Milpa

A milpa is an agricultural field and crop-growing system used throughout Mesoamerica, particularly in the Yucatan Peninsula and Mexico, based on Maya and other Mesoamerican agricultural practices and primarily producing maize, beans and squash. The traditional land-conservation cycle involves two years of cultivation followed by an eight-year fallow period. Milpas are polyculture fields planting multiple crops together, including maize, avocados, squash varieties, beans, melons, tomatoes, chilies, sweet potatoes, jicama, amaranth and mucuna, chosen because the crops are nutritionally and environmentally complementary; maize lacks certain amino acids that beans provide, while squashes and avocados contribute vitamins and fats. Beyond agriculture, milpa is a sociocultural construct involving complex relationships between farmers, their crops and their land, and it holds deep cultural significance in Mesoamerican indigenous communities, where its religious and social importance often exceeds its economic value.