ABSTRACT
In attempting to establish sustainable agricultural systems in the tropics, it has become necessary to include parameters other than yields and economic profitability in determining sustainability. In Latin America, traditional knowledge continues to form the basic foundation of agriculture and small farm management. Such knowledge reflects experience gained from past generations, yet continues to develop in the present as the ecological and cultural environment of the populations involved go through a continual process of adaptation and change. During the past several years, there has been a growing awareness of the need to reorient agricultural development programs to address more directly the needs of the resource-poor small farmers of the developing world, especially in the tropics. The emphasis of modern agriculture, under the criteria of sustainability, is undergoing a gradual shift from a primary goal of maximizing production and profit for the short term to a perspective that also consider the ability to maintain production in the long.
