Abstract
A Sustainability Index for Traditional Agroecosystems (SITA) applied in Yaonáhuac, Puebla, Mexico was built. The index was composed of 16 indicators, with which the analysis of diversity-resilience, self-management-autonomy, integration, and self-sufficiency was carried out. To determine the type of sustainability, 62 in-depth interviews were applied to inhabitants of the municipality of Yaonáhuac. The results showed that the following indicators increased the sustainability of home gardens: soil fertility properties, agricultural heterogeneity, linking practices with the home garden, family participation, non-participation in government subsidies, agricultural local knowledges, uses of plants, material of the fence or boundary, productive diversity, and destination of crops. It was found that 29 home gardens showed super strong sustainability and 31 had strong sustainability. The SITA can be used to research small-scale traditional agroecosystems with similar characteristics to monitor their sustainability, as well as to assist in decision-making and promote agroecological management from the home. The shown data represent initial information to monitor and propose agroecological transitions in that region.
Highlights
The objective of this study was to determine the type of sustainability by means of a Sustainability Index for Traditional Agroecosystems (SITA), which was constructed with indicators related to the above-mentioned principles
The results revealed that in Nahua home gardens, the Sustainability Index for Traditional Agroecosystems increases with soil fertility, agricultural heterogeneity, linking practices with the home garden, family participation, the benefits of the home garden to the family, the non-participation in government subsidies, agricultural local knowledges, the uses of plants, the material of the fence or boundary, the productive diversity, and the destination of the crops
It was found that 31 home gardens had a strong sustainability, in their own way, these families recognized an economic value of nature, and an ecological and cultural value
Summary
Research into sustainable agriculture requires integrating social, cultural, and environmental aspects based on the perception and conception of agriculture and the lifestyle of the peasants [1,2,3]. Researchers have showed special interest in traditional agroecosystems, where peasants preserve the agricultural knowledge systems, local crops, and a variety of animals under native forms of social and cultural organization. These agricultural systems are managed with the accumulated experience of the peasants or the native communities that have interacted with their surroundings [4,5]. The traditional agroecosystems are systems strongly linked to an ecological rationality, and are characterized by a wide diversity of crops and domesticated animals; this diversity is kept by complex systems of local knowledge [6]
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