Abstract:
Maize was originally domesticated in Mesoamerica approximately 10,000 years ago. The native
Mesoamericans developed an ingenious maize intercropping system with beans (know as “the three
sisters,” along with squash) that sustained agricultural productivity for millennia. In this intercropping
system the particular biology of the two crops are exploited and synergized. Maize is a heavy feeder of
soil nitrogen. Beans are legumes, meaning they are able to increase soil nitrogen by biologically
extracting nitrogen from the air, termed nitrogen fixation. Smallholder farmers in Africa also commonly
use maize/bean intercropping to increase soil nitrogen and agricultural productivity. One Acre Fund
conducted a series of maize/legume intercropping trials in order determine the optimum species and
arrangement to provide farmers with significant and positive economic and food security impacts.