An Overview Of Our Solution
Chiapas State is one of the most important agrobiodiversity spots of the world. However, over several decades of local governments and companies providing (often as a “gift”) conventional seeds and agrochemical packages to smallholder farmers, this activity is dramatically reducing plant diversity with negative consequences on human and environmental health. Consequently, it is also distorting social organizations and local economy with negative impacts to smallholders’ livelihoods.
A Participatory Seed Dissemination process increased local maize and beans yields by at least 10% by seed selection practices, farming diversification and family income in 1,500 families in Chiapas by adopting new soil management techniques and increased the number of species managed in the plots.
Who is this solution impacting?
Community Type
Rural
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: North America
General Information
Organization type
Nonprofit
Ecosystem (select all that apply)
Forests
Population impacted
1,500 families
Challenge
Size of agricultural area
1,500 ha
Production quantity
1,500 ton
People employed
N/A
Solution
Describe your solution
A Participatory Seed Dissemination process increased local maize and beans yields by at least 10% by seed selection practices, farming diversification and family income in 1,500 families in Chiapas by adopting new soil management techniques and increased the number of species managed in the plots.
The process can be described in two phases; first, in 2003-2006 a Participatory Plant Breeding process with 220 farmers of 20 municipalities in 5 indigenous regions of Chiapas began, 300 Maize seed varieties were collected. The seeds were sown and farmers were invited to chose al least 5 different types of maize and beans (Diversity Seed Fairs). Farmers took home selected seed varieties and organized their own trials. They intensified experimentation process and results were exchanged with others. Organizations and farmers formed the Red Maíz Criollo; an actor that was key to leading planning, organizing and, evaluating Participatory Plant Breeding process in the region. Red Maiz Criollo became into a platform for strengthening local varieties and supply seeds all over the Chiapas State during the following years.
In a second phase (2009-2012) we decided to expand the process to a critical mass of smallholders by involving 11 new R&D organizations. 75 champions farmers were trained as Agrobiodiversity Pollinators. In practice they collected, organized diversity seed fairs and farmers’ trials network but also a portfolio of agro-ecological practices which they diffused.
Implementation
Describe your implementation
In order to create a Participatory Seed Dissemination process, the social agreement (agree upon the use of their seeds) was key to start the activities, in the first phase, 300 local seeds of maize and beans were collected
Seed diversity fairs facilitated seed diversity access in which an enabling environment was created in favor of agrobiodiversity values. Farmers could exchange and discuss practices about local seeds and plant management; in a demonstrative plot farmers start working and replicate the activities they know; the cultivation takes place respecting farmers’ cultural practices. Then, farmers visit the demonstrative plot to receive training regarding soil management, plant development and seed selection. Finally, farmers harvest, select and exchange seeds; they take seeds back home from other places to beneficially increase the seed diversity and impact positively in improving yield and culinary aspects.
A second phase was organized and around 75 champion farmers were recognized as “Agrobiodiversity Pollinators” by their function of spreading seed diversity and agroecological practices during the first phase. Every “Pollinator” brought 20 farmers on board. Pollinators organized farmers’ networks in connection with R&D organizations. In order to create a critical number of Agrobiodiversity Pollinators an action learning method was applied. This method which is based on multidisciplinary teams efforts collectively identified and tackled concrete challenges through continual cycles of planning, delivery and reflection
External connections
The intervention involved diversity of stakeholders as follows:
• NGOs:
o Colectivo ISITAME A.C.
o CICER A.C.
o Union de Milperos Tradicionales A.C.
o Red de Maíz Criollo
• Research and development organizations
o Programa Modernización Sustentable de la Agricultura Tradicional (MasAgro)
o Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas (UNACH)
o Universidad Intercultural de Chiapas (UNICH)
o Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP)
o National institute of Agricultural Sciences (INCA)
o International Centre for development oriented Research in Agriculture (ICRA)
o Secretaría del Campo (SECAM)
o Secretaría de Pueblos Indios (SEPI)
o Value seed chains
4 new seed enterprises managed by small farmer champions
10 Plant breeders from Chiapas and 2 plant breeding from an international organisation (ICRA) and 2 from INCA, Cuba.
At least 500 clients from Larrainzar, Zinacantán, Tenejapa y Chenalhó municipalities. They accessed to local seed varieties improved by small farmers.
Results
What is the environmental or ecological challenge you are targeting with your solution?
Chiapas State is one of the most important agrobiodiversity spots of the world. However, over several decades of local governments and companies providing (often as a “gift”) conventional seeds and agrochemical packages to smallholder farmers, this activity is dramatically reducing plant diversity with negative consequences on human and environmental health. Consequently, it is also distorting social organizations & local economy with negative impacts to smallholders’ livelihoods.
The agricultural policies are ignoring the agrobiodiversity potential in the state, changing agricultural vocations from traditional to conventional farming. In contradiction, farmers’ keep using their seeds and knowledge to cultivate the traditional Milpa system (mixed farming system composed at least by maize, beans and squashes); for them farming for food sovereignty is the way to keep autonomy and local governance in place, generating local responses to cope with the uncertainty of the global world.
Describe the context in which you are operating
Chiapas State is biophysically and culturally diverse, according to Hacienda Chiapas just in the highlands region; around 3,717.08 Km², 75% of the landforms in the area are mountains with steep slopes in which 68% of the people speak an indigenous language . 271,581 small family farms (0.1 to 5 ha) represent the 68% of the maize cultivation surface in the state and 92% of the maize producers. The dominant form of seed system supporting these farmers is informal in nature, and is responsible for most of the local seed supply.
Just in four years of the last government, “Maíz Sustentable” program supplied 663,538 technological packages and one hybrid have been delivered to 165,884 producers on average per year, with an investment of 34 million USD dollars. There’s not a single program in the Mexican agricultural policies investing this amount to alternatives to improve, using the local context, the traditional systems.
How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?
• Collection and dissemination of 75 landraces seeds of maize and beans together with 1,500 families.
• 1,500 families promoting traditional systems and local landraces for the management of local agrobiodiversity.
• Improvement of the family economy by incorporating cash crops (at least 2 fruit species, avocado and peach and 5-10 leaves and leaf vegetables “quelites”) in the livelihood strategies using PSD.
• Encouraging local knowledge by farmers’ experimentation, 50 groups (35 female groups) organizing trials on farm to promote the use of local resources and strategies to deal with local challenges.
• Developed a method to create a critical mass of 1,500 family farms custodians of seed diversity connected with R&D organizations and local seed markets.
• Creation of 4 new local seed supplier enterprises run by women in the region. These evidences catalyzed an entrepreneurship environment in favor of agrobiodiversity businesses development in the region.
Language(s)
Which language(s) are spoken in the area where your solution is implemented?
Water
Soil management to prevent erosion is part of the training topics; soil organic matter enhances when burning practices are stopped, giving elements to expect a higher soil organic matter and higher soil water retention. The relative humidity in the soil is kept longer and helps coping with eventualities in case of droughts.
Food Security/Nutrition
Stopping the use of herbicides promotes non-crop species to develop in the plots, some of the species can be consumed as food and they are well known by the farmers. Further, the maize, beans, squashes and the other non-crops provides a diversify diet for the family; in addition, the family decides what and how to produce their food. This decision as simple as it seems it’s key in terms of autonomy for the farmers.
Economic/Sustainable Development
PSD will be adding values to agrobiodiversity growing in the plots. PSD intensified the exchange of local varieties not only among smallholders but also between key actors of the agricultural sector interested in strengthening the local economy.
Climate
Because of PSD, local varieties adapted to low input agriculture were diffused, Milpa System required less and less external inputs along the time. That is why PSD created businesses strongly oriented to agrobiodiversity enhancement with low carbon emission.
Sustainability
The critical numbers of farmers capable to keep experimenting and spreading seeds even if more labor is required and the stoppage of funding by the government to keep training “Agrobiodiversity Pollinators’’, give a good indicator that the process was adopted and it can rely on own funding. Agricultural diversification it’s the strategy followed by the farmers and different cash crops are generating income to fund the practices acquired in the PSD trainings.
Return on investment
Training “Agrobiodiversity Pollinators” had an approximated cost of $30,000 USD. If it is only considered that 1,500 farmers generated an extra income of $100 USD annually, then PSD will be potentially generating over $150,000 USD each year.
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Replication and Scale
How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?
Previously, PSD was applied in Cuba in which more than 50,000 farmers were involved nationwide. In the case of Cuba, $3 million USD was spent by international donors as SDC and IDRC in a period of 2000-2010. PSD applied in highland regions of Chiapas involved 1,500 smallholders in four districts during 2005-2015. Approximately $375,000 USD were invested in a ten-year period.
We consider that the key element to replicate the solution relies on: 1) The necessity and urgency of smallholders for improving livelihoods. 2) The commitment from the local stakeholders to improve the traditional farming systems. 3) Combining participatory plant breeding with “Agrobiodiversity Pollinators” trained hand on, Chiapas’s civil society found new approaches to reconnect R & D organizations and local seed markets with traditional farming systems. 4)The social agreement of “Agrobiodiversity Pollinators” to expand PSD process in Chiapas.