In an era of economic globalization, small farms have emerged as potent symbols of social justice and environmental sustainability. But the contemporary importance of campesinos, or small-scale cultivators, in Latin America is not only symbolic; they are responsible for substantial portion of the production of crops such as maize, beans, and yucca, and are more biologically diverse than large-scale farms. This article looks at the history of agrodiversity in Latin America using the example of three crop types—maize, potatoes, and coffee—where small-scale cultivators and local landraces have played a considerable role.
DOI: doi.org/10.5282/rcc/6266