The distinction, announced by the FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture in a ceremony, recognizes the rural communities that, for more than 3,000 years, have sustained this system of agricultural terraces, where corn, beans, squash, and maguey grow in harmony with the environment.

“It’s more than an agricultural system: it’s a philosophy that teaches us to produce with respect, to live in harmony with the land, and to build the future on the wisdom of the past,” emphasized Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Agriculture Minister Julio Berdegue celebrated the fact that 194 member countries designated Metepantle as a World Important Agricultural Heritage System, as it is a “jewel of Mexico and humanity.”

According to the ministry, Berdegue mentioned in his speech President Claudia Sheinbaum’s commitment to the protection, conservation, and dignity of traditional ways of producing food, but “even more so to the farmers who make it possible.”

Metepantle is Mexico’s third World Important Agricultural Heritage System, along with the chinampas of Xochimilco and the Mayan milpa of Yucatan.

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