THE SCOPE AND CONSTRAINTS OF HOMEGARDENS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: A REVIEW

Indumathi Rajagopal,José Luis Romo Lozano,Teodoro Gómez Hernández,Jesús Axayácatl Cuevas Sánchez,Julio Baca Del Moral,Diana Ayala Montejo

doi:10.56369/tsaes.3487

Indumathi Rajagopal, José Luis Romo Lozano + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.56369/tsaes.3487

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Abstract

Background. Considering the current importance of recognizing the potential of traditional agroecosystems, including homegardens in the sustainable development of many rural and urban communities, strategists and scientists around the world are showing increasing interest in their study. Objective. Analyze the scientific literature relevant to the scope and constraints of homegardens (HGs), and to identify gaps and research perspectives, especially for indigenous communities in Mexico. Methodology. A total of 335 studies published in the last decades (1986-2020) were collected from different databases using predefined keywords. All publications were organized and stored in the Zotero (2018) program. The trends of all the publications were analyzed using NVivo 12 Plus software. Results. The number of publications increased from the year 2000. About 70% of the publications analyzed were research articles in english. Of the total studies examined 239 (71.35%) were conducted in different parts of the world, of which 30% from Asia and the remaining 96 (28.65%) from Mexico, primarily in tropics. Most of these studies focused on ecological (62.98%), economic (20.29%), cultural (13.43%), social (7.46%) and multifunctional features (12.23%) of HGs. The same pattern was identified in the case of Mexico, with studies of 10.74%, 5.07%, 5.67%, 0.597%, and 3.58% focused on ecological, economic, cultural, social and the multifunctionality features of HGs respectively. Implications. The analysis of the scope and limitations of HGs contributes to identifying the need to carry out transdisciplinary research that reflects their whole dynamics as agroecosystems, in which, in addition to the ecological environment, there are various cultural aspects considered important in the indigenous communities of Mexico. Conclusions. The publications emphasized the importance of homegardens to provide multiple ecosystem functions and services to enhance human well-being. However, future research should reevaluate HGs based on a holistic multi-functional agriculture approach to promote them as one of the strategies conducive to improve family well-being. Also, it is suggested to evaluate the degree of sustainability of HGs based on its resilience and adaptation capacity to confront current challenges.

Highlights

Homegarden (HG) has been identified as the oldest and complex land-use or agroforestry system that has evolved through generations in different parts of the globe, especially in the tropics
In Mexico, HGs play a vital role in the lifestyle of the indigenous population of more than 68 ethnic groups (INALI, 2008), distributed throughout the country. It is considered as a sub-system of the traditional agroecosystems that predominate in the rural landscape of the nation as well as it is recognized as an integral part of the family agriculture system that provides food and other basic requirements to many native people in Mexico (Caballero et al, 2010; Mariaca, 2012; Ordoñez Diaz et al, 2018a; CastañedaGuerrero et al, 2020)
In the last few decades, especially, from the 80’s, there are several studies all around the globe that highlight the potential of HGs to contribute to sustainable development

Summary

Introduction

Homegarden (HG) has been identified as the oldest and complex land-use or agroforestry system that has evolved through generations in different parts of the globe, especially in the tropics It is considered as one of the major forms of sustainable agricultural or food production activity commonly practiced by diverse cultural and ethnic groups of people all over the world primarily for subsistence (Torquebiau, 1992; Kumar and Nair, 2006; Krishnamurthy and Krishnamurthy, 2016; Vibhuti et al, 2018). In Mexico, HGs play a vital role in the lifestyle of the indigenous population of more than 68 ethnic groups (INALI, 2008), distributed throughout the country It is considered as a sub-system of the traditional agroecosystems that predominate in the rural landscape of the nation as well as it is recognized as an integral part of the family agriculture system that provides food and other basic requirements to many native people in Mexico (Caballero et al, 2010; Mariaca, 2012; Ordoñez Diaz et al, 2018a; CastañedaGuerrero et al, 2020). This is mainly due to their ability to manage, use as well as conserve natural resources efficiently compared to commercial agricultural practices and at the same time provide multiple fundamental ecological functions (such as nutrient cycling, photosynthetic route enhancement, resistant to plant diseases) and services (such as food, recreation, habitat) which are primordial for inclusive rural development (Monroy and García, 2013; GarcíaFlores et al, 2016a; Krishnamurthy et al, 2017; Muhammad et al, 2017)

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