The Portuguese agriculture is observed from the point of view of food production, framed by a historical perspective and a reflection on nature. The years 1957 and 2009 support a comparative agri-food model as well a discussion that aims to examine the material and political potential of a territory. Alongside, the relationship between the agriculture and the nature, nineteenth-century book title of João Andrade Corvo, is built as a historical problem in which the ways and ideas that gave and give life to it are discussed.