Agricultural statistical data enable the detection and interpretation of the development of agriculture and the food supply situation over time, which is essential for food security evaluation in any country. Based on the historical agricultural statistics, this study produces a long spatial time-series with annual production values of three cereals relevant to global food security—wheat, maize, and rice, aiming to provide geographical and historical perspectives. Therefore, we reconstructed past and current production patterns and trends at the district level over 169 years, which supported a space–time cross-reading of the general characteristics of the regional agricultural production value distributions and relative densities in Portugal. Particularly, the production trends of wheat, maize, and rice showed three different situations: growth (maize), stability (rice), and decline (wheat). For decades, maize and wheat production alternated, depending on agricultural years and political aspects, such as the Wheat Campaign (1929–1938). The changes over time presented a pattern that, in the case of these three cereals, enabled a clear division of the country into major regions according to cereal production. Overall, maize and rice, both grown on irrigated croplands, presented a similar pattern in some regions of Portugal, mainly the central region. In this study, a preliminary analysis was presented and related to successive public policies; however, notably, there are more lessons to be learned from this long spatial time-series.

"An Agrarian History of Portugal, 1000-2000" published on 08 Dec 2016 by Brill.

Recognition of the importance of protecting agrobiodiversity is not a new phenomenon. Crossing different sciences is often pinpointed as a relevant contributor to its successful protection. This paper proposes an integrated research approach in history and conservation science by opening new paths for using written historical sources in biodiversity inventories. It discusses some conceptual and methodological challenges raised by historical research regarding the diversity and distribution of wild and cultivated edible plants. The possibilities of using historical sources for compiling plant lists that can be integrated into biodiversity databases are also explored. Arguing that interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity are crucial, enabling a wide range of vernacular sources from several centuries to be cross-referenced, the paper aims to draw attention to written historical sources and their importance in deepening knowledge about past biodiversity patterns.

Societal Impact Statement: Maize is the world's second most important agricultural crop. The cereal was unknown to Europeans before the end of the 15th century, but since its arrival in Europe, it has changed agriculture, food and landscapes. Terraces where maize was cultivated in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula contributed to the formation of local cultures and identities. The history of maize and maize landscape are mementos that help to recover traditional practices, fostering identities, and are crucial for the successful implementation of sustainable policies to provide prosperous futures.Summary: Maize (Zea mays L.) in the Iberian Peninsula embodies a history of landscape changes where the concepts of ‘exotic’, ‘traditional’ and ‘hybrid’ help to understand the engagements between landscape, farmers, agronomists (since the 19th and 20th centuries) and seeds. Today, landscapes reveal biophysical and ecological changes that reflect a panoply of intentions. A multitude of agents, and their interactions, acted upon those territories over time. Using historical sources from the leading institutions dedicated to agricultural research in the Iberian Peninsula, this paper aims to (1) contribute to a better understanding of the maize landscape and culture in the Iberian Peninsula and (2) interrogate how landscape changes (and the landscape history of maize) can frame local or regional heritage and identities reflecting customs or ways of life. The analysis unveils networks of knowledge, agricultural technologies and seed exchange. Politicians, economists, engineers, agronomists, farmers, governmental officials and agricultural industries planned and transformed traditional rural practices into modern and industrialised ones. Experts and politicians, willing to improve agricultural practices and seeds, using hybrid seeds or building new irrigation systems, led to deep social and landscape changes, allowing maize to cover territories far away from its traditional domains. Moreover, despite farmers' resistance, hybrid maize substituted landraces, eroding agrobiodiversity. Nowadays, the south and east regions of the Iberian Peninsula are the main producers of maize (hybrid), whereas in the Northwest maize is an occasional crop, being replaced by vineyards for economic reasons.

Resumo: Neste artigo apresentam-se alguns dos resultados de pesquisas recentes sobre o sistema corporativo estabelecido em Portugal durante o Estado Novo (1933-1974). Uma nova base de dados permite, pela primeira vez, proceder a análises mais detalhadas da distribuição cronológica, geográfica e funcional dos milhares de organismos que constituíram o sistema corporativo português. Observa-se que, ao contrário do que tem sido afirmado em diversos estudos, o sistema não surgiu de forma casuística ou desordenada. Verifica-se antes que a densa rede de organismos foi sendo construída seguindo critérios consistentes com os objetivos políticos de cada uma das fases do regime. Identificar a abrangência e os impactos territoriais, políticos e sociais da rede corporativa é indispensável para aprofundar as explicações sobre o funcionamento e a longevidade da ditadura.