Ana Maria Primavesi
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Ana Maria Primavesi (
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, 3 October 1920 –
São Paulo, Brazil SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S ...
, 5 January 2020) was an
agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the ...
, researcher and educator of
soil science Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the Earth including soil formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils; and these properties in relation to th ...
and especially the ecological management of tropical Brazilian soil.


Biography

Born on a large farm in an Austrian village in 1920, Annemarie Conrad fell in love with nature, inspired by her father. She studied at the Faculty of Natural Resources and Life Sciences of the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...
, where she was one of only three women in her class. She went on to earn a doctorate in plant and soil nutrition. While at school, she met fellow agronomy student Artur von Primavesi, who was of German origin who she married in 1946. They had three children together. In 1949, they migrated to Brazil because Primavesi, like many other people, was threatened with forced deportation by the
Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...
in Austria, which had become a very unstable country in the years immediately following
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.


Soil science

Ana Primavesi was a pioneer in soil preservation and the recovery of degraded areas in the tropics. She approached
soil management Soil management is the application of operations, practices, and treatments to protect soil and enhance its performance (such as soil fertility or soil mechanics). It includes soil conservation, soil amendment, and optimal soil health. In agricult ...
in a way designed to work naturally with the farm's environment, which was particularly important in Brazil. According to her research, the most appropriate type of agriculture there would encourage farmers to favor treating the soil so it has high levels of organic matter, avoids movement, controls pests using biological techniques, and avoids chemical inputs by substituting organic additives such as
green manure In agriculture, a green manure is a crop specifically produced to be incorporated into the soil while still green. Typically, the green manure's biomass is incorporated with a plow or disk, as is often done with (brown) manure. The primary goal ...
. She called her methods
agroecology Agroecology (US: a-grō-ē-ˈkä-lə-jē) 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 ...
. In a 2016 interview, she explained one aspect of tropical soils:
"In the tropics, 80% of microorganisms found in the soil are fungi that produce enormous amounts of antibiotics and have their life inhibited below 15 centimeters. In the past, when farmers worked with an ox or donkey plow, the plow did not go below 12 or 15 cm and the land remained more or less in the superficial part. Now with the mechanical traction plow, you can reach 30 or 40 cm, put the dead part on top that is broken up by the rain, enters the ground and clogs the pores. There the land is hard, compacted. Everyone asks me what to do with compaction. In the tropics, you cannot work the land deeply at all. The work has to be superficial because the ground below is dead."


Life in Brazil

Ana and her husband were professors at the Federal University of Santa María, in the southernmost state of Brazil. There, she helped organize the first postgraduate course in organic agriculture. She was also the founder of the Organic Agriculture Association (AAO), one of the first associations of organic producers in Brazil. Her book ''"Ecological management alone: agriculture in tropical regions"'' is still considered a
reference work A reference work is a work, such as a paper, book or periodical (or their electronic equivalents), to which one can refer for information. The information is intended to be found quickly when needed. Such works are usually ''referred'' to f ...
in
agricultural science Agricultural science (or agriscience for short) is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Profession ...
s. After she retired from teaching, she and her husband moved to their own property in
Itaí left, A park in Itaí Itaí is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population is 27,382 (2020 est.) in an area of 1083 km². The elevation is 614 m. This place name comes from the Tupi language, "Itaí" means river stone. The ...
, located in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. After her husband's death in 1977, she stayed there to put into practice her research about organic agriculture. She lived on the farm for more than 30 years and authored multiple publications about her research and agriculture work. Under Primavesi's management, her land, which was badly eroded when bought, was rejuvenated with springs, forests and agricultural areas. Her success there led to many speaking invitations and research projects around the world. Dr. Primavesi died in
São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
on 5 January 2020 at the age of 99 from heart problems. She is buried in the city's Congonhas Cemetery.


Distinctions

* 2012: One World Award of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) for lifetime achievement. * Honorary doctorates were awarded to Primavesi by several Brazilian universities.


Selected bibliography

Dr. Primavesi published 12 books and 94 unpublished scientific texts and articles. * 2008. ''Gaia and Climate Change: A Theology of Gift Events'' . Ed. Routledge, 168 p. , * 2004. ''Gaia's Gift: Earth, Ourselves and God after Copernicus'' . Ed. Routledge, 160 p. , * 2000. ''Sacred Gaia: Holistic Theology and Earth System Science Hardcover'' . With James Lovelock Ed. Routledge 224 p. * 1997. ''Agroecology: ecosphere, technosphere and agriculture''. São Paulo: Nobel, 199 p. * 1995. ''From apocalypse to genesis: ecology, feminism, Christianity''. With Antonio Martínez Riu. Ed. Herder, 384 p. , * 1992. ''Sustainable agriculture: rural producer manual''. São Paulo: Nobel, 142 p. * 1988. ''Ecological management of prague and doenças: alternative techniques for agricultural production and defense of the environment''. São Paulo: Nobel, 137 p. * 1984. ''Ecological management of alone: to agriculture in tropical regions''. 7th ed. São Paulo (SP): Nobel, 541 p. il. In Spanish: ''Ecological soil management: agriculture in tropical regions''. With Jorge S. Molina. 5th ed. illustrates. "El Ateneo" Book Store Editorial, 499 p.


See also

*
Johanna Döbereiner Johanna Liesbeth Kubelka Döbereiner (28 November 1924 – 5 October 2000) was a Brazilian agronomist. Biography Döbereiner was born in Ústí nad Labem, Czechoslovakia on the 28 November 1924. Her family were German Czechoslovakians from Auss ...
, Brazilian agronomist


References


External links

* * Knabben, Virgínia Mendonça. Ana Maria Primavesi: histórias de vida e agroecologia. Brazil, Expressão Popular, 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Primavesi, Ana Maria 1920 births 2020 deaths Brazilian women scientists Women agronomists 20th-century Brazilian women scientists Austrian emigrants to Brazil People from São Paulo (state)