Seed sovereignty and agroecological scaling: two cases of seed recovery, conservation, and defense in Colombia

López, Valeria García; Giraldo, Omar Felipe; Morales, Helda; Rosset, Peter; Cruz, José María Duarte

doi:10.1080/21683565.2019.1578720

Cited by 25 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Some of the guiding principles for food sovereignty identified in the Nyéléni declaration 2 (2007) (Schiavoni, 2009;European Coordination European Coordination Vía Campesina, 2018) are to value food providers, by 1) honoring and supporting all their identities and their livelihoods; 2) supporting food providers to have control over their territory and the natural resources on it (i.e., land, water, seeds, livestock, and fish); 3) building food sovereignty on local knowledge, skills, and nature; and 4) rejecting technologies that undermine them (i.e., genetic engineering). In that regard, seed sovereignty and agrobiodiversity 3 are key components for achieving food sovereignty (Kloppenburg, 2014;García López et al, 2019). In ecological terms, agrobiodiversity (as well as on-farm diversification established and managed through the use of agroecological principles), may reduce the use of external inputs, attract pollinators, enrich, and protect the soil, reduce water consumption and transpiration, and increase the quality 2 Created with the participation of more than 500 social movement leaders from nearly 80 countries.…”

Section: Conceptual Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Toward Food Sovereignty: Transformative Agroecology and Participatory Action Research With Coffee Smallholder Cooperatives in Mexico and Nicaragua

Luna

Bacon

Méndez

et al. 2022

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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The challenges that coffee smallholder livelihoods face suggest the need to move beyond incremental changes in production. Transformative agroecology offers a potential approach to guide systemic change to achieve food sovereignty among coffee smallholders and cooperatives. This work aims to understand the extent to which diversification practices among coffee smallholders can contribute to a transformative agroecology, and to what extent, participatory action research (PAR) projects may support related transformative processes. The PAR projects described in this paper took place over 3 years with participants associated with two smallholder cooperatives in Mexico, and Nicaragua. After establishing long-term partnerships among cooperatives and universities, we used a PAR approach to guide a mixed methods study that included 338 household surveys, 96 interviews, 44 focus group discussions, and participant observation during farmer-to-farmers exchanges. We found that, although coffee-producing households in both study sites report several diversification activities, more than 50% still face some period of food scarcity each year. In our reflections with farmers and staff from the participating cooperatives, that are also included as co-authors in this study, we conclude that coffee smallholders and cooperatives in both locations are in the early stages of developing a transformative agroecology, as a path toward food sovereignty. Several leverage points to achieve this include land access, native seed conservation, cultural attachment to certain diversification practices, and traditional diets. Some of the more significant challenges to advancing a more transformative agroecology are the prioritization of coffee as a crop (i.e., coffee specialization), and dependency on coffee income. Our PAR project also aimed to contribute to achieving change in the prevailing system through 1) capacity building with community facilitators/promoters, 2) co-creation of questions and knowledge relevant to the strategic planning by coffee cooperatives, 3) sharing farmer-to-farmer pedagogies across territories, and 4) the co-production of popular education material. We conclude that diversification remains an important agroecological strategy for smallholder commodity producers, as a way of achieving food sovereignty. Most of all, we find that achieving diversification is not a linear process, as there are many trade-offs, feedback loops, obstacles and opportunities that should be considered through long-term and collective approaches.

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Section: Conceptual Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We refer as native to seeds from the Americas, and creole as seeds that although not native to the Americas, have undergone adaptation(García López et al, 2019).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward Food Sovereignty: Transformative Agroecology and Participatory Action Research With Coffee Smallholder Cooperatives in Mexico and Nicaragua

Luna

Bacon

Méndez

et al. 2022

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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“…Although not specifically targeted at agroecology, green belts can help shield agroecology in peri-urban areas from displacement by development. Legislation that protects peasant and community seed networks and open source intellectual property can protect these important aspects of agroecology from the commercial interests of seed companies (García López et al 2019). Trade rules that prevent the dumping of cheap imported food, which distorts markets and undermines agroecology, are also an example of shielding.…”

Section: Shieldingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Power, Governance and Agroecology Transformations

Anderson

Bruil²,

Chappell

et al. 2020

Agroecology Now!

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In this chapter, we focus on issues of power, control and governance in agroecology transformations. Synthesizing the findings across the six domains of transformation introduced in Part II, we explore how the different ‘governance interventions’ of different actors have multiple effects on a transformative agroecology. Interventions that undermine agroecology have two effects: (i) suppressing agroecology by actively repressing and criminalizing it and (ii) co-opting agroecology by supporting it only to become equivalent to the dominant regime. Interventions that maintain the status quo enable co-existence by (iii) containing agroecology as elements of the dominant regime are strengthened and alternatives ignored and (iv) shielding agroecology from regime dynamics so it is less threatened. In contrast, agroecological transformation of agri-food systems are enabled by (v) processes that support and nurture agroecology to develop on its own terms and (vi) release agroecology from its disabling context by dismantling elements of the dominant regime and anchoring the values, norms and practices of agroecology within and between territories, and at different scales.

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“…Furthermore, local in situ conservation and seed supply systems evolve to adapt to farmers' needs and environmental changes, favoring cultural and territorial ties (García‐López et al. 2019). However, on‐farm conservation should be complemented with actions supported by the official seed supply system to provide assurance and conservation of useful genetic resources, to increase available diversity, as well as to promote the dynamic management of the agricultural system and genetic diversification (Bioversity International 2012; Wood and Lenne, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the Current State of In Situ Conservation and Use of Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) in Colombia

Rosero¹,

Rodríguez²,

Aguilera‐Arango³

et al. 2022

Culture Agric Food & Envi

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Sweet potato is a valuable staple crop that guarantees food security to a large segment of the world population. The wide phenotypic and genetic variability of this species is an indication of its high adaptation capacity to diverse environmental conditions. In Colombia, it is a neglected and underutilized crop, mainly managed by traditional knowledge. The aim of this study was to recognize the contribution of in situ conservation and to characterize the habitats and the traditional uses to shed light on the design of their management and conservation strategies. Germplasm and data collection were conducted in the Caribbean and Andean regions of the country. This collection resulted in 750 accessions from 131 municipalities, belonging to 19 departments of the two regions. In these regions, sweet potato has been conserved in situ in a wide spatial and altitudinal distribution. The major collection sources were wild and cultivated habitats, which highlight the invaluable contribution of farmers and communities in the preservation of this species and its associated knowledge. In situ conservation seemed to be an efficient strategy for conserving and using plant genetic resources; therefore, it should be considered by conservation efforts. [germplasm collection, habitats, in situ conservation, Ipomoea batatas]

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Seed sovereignty and agroecological scaling: two cases of seed recovery, conservation, and defense in Colombia

Cited by 25 publications

References 25 publications

Toward Food Sovereignty: Transformative Agroecology and Participatory Action Research With Coffee Smallholder Cooperatives in Mexico and Nicaragua

Toward Food Sovereignty: Transformative Agroecology and Participatory Action Research With Coffee Smallholder Cooperatives in Mexico and Nicaragua

Power, Governance and Agroecology Transformations

Assessment of the Current State of In Situ Conservation and Use of Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) in Colombia

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