ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that low-external input technologies improve pest management, conserve soil, water and nutrients, recycle wastes and utilize local sources of water efficiently. By focusing on the import to farms of new seeds or animal breeds, the Green Revolution has encouraged the development of two distinctly different types of agriculture in countries of the South. Contrary to the strategies of researchers, who have simplified and standardized agriculture, farmers of low-external input (LEI) agricultural systems still select for a diversity of crops and varieties. These low-external input options for farmers comprise a wide range of interventions that will reduce the losses of nitrogen to the environment and act as alternatives to inorganic fertilizers. A combination of selective support for the introduction of LEI agroecological technologies together with attention to stable economic returns to crops will provide an incentive framework conducive to LEI agriculture.
