Miguel Altieri is a Chilean born agronomist and entomologist. He is a Professor of

Agroecology Agroecology is an academic discipline that studies ecological processes applied to agricultural production systems. Bringing ecological principles to bear can suggest new management approaches in agroecosystems. The term can refer to a science, ...

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management.

Career

Miguel Altieri studied agronomy at the

University of Chile The University of Chile () is a public university, public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

, where he received a bachelor's degree. He graduated with a Ph.D. in

entomology Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. In 1981 he became Professor of

agroecology Agroecology is an academic discipline that studies ecological processes applied to agricultural production systems. Bringing ecological principles to bear can suggest new management approaches in agroecosystems. The term can refer to a science, ...

at the

in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management. He has been teaching courses in agroecology,

agroforestry Agroforestry (also known as agro-sylviculture or forest farming) is a land use management system that integrates trees with crops or pasture. It combines agricultural and forestry technologies. As a polyculture system, an agroforestry system c ...

and urban agriculture. He is an advocate of

sustainable agriculture Sustainable agriculture is agriculture, farming in sustainability, sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an ...

and is highly critical of large

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

corporations such as Cargill, Monsanto, and ADM. He has conducted most of his research in California and Chile working closely with farmers and workers to implement principles of

integrated pest management Integrated pest management (IPM), also known as integrated pest control (IPC) integrates both chemical and non-chemical practices for economic control of pests. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization defines IPM as "the careful consideratio ...

intercropping Intercropping is a multiple cropping practice that involves the cultivation of two or more crops simultaneously on the same field, a form of polyculture. The most common goal of intercropping is to produce a greater yield on a given piece of land ...

, cover cropping, crop-field border vegetation manipulation, and other sustainable practices of

biological control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, whether pest animals such as insects and mites, weeds, or pathogens affecting animals or plants by using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or o ...

. Altieri served as a Scientific Advisor to the Latin American Consortium on Agroecology and Development (CLADES) Chile, an NGO network promoting agroecology as a strategy for small farm sustainable development in the region. He also served for 4 years as the General Coordinator for the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

’s Sustainable Agriculture Networking and Extension Programme which aimed at capacity building on agroecology among NGOs and the scaling-up of successful local sustainable agricultural initiatives in Africa, Latin America and Asia. He was the chairman of the NGO committee of the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research whose mission was to make sure that the research agenda of the 15 International Agricultural Research Centers benefited poor farmers. He was Director of the US-Brasil Consortium on Agroecology and Sustainable Rural Development (CASRD), an academic-research exchange program involving students and faculty of UC Berkeley, University of Nebraska, UNICAMP and Universidad Federal de Santa Catarina. AS of 2011 he has been advisor to the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...

Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) program, which is devoted at identifying and dynamically conserving traditional farming systems in the developing world. He is the President of the Latin American Scientific Society of Agroecology. In 2012, he supported farming the Gill Tract, a UC owned part of land. in 2017, he became Honorary Professor of the University of La Frontera

Publications

Altieri is the author of more than 200 publications, and more than a dozen books including ''Agroecology: The Science of Sustainable Agriculture'' (1987, 1995, 2018), ''Biodiversity and pest management in agroecosystems'' (1994, 2004) and ''Agroecology and the Search for a Truly Sustainable Agriculture'' (with Clara I. Nicholls, 2005).
The significance of diversity in the maintenance of the sustainability of traditional agro-ecosystems
ILEIA Newsletter, 3.2, July 1987
SOCLA’s Ph.D. programme: A new cadre of scientists-activists
Farming Matters, 29.3, September 2013
Agro-ecological approaches to enhance resilience
LEISA India, 14.2, June 2012
Managing pests through plant diversification
LEISA Magazine, 22.4, December 2006

References

External links

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Agroecology
UC Berkeley
Miguel Altieri
United Nations, General Assembly, n.d.
Agroecology in Action

Urban Agroecology

The Latin American Scientific Society of AgroecologyInterview with Miguel Altieri: Why is agroecology the solution to hunger and food security?
YouTube video, 4min, Transnational Institute, 12.01.2012 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Altieri, Miguel Living people Agroecologists Chilean agronomists University of Florida College of Agricultural and Life Sciences alumni University of California, Berkeley College of Natural Resources faculty Year of birth missing (living people)