Planting a New Future:
(Link to Agroforestry Systems Project Description)
Agroforestry Provides Sustainable Income for Farmers in The Yungas
When farmers here plant a monoculture of cacao or citrus, they have to wait for four
years before they see any income. All the while they are pouring money and labor into the
plot. With the succesional agroforestry system , they have crops that they harvest the first year, both
for food and for income
, notes Engineer Walter Mendoza, the Coordinator of Agro
OSCAR (the agricultural section of Social Works in Roads for Rural Access, commonly
known by its Spanish initials OSCAR), ACDI/VOCA’s partner in implementing 20 community-ased agroforestry projects in the municipality of Palos Blancos.
In addition, monoculture systems usually go hand-in-hand with the slash and burn process known as chaqueo. Chaqueo rapidly depletes nutrients from the soil, exhausting the land so that farmers need to move their production to new plots within a few years. This unsustainable method also contributes to deforestation, which leads to erosion and landslides and increased flooding.
Since 2001, ACDI/VOCA, through the Yungas Community Alternative Development Fund (YCADF), financed by the U.S. Agency for International Development, has been promoting succesional agroforestry systems in various parts of the Yungas. Agroforestry, the intentional intercropping of agricultural and forestry products on one plot, maintains or improves the quality of soil over time, ensuring sustainable production and bringing long-term economic and environmental benefits. In the Yungas, ACDI/VOCA has been promoting agroforestry as a productive system and as a tool for managing watersheds around the potable-water systems that have been constructed as part of the YCADF.
In Palos Blancos, the YCADF has funded the development of 409 demonstration plots for families in 20 communities. This project, which was implemented in coordination with Project OSCAR has trained extensionists from each of the communities in the project zone to work closely with the owners of the plots. These extensionists harvest seeds from the local forest, help design plots with crops that the owners choose, and train owners in management techniques that improve the quality of the soil, control weeds, pests and diseases and increase production levels.
Already, only a year after the first plots were planted, more than ten
percent of the owners involved in the project have dedicated more
land to agroforestry production. Juan Carlos Huacani, an enthusiastic
participant in the program and a local extensionist from Colonia 25 de
Septiembre comments, This is good because
it is going to improve my soil. Plus working
in the agroforestry plots is less work and
more pleasant.
He is quick to add, I plan
to expand my agroforestry into the next
plot below, where I have my papayas and
citrus.
Another important role for agroforestry in YCADF projects is the protection of watersheds around the intakes for potable-water systems. These systems can be sensitive to changes in the hydrology of the local watershed, especially the increased fluctuations in water supply caused by chaqueo. To protect these water sources, ACDI/VOCA develops environmentally sustainable watershed- management plans with farmers whose land falls within these watersheds. Training programs include demonstration plots for appropriate agroforestry systems and technical assistance to property owners, to ensure that the potable-water systems provide a consistent flow of water, even in the dry season.
Regional Director for the Yungas, Jeremy Davis, believes that agroforestry
has a great potential to ensure continued growth and economic
development in the region. This is the only system of agriculture that I
know of that is sustainable in this region,
says Davis. Indeed, with so
much potential to improve the quality of life for residents of the Yungas,
both immediately and over the long-term, agroforestry will feature
on the ACDI/VOCA agenda for many years to come.
Benefits of Succesional Agroforestry Systems
- Generates revenue and food within months of implementation
- Generates revenue sustainably over the long term
- Reduces costs of inputs,including fertilizers,pesticides, seeds and labor
- Shelters producers from fluctuations in markets through the diversity of crops within a single agroforestry plot
- Improves the quality of soil over time
- Eliminates the need to introduce exotic leguminous plants
- Rroduces the rate of deforestation because producers can continue to use the same plot of land for years to come
- Reduces emissions of carbon dioxide
- Reduces erosion and incidence of landslides
- Reduces impacts on local watersheds
