The Cornfield (milpa) in Mexico and the Food System

The variety and types of cornfield (milpa) in Mexico are as wide as the places where this agroecosystem is practiced, and ecologically, economic, socially, and culturally adapted, plus the physiogeographic, environmental, altitude, location, external processes, and events in which the region and the specific town are settled, like state or federal policies with respect to the areas surrounding the localities are pivotal. The cornfield, the homegarden, terrace, drained fields, and many other traditional agroecosystems provide organic matter for the soil that contributes to the greater diversity of pollinators, predators of certain pests, and microorganisms in the soil. Diversification has agro-food, plus ecological, climatological, economic, social, and cultural advantages, in addition to the ecological-chemical advantages in these traditional agroecosystems. The agroecosystem had to be seen as a collection of populations interacting in many kinds of organisms, including uncultivated species, animals, and microorganisms.