Abstract
Traditional Central American peasant farmers know more about some aspects of the local agroecosystem than about others. In general farmers know more about plants, less about insects, and less still about plant pathology. Without discounting economic factors, ease of observability must explain part of this difference. Certain local beliefs may affect what farmers observe and know. For example, a belief in spontaneous generation may lead people to fail to observe insect reproduction. The implications of the gaps in farmer knowledge are discussed in terms of the sustainable agriculture movement.
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Additional information
Jeffery W. Bentley (Ph.D. cultural anthropology, University of Arizona 1986) has done field work with the Tohono O'odham (formerly the Papago) of Arizona, and in northwest Portugal. After teaching anthropology at New Mexico State University, he joined the Plant Protection Department of the Escuela Agrícola Panamericana (El Zamorano, Honduras) in 1987. He has published several articles in anthropological journals, and has a book in press on small-scale Portuguese farming. He is currently studying the agroecological knowledge and the agricultural practices of Honduran peasant farmers.
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Bentley, J.W. What farmers don't know can't help them: The strengths and weaknesses of indigenous technical knowledge in Honduras. Agric Hum Values 6, 25–31 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02217666
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02217666