Milpa is a crop-growing system used throughout Mesoamerica. It has been most extensively described in the Yucatán peninsula area of Mexico. The word ''milpa'' is derived from the

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller ...

word phrase ''mil-pa'', which translates into "cultivated field." Though different interpretations are given to it, it usually refers to a cropping field. Based on the ancient agricultural methods of

Maya peoples The Maya peoples () are an ethnolinguistic group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today's Maya are generally descended from people ...

and other Mesoamerican people, ''milpa'' agriculture produces maize,

bean A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...

s, and squash. The milpa cycle calls for 2 years of cultivation and eight years of letting the area lie fallow. Agronomists point out that the system is designed to create relatively large yields of food crops without the use of artificial pesticides or fertilizers, and they point out that while it is self-sustaining at current levels of consumption, there is a danger that at more intensive levels of cultivation the milpa system can become unsustainable. The word is also used for a small field, especially in Mexico or Central America, that is cleared from the jungle, cropped for a few seasons, and then abandoned for a fresh clearing. In the states of

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...

, and other areas of central Mexico, the term milpa simply means a single corn plant (milpas for plural). In El Salvador and Guatemala, it refers specifically to the corn crop or corn field as a whole. The concept of ''milpa'' is a sociocultural construct rather than simply a system of agriculture. It involves complex interactions and relationships between farmers, as well as distinct personal relationships with both the crops and land. For example, it has been noted that "the making of ''milpa'' is the central, most sacred act, one which binds together the family, the community, the universe... tforms the core institution of Indian society in Mesoamerica and its religious and social importance often appear to exceed its nutritional and economic importance."Nigh, R. (1976) Evolutionary ecology of Maya agriculture in highland Chipas, Mexico. PhD dissertation, Stanford University. Ann Arbor: University microfilms. Milpitas, California derives its name from the Nahuatl term "milpa" followed by the Spanish feminine diminutive plural suffix "-itas".

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"milpa" – Diccionario de la lengua españolaMaya Forest Gardeners in Guatemala and BelizeMaya Forest Garden, see The Milpa Cycle: The Essential Tool of the Maya Forest Garden
Agriculture in Mesoamerica fr:Milpa

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