The earth is life, the earth is everything!

Abstract

The green revolution technologies did not respect farmers’ knowledge; caused changes in
ecosystem dynamics, soil degradation and other impacts. To reverse soil degradation and to
promote soil quality are necessary to reach agriculture sustainability. This requires taking into
account the farmers’ knowledge, learned by their practice. Here, the objective was to present
farmers’ perceptions regarding to the ecosystem services related to the soils, normally named
land by the farmers. The methodology was based in the principles of action research. During
the research, semi-structured interviews were carried out and transversal walks and Fuzzy
Cognitive Maps were made during one day visit to the farmers. The ecosystem services associated
to the soils were identified through the management practices informed by the farmers.
Recurrently, the farmers indicated land as life, land as everything.