University Centre AGRUCO

Cochabamba, Bolivie

An Overview Of Our Solution

Agroecological family farming provides an effective path for preserving the production base (particularly agrobiodiversity and soils) while producing diversified healthy food, generating income and empowering women among the poorest families in urban and peri-urban areas. The experience of the National Program on Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture lead by the Ministry of Economic Development and Plural Economy of Bolivia provides a real example of this. Through agroecological approaches it harvested up to 25 tons per hectare of diversified healthy food intended to self-consumption, it is motivated a high level of women’s participation (66% from the total) and it is generated income from surplus harvest, which contributes to more investments on self-reliant healthy food production, conservation and women’s empowerment.

Who is this solution impacting?

Community Type

Urban

Suburban

Organization type

Other

Ecosystem (select all that apply)

Urban/Built Environment

Population impacted

At least 9210 people (five people per family)

Size of agricultural area

60 hectares distributed in small plots (from 22.5 to 93.4 m2 / family) in five cities located in lowlands (Amazon rainforest region), highlands (Andean region) and valleys.

Production quantity

1500 tons / year

People employed

1842 families (66% lead by women)

Describe your solution

Agroecology can contribute to improve the agrobiodiversity in the fields (rural, urban and peri-urban) and at the food tables. It can also help to decrease the food systems’ contamination by pesticide residues from monocropping, and to reduce in greenhouse gasses emissions by not using fossil fuel-based inputs and promoting alternative short distance markets. By relying on ecological interactions within agroecosystems, agroecology is capable of establishing affordable, productive and conserving diversified food production systems. All the above resonates with the need of low-income people from urban and peri-urban (as well as rural) areas to achieve food, technology and energy self-reliance, together with good health and nutrition. The visualization of agroecology as a mean to improve and stabilize the family access to diverse, healthy and inexpensive food, as well as to generate some income particularly among women, has been the key factor to motivate the quick adoption of production systems that preserve agrobiodiversity, soils, water and the right of families to sufficient and healthy food.

Describe your implementation

Agroecological urban and peri-urban agriculture is implemented at small scale under artisanal greenhouses built in home gardens and backyards. The production area per family ranges from 22.5 m2 (in the highlands) to 93.5 m2 (in the lowlands). The artisanal greenhouse infrastructure is needed to regulate the difficult climatic conditions, particularly in the highlands. The greenhouse infrastructure is co-sponsored by municipalities and local families under the National Program for Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture, led by the Ministry of Economic Development and Plural Economics of Bolivia. The guiding principles for the implementation of these production systems are: (i) Diversification of planted vegetables including local varieties of aromatic and medicinal herbs. Each greenhouse produces at least ten different vegetables and herbs. (ii) Soil fertility and pests are managed in an ecological manner, using self-produced biological inputs and strengthening ecological relationships among the components of the production system. (iii) Vegetables are irrigated with rainwater collected by simple home catchments. (iv) Harvesting is for family consumption and any surplus is for selling in the local markets. In the smallest greenhouses about 80% of the harvest is for self-consumption; in the larger ones, which have more surplus, about 25% of the produce is for family nutrition. In all cases, most of the vegetables consumed are self-produced. (v) Women are given priority to manage the agroecological production and selling the surplus. About 66% of the established family greenhouses are run by women. (vi) Nothing is free of charge: On average, families cover 46% of the total greenhouses’ implementation costs, while the remaining 56% is the contribution of public entities. In addition to these principles and strategies, families receive initial training in agroecological production, healthy eating and nutrition.

External connections

The initiative presented here is lead by the National Program on Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture (PNAUP) carried out by the Ministry of Economic Development and Plural Economy of Bolivia, in partnership with local departmental and municipal governments, FAO and with the support of university centers (such as AGRUCO). Through this partnership agroecologically-based urban and peri-urban agriculture is positioned within the public programs (nationally and locally) and becomes a concrete implementation case of national policies on agroecology (Law 3525) for integral development and preservation of the rights to Mother Earth (Law 300). The direct involvement of public entities provides institutional sustainability to this initiative. University centers contribute to the analysis of the results and impacts, which are in the process of ‘translation’ into policy briefings, academic research and feature articles in order to reach different audiences and raise awareness on the ecological, socioeconomic and food security relevance of the solution implemented. These efforts are connected with the health and nutrition sector, with the current National Plan on Economic and Social Development 2016-2020 (which acknowledges agroecology as a key factor for ecological preservation and food security, among other aims), as well as initiatives related to gender equality (given the high participation of women) and agrobiodiversity and biocultural diversity conservation.

What is the environmental or ecological challenge you are targeting with your solution?

The challenges targeted are of social-ecological nature: (i) Decrease in agrobiodiversity produced and consumed. The common diet of low-income families includes four vegetables at best (tomato, lettuce, onions and carrots); yet, meals mainly consist of carbohydrates. This diet simplification results from the corresponding simplification of agriculture though monocrops of a limited variety of commercial seeds. (ii) Contamination of natural resources and food systems by agricultural pesticides. Monocrops are managed with polluting pesticides (e.g. 36 applications in tomato of at least three different types of pesticides). The decrease in the sources of nutrients combined with high level of pesticide residues has an adverse combinatorial effect on people´s health, particularly of children, farm workers and pregnant women. (iii) Greenhouse gases emissions from agricultural fossil fuel-based inputs (all imported) and long distance transport of food (from 50 to 500 km daily in average).

Describe the context in which you are operating

The context is characterized by low-income families located in urban and peri-urban areas of five cities: Three at the Andean high lands, one at a valley and one at the Amazonian lowlands. An important portion of the families (particularly from the highlands and valleys) is of indigenous or rural origin that migrated to the cities searching for better living conditions. The majority of the families’ members fall under the ‘unqualified labor’ category, which impacts their access to stable jobs. Accordingly, a steady access to food is jeopardized by income generation. This combined with the increasing prices of food in urban areas and the decrease in the diversity of the agricultural produce results in a limited quantity, quality and variety of food consumed. The overall result is that most of the children and women in reproductive age from peri-urban areas suffer from chronic undernourishment, and nutrition-related illnesses. The majority of them (with exemption of pregnant women) lack access to health services.

How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?

Among the participating families, the production is agriculturally diverse and increasingly includes local and locally adapted vegetable and herb species and varieties. The later is associated with the cultural and knowledge diversity held by the participants of the initiative. This diversified and agroecologically managed production systems are highly productive: 1500 tones harvested in 60 hectares, equaling to 25 tones of diversified produce per hectare. This productivity levels indicate that diversified and agroecological management can contribute to the decrease the land and water demand for agricultural activities, and that can effectively contribute to food security under an ecologically preserving approach. Therefore, the current overall impacts are: (i) Conservation of agrobiodiversity and the knowledge associated to it. (ii) Conservation of soils and water. (iii) Decrease in the use of polluting and fossil-fuel based inputs to produce and locally sell food.

Language(s)

Spanish, Aymara (native language in several locations of the Bolivian highlands) and Quechua (native language in the valleys and large portion of the Bolivian highlands).

Water

Water saving by rainwater harvesting to irrigate the agroecological greenhouse production. The dense and diversified planting pattern also contributed to soils water retention, decreasing the need for constant irrigation.

Food Security/Nutrition

Increase in the physical and economic access and stability of food among families. Diversification of the sources of food and nutrients (from initially 3 to 4, to about 10 currently). Improvement of the quality of food by being produced agroecologically without pesticides. Strengthened right to healthy and sufficient food.

Economic/Sustainable Development

In average, the total economic value of the agrobiodiversity produced is distributed as follows: 30% self-consumption, 70% income generation from surplus production. The income generated from selling the surplus production allows further investment in greenhouse infrastructures, which translates into more surplus harvest to be sold at the local markets. Improving in this way the family economy.

Climate

Contribution in the decrease of greenhouse gases emissions. Adaptation to climate change by agrobiodiverse and agroecologically managed food production, which demands less land and water. The ecological complexity of the agrobiodiverse production, improves the adaptation and resilience to climate change.

Sustainability

The technical personnel from public institutions supporting the initiative rely on government and international organizations’ funding. The costs of implementing the first greenhouse are shared by the implementing and supporting institutions (54% of the costs) and the families (46%). From the second greenhouse onwards, the beneficiaries assume the total construction costs. Given the high levels of productivity of the agrobiodiverse and agroecological production, and its contribution to food security and additional income, families do the effort to cover almost half of the first greenhouse costs, and in several cases with the income generated, build a second one. This points to the sustainability of the initiative.

Return on investment

In terms of infrastructure, on average the cost of implementing an artisanal greenhouse (with a utility life of at least seven years) costs approximately USD 1150. After securing food consumption to families, annually the sale of surplus production generates to each family approximately USD 625 (70% of the total value of the food harvested). The annual income generated represents approximately 55% of the total greenhouse cost. Therefore, after the second year of production families are capable of paying the full costs of a greenhouse. In real terms, the first greenhouse is 54% subsidized by public institutions. The savings that this implies most of the times serves to build a second greenhouse.

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How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?

Small-scale greenhouses for diversified production are not new. Yet, it is new that such a system is promoted from a food security and conservation perspective by a ministry focused on economic development. The high levels of productivity, contribution to food security and income generation motivate to families (particularly women) to replicate the initiative. Based on this, the program is expanding to four additional Bolivian departments under agreements with local governments. What it is needed is: (i) Capacity building on agroecological production to the technical personnel from the public institutions (USD 8000). (ii) Technical support to producers to implement participatory guaranty systems to obtain the National Ecological Seal (USD 8000). (iii) Training and follow up on organic seed production (USD 10000). (iv) Further systematization of the results and effects (USD 5000). (v) Public awareness on agroecological production and PNAUP benefits (USD 10000).

Overview