Characterization of Cocoa (Theobroma Cacao L.) Farming Systems in the Norte De Santander Department and Assessment of Their Sustainability
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Characterization of Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) Farming Systems in the Norte de Santander Department and Assessment of Their Sustainability Caracterización de los Sistemas de Producción de Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) en el Departamento de Norte de Santander y evaluación de su sostenibilidad Jesús Arturo Ramírez Sulvarán1; Alina Katil Sigarroa Rieche2 and Rómulo Alberto Del Valle Vargas3 Abstract. The cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) based economy Resumen. Se considera que el desarrollo de una economía basada has been considered a valid alternative to support sustainable en el cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) constituye una alternativa development in northeastern Colombia. However, there is a válida para impulsar el desarrollo sostenible en el noreste lack of information about the cocoa production systems in the colombiano. Sin embargo, se carece de la información básica region which is needed for the implementation of effective plans necesaria sobre los sistemas de producción de cacao para la to improve their performance and sustainability. Four of the instrumentación de planes que permitan mejorar su desempeño y main cocoa producing municipalities in the Norte de Santander sostenibilidad. Para este estudio, se consideraron cuatro municipios department were considered for this study: Teorama, Bucarasica, del departamento de Norte de Santander: Teorama, Bucarasica, Cúcuta and San Calixto. These entities were selected due to Cúcuta y San Calixto, los cuales fueron seleccionados debido a que their adequate security conditions, availability of field assistants poseen condiciones adecuadas de seguridad, asistentes de campo and departmental representativeness in cocoa production. The y son representativos del departamento en cuanto a producción de objective was to obtain basic information for local, specific and cacao. El objetivo fue obtener información básica para la toma de participatory actions for the sustainability of the cocoa production acciones locales, específicas y participativas hacia la sostenibilidad systems and to improve the living conditions of farmers. The de los sistemas de producción de cacao, considerando los methodology used was based on the farming system approach, componentes socio-económicos, tecnológicos y agroecológicos, considering the socioeconomic, technological and agro-ecological y sus relaciones, evaluándolos de acuerdo a los principios de la components, and their relationships, and evaluating them agricultura sostenible. Se realizaron cuatro etapas: (1) análisis de according to the principles of sustainable agriculture. The phases datos secundarios, (2) formulación y evaluación de indicadores covered were: (1) analysis of secondary data, (2) formulation and de sostenibilidad, (3) diseño, instrumentación y análisis de los evaluation of sustainability indicators, (3) design, implementation datos de la encuesta y (4) validación por los agricultores de la and analysis of survey data and (4) validation by the farmers of información obtenida y priorización de problemas. Los resultados the obtained information and the prioritization of problems. The indican que hay un solo sistema de producción de cacao del tipo results indicate that there is only one cocoa production system of familiar-mercantil de baja tecnología. La mayor parte de los a family-mercantile type, with low technology. Most farmers have productores reciben bajos ingresos y las necesidades básicas de low incomes and basic needs such as health, education and public salud, educación y servicios públicos no están satisfechas. Los services are not met. They do not employ the agronomic and post- recursos de suelo y agua se están degradando. En general, el harvest practices recommended by specialists. The water and soil sistema de producción tiende a la insostenibilidad y se requieren resources are being degraded. In general, the farming system leans acciones integrales para cambiar esta situación. towards unsustainability and it is vital that integrative actions be taken to change this situation. Palabras clave: Cacao, caracterización, indicadores, enfoque sistémico, sistemas agrícolas, sostenibilidad. Key words: Cocoa, characterization, indicators, systemic approach, agricultural systems, sustainability. Sustainable development has been accepted as a Unidas, 2012). In northeastern Colombia, there major common goal around the world. This should are around 300,000 ha with potential for cocoa involve social, economic and environmental issues, (Theobroma cacao L.) production and only 30% of this and their relationships, in order to satisfy human area is under cocoa cultivation. Crop yields are low, -1 -1 needs in the present and the future. Additionally, it around 0.2 t . ha year, with more than 94% of the has been recognized that rural communities play an production units being small farms, so the increments essential role in economic development, especially in area and productivity are a big challenge for in developing countries (Organización de Naciones sustainable development based on the cocoa 1 Licenciado en Biología y Química. Grupo de Investigación Ambiente y Vida GIAV, Centro de Investigación y Fomento del cacao CIFCA, Universidad Francisco de Paula Santander. Av. Gran Colombia 12E-96 Colsag, Cúcuta, Norte de Santander. Colombia. 2 Ingeniera Agrónoma. Investigadora Grupo de Investigación Ambiente y Vida GIAV, Centro de Investigación y Fomento del cacao CIFCA, Universidad Francisco de Paula Santander. Av. Gran Colombia 12E-96 Colsag. Cúcuta, Norte de Santander, Colombia. <[email protected]> 3 Ingeniero Agrónomo. Universidad Nacional Experimental del Táchira. Departamento de Ingeniería Agronómica. Av Universidad, Paramillo. San Cristóbal, Estado Táchira. Venezuela. <[email protected]> Received: May 05, 2012; accepted: January 15, 2013. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15446/rfnam.v67n1.42635 Rev. Fac. Nac. Agron. Medellín 67(1):7177-7187. 2014 Ramírez, J.A.; Sigarroa, A.K.; Del Valle, R.A. economy (Ministerio de Agricultura y Desarrollo property of farming systems (Astier et al., 2012, Rural, 2007). The Norte de Santander department Marta-Costa and Silva, 2013). At present, to evaluate has ranked third in production in this region, but agricultural sustainability is considered an essential production levels have been decreasing for the last 15 prerequisite for promoting sustainable agriculture and years from 6,000 tn in 1995 to 1,600 t in 2010 (Espinal many methods and procedures have been proposed et al., 2005; Federación Nacional de Cacaoteros, 2012). for this objective, including: Adaptive Methodology for In 2002, the Consejo Nacional Cacaotero proposed Ecosystem Sustainability and Health (AMESH), Arbre technological agroforestry guidelines to increase de l’Exploitation Agricole Durable (ARBRE), Framework -1 -1 yields to 1.8 t ha year, but only 20% of the cocoa for the Evaluation of Sustainable Land Management farmers have adopted the changes (Ministerio de (FESLM), Indicator-based Sustainability Assessment Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural, 2007; Preciado et al., Framework (MESMIS, Spanish acronym for Marco para la 2011). On the other hand, the Norte de Santander Evaluación de Sistemas de Manejo de Recursos Naturales department contains a scenario with important social mediante Indicadores de Sustentabilidad), Indicateur de conflicts and illicit crops which form a more complex Durabilité des Exploitacions Agricoles (IDEA), Indicator situation (Espinal et al., 2005). of Sustainable Agricultural Practice (ISAP), Multiscale Methodological Framework (MMF), diagnostic de The Farming System Research and Development (FSR/D) durabilité du Réseau de l’Agriculture Durable (RAD), approach emerged in the seventies as an alternative Response-Inducing Sustainability Evaluation (RISE), holistic option to the failed attempts of modernizing Sustainability Assessment of the Farming and the peasant agriculture in developing countries through Environment (SAFE), and the Sustainability Solution “top-down” vertical technology transfer from researches Space for Decision Making (SSP) method. All of which to farmers. The FSR/D methodology used began with are indicator-based methods and include economic, the characterization of farming systems considering environmental and/or social dimensions of sustainability ecological, technological and social components (reviewed by Astier et al., 2008; Binder and Feola, 2010; and their relationships in the social-economical and Marta-Costa, 2010; Marta-Costa and Silva, 2013). ecological contexts (Butler et al., 1987; FONAIAP - Junta Acuerdo de Cartagena, 1988; Villota and Rodríguez, Sustainability assessment methods can be grouped 1993; Jiménez, 1997; Lopera, 1997; Malagera and Prager, in three categories, according to their structure and 2001; Gibbon, 2012). Afterwards, the agricultural systems measurement methods: (1) sustainability indicators; research considered other levels of analysis, such as the (2) sustainability indexes; and (3) frameworks for production chain or region, to get a more complete sustainability assessment. The sustainability indicators vision of the farming systems context (Berdegué and are selected parameters that can be isolated or Ramírez, 1995; Darnhofer et al., 2012). The Farming interconnected and reflect conditions of the analyzed System approaches included the move from disciplinary systems. The sustainability indexes aggregate, or to trans-disciplinary thinking and practices, rapid survey synthesize, in one numerical value the relevant techniques, farmer participatory learning and actions, information