SCIENCE?

Abstract

Based on the experience of 40 years of participating in research projects on peasant agriculture in the mountains of southeastern Mexico ("Los Altos de Chiapas"), the proposal of the existence of a peasant method alien to science that generates agricultural knowledge. Starting from the concept "cognitive system" its foundations and its differences with respect to scientific activity are argued. The "peasant method" is based on its own ontological principles, proceeds empirically and uses utilitarian results as validation criteria to make local decisions on resource management and production. This method is still in force in rural Mexican communities and over time it has generated a narrow knowledge of the behavior of ecosystems, forming an independent cognitive corpus ("empirical ecology") comparable to that of ecological science. However, even the most consistent science has epistemic limitations for its understanding, and the globalization faced by rural communities threatens the permanence and relevance of this cognitive system. A change in the attitude of scientists towards less dogmatic positions would allow a more fruitful interaction with rural communities in the search for solutions to current environmental and food problems.