Chapter 14 - The sustainable transformation of food systems and their impact on food and nutritional security: the case of the municipality of San Ramón, Nicaragua
p. 325-340
Texte intégral
Introduction
1Few studies have been carried out in Nicaragua on the local transformations brought about by trade and social organizations, or their interaction with local government initiatives and national public policies for the sustainable transformation of food systems and their impact on the FNS of the population (families and communities).
2San Ramón, where the case study was conducted, is one of Nicaragua’s 154 municipalities. It is located in the central region, 12 km from the departmental capital of Matagalpa and 142 km from the capital Managua. It covers an area of 424 km², equal to 7% of the department and 0.33% of the national territory. No up-to-date population data are available, although the forecast provided by the association of municipalities for northern Nicaragua AMUPNOR (2010) gives a figure of around 45,150 inhabitants for 2020. Of this total, 85% are rural, a higher proportion than the national average of 40%.
3This municipality was founded in 1904, when José Santos Zelaya was President of the Republic. Its origins are linked to the coffee plantations that were colonized by parts of the bourgeoisie through the appropriation of stretches of national lands and/or communal lands previously occupied by small mestizo or indigenous producers (Maldidier and Marchetti, 1996). As is common in the coffee-growing areas of Nicaragua, communities of small producers sprang up around the plantations, working on their own farms for part of the year and selling their labor to the coffee plantations during periods of low demand. These communities are also home to the families of permanent and seasonal agricultural workers, working for these large production units.
4According to data from the CENAGRO national agricultural survey (2011), the municipality covers an area of 46,370 manzanas (32,460 ha), with cultivated and natural pastures occupying most of the agricultural land in the municipality for a total of 18,214 mz (12,750 ha). This is followed by the areas of land occupied by forest (9,228 mz or 6,460 ha), coffee (7,835 mz or 5,485 ha), and basic grains (5,169 mz or 3,618 ha). The municipality has three separate agroecological zones: in the north, a zone of higher altitude and rainfall, which is where most of the coffee is grown and, in the south-east, a dryer intermediate zone, which is where the activities relating to livestock and basic grain crops are based. The third zone is located in the southern part of the municipality; it is considered a dry corridor, specialized in the production of basic grains
5The municipality is home to 9,131 families, of whom 2,550 are urban and 6,581 rural. Of these rural families 2,154 own land and 4,704 do not. Of the families in this last category, some rent land to grow crops, while others sell their labor for agricultural or non-agricultural activities. In other words, agricultural production in the municipality is maintained by 2,154 families, mainly relying on conventional production systems, with little use of farming technology. According to a study by Bonilla, Gutiérrez, Ramírez and Rojas (2010), 76% of the food consumed by farming families is purchased from outside sources. In other words, they are deficient production units. The study also revealed shortfalls in protein consumption (37.74%) and in kcal consumption (22.88%).
6At the same time, landless rural families are even more exposed to food insecurity since they depend on farm work, particularly coffee growing, which is an unstable activity owing to the continuous fluctuations in prices. As a result, coffee producers often dispense with their services. In addition, farming activities in general depend on services such as the loans granted by the national financial system, which are more difficult to access in periods of socio-political instability, such as in 2018 or during the current pandemic.
7Environmental damage is another aspect of the problems faced by the municipality. Forty percent of the soil is overused, suffering continuous damage that affects its productivity (AMUPNOR, 2010). Production units tend to be located in areas with gradients of over 30%, where the main productive vocation is agroforestry or conservation. Deforestation is a problem in the higher part of the municipality, where the main water sources originate, primarily owing to the actions of the big coffee producers. Their drive to increase profits is leading to a gradual decrease in water flows. Contamination by chemical pesticide residues and coffee by-products such as honey water and pulp, pose a risk to the water supply used by urban populations and communities.
8In recent decades, this complex, multifactorial reality has affected the food and nutritional security of families, as well as the natural assets of the municipality and of the productive units in particular.
9The first response to this crisis came from the National Union of Farmers and Ranchers (UNAG) through the farmer-to-farmer program Campesino a Campesino (PCaC) in the early 1990s. Other local social organizations subsequently became involved, together with the municipal government, through public policies and specific projects. Two emblematic programs have been developed on the initiative of central government: The Productive Food Program or Hambre Cero (Zero hunger), which has benefited 1,190 small farmers in the municipality and a school meals program that feeds 7,458 children in kindergarten and primary education.
10Against this problematic backdrop, the study will answer the following questions:
How can we best describe the development and current state of the Food System in the municipality of San Ramón?
What has been the impact of national public policies (regulatory framework, programs, projects and actions) on Food and Nutritional Security (FNS) and sustainability in the municipality of San Ramón?
What has been the role of local players in building the institutional framework for the transformation of the Food System, overcoming food insecurity and environmental, social and economic unsustainability?
Are there any links between national and local policies, particularly those related to production, education, health and the environment?
The conceptual and methodological framework for analyzing the problem
11The conceptual framework is based on the definitions of food systems, life strategies in farming homes and agroecology as a basis for sustainability, recovery, the preservation of natural resources, and governance (coalitions and institutional structure) in the Food System transformation process. The study used the methodological approach of complex systems, socio-historical analysis and constructivism as the epistemology to build scientific knowledge. The tools used were: a documentary review (research into Food and Nutritional Security in the municipality, case studies on the impact of agroecological farming models, municipal diagnoses, plans, strategies, the local regulatory framework developed by social, trade union, community and public sector players, particularly the municipal government), and interviews with key players.
12The conceptual framework is briefly detailed below:
13Food systems: A food system is the sum of the various components, activities and players which, through their interconnections, enable the production, processing, distribution and consumption of food. Owing to their multidimensional nature, food systems include economic, environmental, political and socio-cultural aspects, with a wide range of players and dynamic environments (FAO, 2017).
14Nutritional Food Security: Defined as the state in which all people have physical, economic and social access to the food they need, in a timely and permanent way, in sufficient quantity and quality for their consumption needs and biological utilization, ensuring a state of general well-being that contributes to their successful development (INCAP, 2012). The Via Campesina (International Peasants’ Movement) describes the concept of Food Sovereignty as: “The right of peoples, communities and countries to define their own food and agriculture policies, as part of an approach that is ecologically, socially, economically and culturally appropriate for their unique situation.” One of the ways to address food security is through its four components: availability, access, biological utilization and stability.
15Sustainability of food systems: Sustainability is a multidimensional concept referring to the need to maintain the natural capital, production base, social development and the economy over the long term, with particular emphasis on Food and Nutritional Security. Agrifood sustainability encompasses production and consumption systems with continuous, regenerative cycles, reducing dependence on external inputs and energy, and minimizing the production of waste and pollutant emissions (HLPE, 2014). However, the concentration of land and resource ownership, the damage to soil, water and biodiversity, the rapidly growing population and the economic factors linked to the food trade have a determining impact on the food security of the most vulnerable, as well as leading to high environmental costs, inequality and a rise in diseases linked to malnutrition. The proposed idea is to move towards sustainable food systems, improving process efficiency and, more particularly, including all players, in order to generate more equitable results and benefits (FAO, 2017).
16Reproduction strategies in domestic peasant units: Strategies are conceived as production and social practices carried out consciously or unconsciously to maintain or change a situation. The viability of a farming production strategy depends on the smallholding’s capacity for self-sufficiency as a unit of production, consumption and salaried labor (Ramírez & Méndez, 2007).
17Martinez and Rendón (1978) describe two types of reproduction according to production capacity and based on the labor force and production resources available to satisfy the needs of the production unit. These are:
Farming units that are characterized by their inability to reach a sufficient level of production for their survival, using their own resources. The reproduction of these production units depends on labor market conditions.
Farming units that manage to satisfy basic reproduction needs through agriculture. However, their vulnerability is immediately laid bare by any unfavorable changes, no matter how small, in the terms of trade, climate conditions or even their own family composition.
18Peasant farming in Nicaragua today is a complex mix of market and subsistence strategies, international capital flows, global, national and local institutions, the relationship with the environment and the controversial use of resources (Holt, 2008). In the region considered, small-scale farms coexist with medium and large farms, giving rise to a highly heterogeneous agrarian structure that reproduces a pattern of inequality in the distribution of assets, perpetuating and accentuating productivity gaps (FAO, 2017).
19Agroecology as a strategy for sustainability and rural development: This paper defines agroecology as an approach that seeks to integrate ecological science with other sciences, such as agronomy, sociology, economics and history, along with local and indigenous knowledge systems, in order to guide research and action towards the sustainable transformation of our agrifood systems (Gliessman, 2015). This concept supports the notion that agroecology is a framework expressed through science, practice and social movements, and that it is most effective when these three dimensions converge. From this perspective, agroecology is the most appropriate way to promote processes leading to sustainability and rural development, this last aim being understood as a process of productive and institutional transformation in a given area, with the purpose of improving the living conditions of local families.
20Governance, coalitions and the institutional framework in the dynamics of Food System transformation: the analysis of the transformation of local food systems, from the standpoint of governance and local players, can draw upon the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF). This theoretical model aims to explain how changes in public policy take place. The underlying message is that policy changes are not only the result of power relations or competition between interests, but that the process of learning within the coalitions and alliances formed by players is also important. Sabatier and Weible (2007) state that the purposes behind the development of this conceptual framework of the policy process was to simplify and explain the complexity of public policy.
21Method of complex systems, socio-historical and constructivist analysis: to understand how a complex system works, it is necessary to analyze the history of the processes that led to the type of organization (structure) in its existing form at a given point in time. From this perspective, we can affirm, as Piaget once said: “There is no structure without history, nor history without structure.”
22To approach food systems and their sustainability, we need to represent a set of situations and phenomena that can be addressed as an organizational whole with a characteristic form of operation. The structuring of reality is based on two principles that are characteristic of complex systems: an arrangement of components by level of organization, each with their own dynamics but interacting with each other; and a form of progression relying on successive reorganizations rather than continuous development (García, 2006). In the subject that concerns us, the levels are: i) the municipal level with its components and relations; ii) the set of national policies on FNS and sustainability, and; iii) the international level, coffee and other markets, and global policies on development and the environment. Consequently, the transformations undergone by the system depend to a great extent on the interactions within and between these levels.
23This approach makes it possible to generate systemic properties such as resilience and sustainability. Both concepts refer to the system’s capacity to adapt to disturbances of a certain magnitude, i.e., that do not exceed the characteristic threshold of the system at any given time. When this threshold is exceeded, the system is destabilized, making it vulnerable to these disturbances.
24The constructivist perspective adopted in this paper (figure 14.1) is based on the work of García (2006):
First, a process of differentiation and integration in the construction of knowledge: in the first instance, whole entities are defined with a level of imprecision, with subsequent and gradual differentiation of their constituent parts (also with a level of imprecision) through a process of analysis. Studying these components enables better characterization for a more clearly determined whole. The process begins and continues in successive stages, with adjustments being made at each one. These may involve incorporating factors that have been left out or eliminating those that are seen to be unnecessary or secondary. The dialectic of differentiation and integration forms the basis of the construction of knowledge.
Second, modelling and a scientific explanation: Research involves successive modelling until an acceptable model is reached, i.e., one that provides a causal explanation of the phenomena under study. In other words, the set of relationships involved constitutes the explanation of how the system works.
Figure 14.1. Constructivist methodological model. Source: Rojas (2020), adapted from García (2006).
The municipality of San Ramón combines old coffee plantations and peasant farming
25The governors of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were keen to enter the modern era by gaining access to international markets. For this reason, they introduced a range of public policies on agriculture, including coffee production. Presidents Fruto Chamorro (1853), Tomás Martínez (1858) and Evaristo Carazo (1889) issued decrees rewarding coffee growers and offering up to 500 manzanas (350 ha) of “vacant” land free to any foreigner or national who planted more than 25,000 coffee trees (Choza, 2008). In the period between 1893 and 1910, over 28,725 manzanas (20,233 ha) of land were taken from the indigenous people.
26Following the victory of the Sandinista Popular Revolution in 1979, most of these large properties were confiscated, becoming part of a group of public companies called the Área Propiedad del Pueblo or Area of People’s Property (APP). The lands were not handed over to the peasants, however. The reason given was the need to maintain productive levels and obtain the foreign exchange income necessary to invest in the new government’s economic and social development programs. With the FSLN’s electoral defeat in 1990, these companies followed different paths: some were returned to their former owners, others were turned over to workers and cooperatives. In this last case, the state compensated the former owners for the value of the confiscated land. A few years later, however, with the rollout of the neoliberal policies of the 1990s and the limited capacity of worker-owned companies for technical, administrative and financial self-management, some of the cooperatives sold their lands to the old and new owners, reconfiguring the large coffee plantations once again.
27The large plantations concern producers whose main aim is to maximize the profits from their investment. Following the same approach, they also invest in other sectors such as livestock or other agricultural activities, when coffee is in crisis. A small portion of producers in this sector invest in non-agricultural trade and agribusiness activities such as coffee processing, slaughterhouses or services. Unlike peasants, they have more advanced means of production such as barns, farmhouses, mills, haciendas, vehicles, etc. (Rojas & Blandino, 1996; Maldidier & Marchetti, 1996) This sector is also characterized by its semi-settled nature (meaning that producers live in the city rather than on the farm and delegate management to an administrator and/or other supervisors). Labor contracting, tenant farming, the possession of multiple farms and the dependence on credit for the production process, are the most common production relations.
28The coffee-growing sector has a secure labor force in landless peasants, agricultural workers and even a number of peasants whose family members, in addition to working on their own farms, sell their labor for a few months every year, particularly during the coffee harvest. This provides them with additional income to acquire the food and basic necessities that are not generated by the farm. It is also important to point out that the municipality has around 200 small coffee growers, implementing peasant reproduction strategies, who not only produce coffee but also set aside small areas for basic grains (corn and beans) for self-supply, and who sell their labor, particularly to the large coffee plantations. These peasant groups are vulnerable to the recurrent crisis in coffee prices in international markets. In consequence, their food security depends on the international market in two ways: the income generated through the sale of their own coffee and the employment possibilities for family labor in this area.
The peasant production crisis and the emergence of alternative technological and political advocacy options
29The Campesino a Campesino program (PCaC) was set up by the National Union of Farmers and Ranchers (UNAG) in 1992 in the four communities of San Ramón, under the leadership of four developers. Its first initiatives focused on Soil and Water Conservation (SWC) in corn and bean plots. To this end, the program set up experimental plots, using green manure and implementing reforestation practices to protect water sources (Cuadra & Vásquez, 2016). The main purpose of this work was to improve soil fertility, and to reduce production costs and external dependence on inputs.
30In the mid-1990s, the PCaC decided after a process of reflection to expand its initial scope in order to address issues related to integrated production systems, soil fertility, the ecological management of pests and diseases, large and small livestock, and animal traction, among other issues. At the end of the decade, in the wake of Hurricane Mitch that swept through several Central American countries, a regional study (El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua) found that the plots implementing agroecological practices and PCaC methodology were better placed to recover from the losses and destruction caused by the hurricane. This demonstrates their capacity for resilience.
31Since the beginning of the 2000s, the PCaC has expanded its coverage of local communities to enter public spaces, becoming part of the coordination of the Municipal Government (GM) and particularly the Environmental Commission. As part of this role in 2007, working with civil organizations, the public institutions of central government and the GM itself, it promoted the rollout of an environmental ordinance to regulate and counter the environmental damage caused by agricultural activities, particularly the deforestation driven by the expansion of the coffee plantations in the highlands of the municipality. The PCaC members involved talked about the difficulties of the advocacy work involved. Prior to approval: “There were serious problems, because of the deforested areas created by the production and extraction practices of the large coffee landowners, who were opposed to the municipal ordinance as it would prevent them from continuing to damage the environment.”
32The ordinance was approved and now protects watersheds, aquifers, genetic resources and the genetic diversity of wild flora and fauna. It provides the basis for promoting environmental education, scientific research and the study of ecosystems, as well as furthering sustainable local development, and encouraging the implementation of clean processes and technologies for the improvement and rational/sustainable use of natural ecosystems.
33According Cuadra and Vásquez (2016), in late 2007, the Humboldt Center, a national non-governmental organization, supported a nutritional study of children in San Ramón schools. The children who were receiving food distributed as humanitarian aid, were experiencing vomiting, diarrhea and skin allergies. A number of food samples were collected and sent to Genetic ID, Inc., a laboratory in the United States. The result showed that the food consumed by the children contained seven types of GMOs at high levels of concentration.
34This situation prompted social players, unions and the Municipal Government to discuss an ordinance to declare the municipality a GMO-free zone. In August 2008 the “Ordinance for the Protection of Biodiversity in the Municipality of San Ramón” was approved. Its stated goals are to: i) promote food production within the community; ii) ensure the establishment of GMO-free crops in order to secure nutritional food of sufficient quality and quantity; iii) rescue and conserve native biological diversity with particular emphasis on heirloom and hybrid seeds of crops and species of nutritional interest, as a strategic component in strengthening the Food Sovereignty and sustainable development of the municipality of San Ramón; iv) promote the establishment of centers for the conservation of heirloom seeds (Seed Banks) at the community and municipal level; v) harmonize initiatives in the area of municipal Food and Nutritional Sovereignty and Security with the current national legal framework.
35In 2012 social players and the municipal government further expanded the local framework for promoting Food Security in the municipality by approving the “Ordinance for the Promotion of Food and Nutritional Sovereignty and Security (FNSS) in the Municipality of San Ramón.” The ordinance states that food security in the municipality is impacted by factors associated with the productivity of agricultural production systems and family income, coupled with an external dependence on food, expressed in a high rate of food purchases (76%) and a dietary pattern based on eight foods. It also identifies agroecology as an appropriate model to increase and diversify the production and consumption of nutritious and safe food and the protection of natural resources.
Flagship public programs and their impact on FSN and the sustainability of production systems
36With the return of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) to government, the issue of nutritional food security and agriculture, particularly family agriculture, took on greater importance once again. In this context, the government outlined a new Food Production Program (McBain-Hass & Wolpold-Bosien, 2008) based on international experience, particularly in Brazil, and on the lessons learned by national civil society organizations, particularly the Center for Promotion, Research and Rural and Social Development (CIPRES).
37The ideas underpinning the CIPRES Food Production Program were formed in the wake of Hurricane Mitch. The objective was for every Nicaraguan family to have the same products on their table as families in developed countries, such as milk, meat, eggs, fruit, vegetables and cereals. The general aim of the program was to provide capital and support through agroecological technologies, targeting peasants as the main players in food production, as well as supporting the organization, integration and participation of the rural population in its management.
38The purpose of the Bono Productivo Alimentario (Food Production Support or BPA) or Hambre Cero was to build sustainability in food production. This means recovering the natural resources (biodiversity, soil, water) used in the production process and reconstituting the original properties of these systems through the use of eco-technologies, the manufacture and use of bio-inputs, the generation of domestic energy through biodigesters, nutrient recycling and water harvesting, to give just a few examples.
39A number of requirements and mechanisms were established for the allocation of the BPA, as follows: i) the woman of the household would be the direct beneficiary; ii) the family was required to have access to a plot of land of between one and five manzanas (3.5 ha), this land did not necessarily have to belong to the woman, but could belong to another member of the family; iii) the family did not already own the assets provided by the BPA; iv) the woman accepted the assets and made a commitment on their appropriate management; v) she signed a document in which she agreed to take part in training workshops, not to sell the assets provided, to take part in organizing a members’ group and to return 20% of the value of the BPA, for payment into a savings fund that is part of the group’s assets.
40In the case of the municipality of San Ramón, 1,190 BPAs have been awarded since 2008. According to one of the technicians who took part in the running of the program and who is currently a member of the Municipal System of Production, Consumption and Trade, an internal assessment showed that only 628 (52%) of the families are able to maintain or increase the assets provided. This means that the program is relatively inefficient. The main causes are thought to be: the selection of beneficiaries who do not meet the requirements set, and assets that do not reflect the socio-economic circumstances of local families. For example, the poultry and pigs provided belonged to improved breeds requiring concentrated feed that the families could not afford. The beneficiaries therefore sold the assets or used them for food before they were able to reproduce. In the case of BPAs that included cattle, if the family did not have enough land for grazing, the beneficiaries took the option of selling the assets.
41The thinking behind the program was to organize groups of 50 women, who would make the leap in the medium-term to higher forms of organization, such as cooperatives. In the case of the municipality, among the groups of women who received pigs, a decision was made to organize a cooperative to coordinate the chain and add value to the meat. The municipal government provided support in the form of land for the infrastructure, while the Ministry of Family, Community, Cooperative and Associative Economy built the infrastructure. The cooperative operated for a relatively short time before disintegrating.
42Nevertheless, among the women and groups who are still part of the program, there is some evidence as to the program’s success. Some families have managed to build up and maintain a herd of cattle from a cow they received. As a result, they have milk and cheese for their own food security, and they can sell what they don’t need in local markets. Similarly, concerning the poultry and pigs supplied, some evidence points to the role of these assets in improving food security and family income. The municipality has conducted no assessments on the impact and sustainability of this program, but tangible achievements can be seen concerning the families that manage to keep the assets. The Municipal Government of San Ramón built a municipal market for the agroecological production of rural families, with produce from this program. This has undoubtedly improved not only the food security of farming families, but also the supply of products available to rural and urban families who are unable to produce their own food. The challenge now is to assess the benefits of the Hambre Cero program in terms of production, income, sustainability and well-being for families in the municipality of San Ramón.
43In the public sector, through the Ministry of Education (MINED), the government has set up a Comprehensive School Nutrition Program (PINE) comprising four components: i) Education in Food and Nutritional Security; ii) School kitchen gardens; iii) School meals and iv) School shops. PINE-MINED has responsibility for monitoring and supervising school meals through regional technicians and the school management office. In each school, a School Meals Committee (CAE) has responsibility for the program. Parents are able to take part in the committee, which is coordinated by the school principal. Since they were first set up, the CAEs have played an important role in keeping the PINE program going, since they oversee the process of preparing school meals. The rations are received, stored, prepared and delivered to each child.
44In the case of San Ramón, the municipality has 90 nursery and primary schools, with 7,458 children receiving school meals. An assessment of the program conducted by the WFP for the period 2013–2019 concluded that the PINE adopted a cross-cutting approach to the issues of nutrition, resilience and climate change with specific workshops, but that there is no evidence that the program has had any impact on changing capacities or behavior.
45It is clear that some mistakes in the implementation of public-sector agricultural development programs and projects can be attributed to the lack of a comprehensive vision. The municipality of San Ramón could be considered as a reference in the production of Passiflora edulis (passion fruit). Its origins date back to a program set up the Rural Development Institute (IDR) in 1994. Many producers saw greater economic benefits in passion fruit, so they turned their plots over to this crop, reducing or stopping their production of basic grains (maize and beans). This affected the basic food security of families, leaving them vulnerable to market prices. The same occurred in other areas, where the main emphasis was on profitability and using the income to acquire the basic foodstuffs that they used to produce.
Players, leadership training and the institutional framework in place to address food insecurity, environmental damage and rural development in San Ramón
46The current situation in San Ramón in terms of the Food System, Food Security and sustainability is the result of a complex history, with interactions between global, national and local processes. Among the most important global processes with local impact are those relating to international markets, and particularly coffee. The decisions made through the institutional framework concerning this crop, have had a major impact and continue to influence production, income, employment and therefore the nutritional food security of the municipality.
47At the same time, national events such as the triumph of the Sandinista Revolution in the 1980s, led to the emergence of new social and trade union players such as the National Union of Farmers and Ranchers (UNAG), founders of the program Campesino a Campesino, which arrived in the municipality in the early 1990s. The Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (UCA – Augusto Cesar Sandino) of this municipality was formed through this process, and most of the land owned by cooperative members was gained through the Agrarian Reform led by the revolution. Although they have failed to bring about major transformations in the production systems of their members, as a productive diagnosis of this organization shows, they have nevertheless made pertinent efforts in environmental, social and economic sustainability, and food security in particular.
48Other social organizations, with national, departmental or local coverage, have played a role in the socio-productive and environmental dynamics of the municipality over the last thirty years. We could say that the most tangible result of the work of the social and trade union players lies in the promotion of sustainable production systems based on the postulates of agroecology. At present, five players with relevant environmental experience are present in the communities of the municipality, as follows:
The program Campesino a Campesino (PCaC) has been present in San Ramón for almost 30 years without interruption. It currently has 2,000 families involved in its labor networks. The program is present in 65 communities out of the 96 in the municipality, with eight Community Seed Banks of heirloom and hybrid seeds, produced by recovering local genetic material. It works with a network of 120 leaders and developers, 65 of whom hold a range of community and public management responsibilities at the municipal level. For example, the current mayor and vice-mayor of the municipality belong to this movement.
The Unión de Cooperativas Agropecuarias (UCA – Augusto Cesar Sandino) is a local trade union organization that has been present in the municipality for 30 years. Its main leaders have held positions of responsibility in municipal public administration and in the departmental and national agricultural public sector. In the municipality of San Ramón, the UCA has eight member cooperatives. In terms of Food Security, the UCA focuses primarily on production diversification, the improvement of agroecological practices to increase the availability of food for member families, the sustainability of local food systems and the strengthening of the cooperative movement, with the participation of young people and women.
The Denis Ernesto Gonzáles López Foundation (FUDEGL) is a non-profit organization that has been present in the municipality for 15 years. Its first actions were aimed at promoting conservationist practices in agriculture. It then expanded its focus to include permaculture, the saving of heirloom seeds and agroecology in general. It has helped to set up five Community Seed Banks in the municipality, as well as contributing to the characterization of 20 heirloom varieties. These varieties are part of the genetic material of peasant families and offer a number of advantages in fighting climate change. This organization has demonstrated leadership in the areas of coordination and advocacy, encompassing a range of issues in order to promote agroecology and sustainability in the agenda of the municipal government.
The Movement of Agroecological and Organic Producers (MAONIC) emerged from the Organic Roundtable set up in 2007. It has successfully developed synergies with a range of social, production and public-sector organizations. Its main action has been to contribute to the development of national proposals to promote agroecological production. It has developed technical competencies in the sustainable recovery of soils. Although it is a national organization, it is also a useful support for local organizations and producers.
The Organization for Economic and Social Development in Urban and Rural Areas (ODESAR) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) present in several municipalities in the department of Matagalpa, including San Ramón. Its objectives concern the need to develop programs, projects and actions focusing on the most impoverished and historically marginalized population groups. It prioritizes projects to reduce extreme poverty and to promote the food and nutritional security of peasants and landless rural workers, the priority being to establish direct contact with the women in the community.
49The emergence of community, inter-community and municipal leadership is one of the main results of several decades of work in San Ramón. This leadership has contributed to a number of agreements in the form of ordinances targeting Food and Nutritional Security, environmental protection and sustainable production. The municipal government has enabled these organized movements to become part of working commissions that have taken different names at different times, but that nevertheless serve the same purpose.
50The influence of national institutions and public agricultural, environmental, health and educational policies has been more diffuse in terms of Food Security and Sustainability. The municipality has applied neither the Food and Nutritional Sovereignty and Security Act (Act 693) nor the Act for the Promotion of Agroecological and Organic Production (Act 765), particularly from the standpoint of organizational mechanisms. Act 693 establishes the organization and operation of the Municipal Commissions of Food and Nutritional Sovereignty and Security, but the municipality already has a commission called the “Cabinet of Production, Environment and Water.” This commission brings together the leaders of the organizations above, together with councilors from rural communities with experience and commitment to the development of sustainable agriculture. Through this commission, the social and trade union organizations develop their coordination and advocacy mechanisms.
51The dispersion of public-sector organizations has been one of the characteristics observed at the municipal level. In 2020 municipalities across the country, and San Ramón in particular, organized the National System of Production, Consumption and Trade (SNPCC). This entity brings together the delegates or technicians serving the municipality, among others: the Ministry of Agriculture (MAG), the Ministry of Family, Community, Cooperative and Associative Economy, the Nicaraguan Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA), the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, the National Forestry Institute (INAFOR), and the Institute of Agricultural Protection and Health (IPSA). This coordinating entity holds monthly meetings to oversee and assess the work carried out in the field of agriculture. For the purposes of these meetings, it regularly invites three members of the municipal government, particularly those occupying the most senior positions in the Mayor’s Office and the Presidency of the Cabinet of Production, Environment and Water.
52As Ayala (2004) points out, furthering institutional innovation and setting up efficient institutions in particular, is a difficult task, since it involves complex negotiations and – frequently – conflicting demands. Nevertheless, the municipality of San Ramón could build on the experience acquired by its players in the formation of social capital to make more effective use of these mechanisms in order to address the challenges of transforming the food system and its sustainability.
Some evidence relating to agroecology and the sustainable transformation of the food system in the municipality of San Ramón
53Despite the complexity of the food issues in this municipality, the technical, social and organizational foundations have been laid for the large-scale implementation of agroecological practices. The municipality has a network of community seed banks (heirloom and hybrid), as well as flagship or reference farms showing the results of the model in real conditions, and organizational mechanisms at the institutional level to further progress in this direction.
54The last municipal study on Food and Nutritional Security was conducted in 2010. It found that food patterns were made up of eight foods in rural areas and twelve in urban areas. Case studies carried out on agroecological farms in the municipality illustrated the potential of agroecology for achieving food sufficiency at the household level as well as producing surpluses (40%) for the local market (table 14.1). These farms produce an average of 20 items, which allows them to diversify their diet and to supplement their income by selling surpluses. The families involved in the case studies buy a wider range of foods than those that they produce on their farms.
Table 14.1. Food patterns in urban and rural areas and agroecological farms
Sector |
Number of meals in the pattern |
Type of food consumed |
|
Produced |
Purchased |
||
Urban |
12 |
Corn tortilla, beans, rice, coffee, chili, onion, curd cheese, basic bread, sugar, oil, salt and egg |
|
Rural in general |
8 |
Corn, beans, rice, coffee, egg (with 60% produced on the farm on average) |
Sugar, oil, salt |
Agroecological farms |
20 |
Corn, beans, bananas, cassava, bananas, eggs, citrus fruits, avocado, vegetables, fruit, chicken (with the exception of the chicken, which is purchased in part, the average surplus of the other items is 40%) |
Rice, cheese, curd cheese, cream, oil, salt, sugar, meat, oatmeal bread |
Source: Based on the diagnosis of the Food and Nutritional Security study conducted by the municipality in 2010 and the study by Cuadra & Vásquez (2016).
55In terms of environmental sustainability, the cases studied show the transformation of the conventional farming model, through the use of 14 agroecological technologies and practices, including: plant diversity (around 20 on average), the incorporation of organic fertilizers to improve soil fertility, pest and disease management through the manufacture of natural bio-inputs, the use of heirloom and hybrid seeds according to local climate projections, soil protection using living and dead matter, windbreaks, technologies for water harvesting and the application of biofertilizers. This change in the technological matrix contributes to the restoration of farms and the surrounding environment, while also helping to reduce diseases caused by poisoning, improve food quality and cut production costs.
56Although the results are encouraging concerning efforts to improve the food system and its sustainability in the municipality, a number of questions will require further study: What progress has been made in the agroecological transformation of farms supported by the local organizations described in this paper? What are the bottlenecks limiting the adoption of the agroecological model? What national and local public policies could accelerate this transformation? What are the possible options for rural families who have no land and who depend on the sale of their labor to acquire their food supply?
Conclusions
57Based on the questions raised in this paper, we have reached the following conclusions:
The existing food system in the municipality of San Ramón is the result of a historical process of agricultural public policies and relations with the national and international market. This food system is deficient in terms of food production, both for peasant families and for the rural and urban population. The land tenure structure, in which large properties coexist with smallholdings, is the result of historical dynamics with a determining impact on food production.
The access of landless rural families to food depends on their income, and this is uncertain, particularly in sectors such as coffee growing, owing to instability in international markets, socio-political crises and exceptional events such as the Covid pandemic.
Public policies expressed through programs of capital investment in peasant units such as Food Production Support (Hambre Cero) have played a regular role, even though almost 50% of the families concerned have been unable to maintain and develop the assets provided. However, those who were able to maintain and develop the assets were able to provide a wider range of food for their families and to supply products for the local markets. The PINE – school meals program has provided stable support for children in nursery and primary education, complementing the existing food supply of families, which as we said earlier, is insufficient. The participation of parents in the management of this program has been fundamental to its success.
The agroecological transformation of peasant production units has been mainly driven by trade union and social organizations, which have shown steady commitment over a period spanning almost 30 years. These entities have created an organizational base of sustainable agroecological technologies that can be expanded to include a greater number of farms in the municipality. They also have the leadership and skills to influence local public policies to improve the food system. There is strong evidence showing that the agroecological model of diversified farms is superior to that of conventional farms, in terms of production sufficiency.
Findings have shown that the coherence between national and local policies, coordination mechanisms and intersectoral cooperation is still insufficient. Neither Act 693 on Food Security nor Act 765 are implemented at the municipal level, and local coordination mechanisms such as the Cabinet of Production, Environment and Water do not involve delegations from central government entities, such as MINED and MINSA, both of which are key to a strategy for Food and Nutritional Security. The coordination of the Public Agricultural Sector, through the System of Production, Consumption and Trade with the participation of the Municipal Government, is an important step, but it must bring in other key players, such as those mentioned above.
This research highlighted weaknesses in the management of information and knowledge of the food system, and therefore of Food and Nutritional Security. The team carrying out this work needed to bring together a number of widely dispersed components in order to fully understand the subject. It will be necessary to generate a system of indicators around the food system, with monitoring and follow-up strategies, in order to generate knowledge for decision-making in this area.
Bibliographie
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Auteurs
Tenured professor at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua, Regional Multidisciplinary Faculty of Matagalpa. Coordinator of the PhD program in sustainable rural territorial development. President of the board of directors of the Territorial Development Research and Training Institute (INFODET). infodetjairo@gmail.com
National director of agricultural technology transfer at INTA–Nicaragua. Professor for the PhD program for management and territorial development and doctoral committee member of the Universidad Católica del Trópico Seco de Estelí (UCATSE). Professor for the PhD program in management and quality of scientific research – third cohort, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua Managua. pebena@yahoo.com
Tenured professor at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua, Regional Multidisciplinary Faculty of Matagalpa. Involved in research in the field of management of environmental and natural resources in agricultural ecosystems in central Nicaragua. fcha29@yahoo.com
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