ABSTRACT
Our proposition is dual: (1) traditional small-scale farmers have a knowledge base that is fundamentally sound and (2) that knowledge base is structurally similar to the growing scientic understanding of ecological complexity. It is a proposition that we suspect will stir two distinct responses, at least initially. On the one hand, will be those who say, that is obvious, and it is simply not news for anyone vaguely familiar with anthropological or rural sociological work, whether or not they are aware of or appreciate work done over the past decade in ecology. On the other hand, will be those who say that excessive reliance on traditional knowledge is nothing more than romantic drivel, that managing agriculture requires hard-nosed chemistry and engineering, not a return to preenlightenment mysticism, whether or not they are aware of or appreciate work done over the past decade in ecology.
