Professor Miguel Altieri

Professor Miguel A. Altieri studied agronomy at the University of Chile, where he received a BS. He also obtained a Masters on agricultural sciences at the National University of Colombia. He graduated with a Ph.D.
in entomology at the University of Florida. In 1981 he became Professor of Agroecology at the University of California, Berkeley in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management and after 37 years of service he now serves as Professor Emeritus.

At Berkeley he taught agroecology, agroforestry and urban agriculture, but he also serves as guest professor in numerous Universities in Latin America, Spain and Italy. He has conducted most of his research in California and Latin America working closely with farmers on implementing principles of agroecology to design productive, biodiverse and resilient farming systems.

He is currently Co-Director of the Centro LatinoAmericano de Investigaciones Agroecologicas (CELIA –www.celia.agroeco.org) He is also a farmer in the hillsides of south west Antioquia, Colombia, where together with his wife Dr. Clara Nicholls established an agroecological lighthouse promoting food sovereignty projects in impoverished neighboring rural communities.