CLADES:
Latin American Consortium on Agroecology and
Sustainable Development
- Chile -
Mission: The
Latin American Consortium on Agroecology and
Sustainable Development (CLADES) is a
collaborative effort of Latin American NGOs
to prevent the collapse of peasant
agriculture by transforming it into a more
sustainable and productive enterprise.
The
Emergence of CLADES
During the
1980s a number of NGOs in several countries
of South America reached the conclusion that
the central issue in rural development was
the need to improve the technical capacities
of small-scale farmers. Each of these NGOs
had been working locally to organize the
campesinos, but they realized their own staff
needed much more training in alternative
agriculture methods if their efforts were to
become effective. Also, as they considered
the growing impoverishment of soils and
people throughout the region, they concluded
that individual, isolated efforts would not
impact the problem on the scale required.
A few of these
NGOs already shared local experiences at an
informal level, particularly with CET in
Chile, one of the first NGOs to combine
technological improvements with community
organizing. These initial exchanges and
mutual staff trainings convinced the NGO
directors that if they wanted to succeed,
they had to join their forces and work
collectively. They had to have more than an
information network. Because existing
agricultural colleges were only training
graduates for high-cost input agro-industry,
college staff had to find ways to share what
they were learning regarding peasant
agriculture, as well as to conduct more
research to improve and expand the
agroecological techniques they could offer. A
new institutional arrangement was needed to
encourage and channel cooperation. Thus, in
January 1989, twelve NGOs from nine South
American countries met in Santiago, Chile to
create the Latin American Consortium on
Agroecology and Sustainable Development
(CLADES).
Activities
of CLADES
The broad goal
of CLADES is to be accomplished mainly by
developing and spreading new agroecological
options for peas- ants, and training the
staff of their member NGOs in these new
methods. Research, training, and information
exchange are the heart of CLADES, but their
vision extends beyond the first-level meeting
point between the peasants themselves and the
NGO promoters.
As relatively
small institutions in their own right, member
NGOs have asked CLADES' Secretariat to assist
with institutional development, including
topics such as management systems, personnel
policies, and evaluation techniques. Without
some real organizational strength themselves,
these NGOs will be unable to sustain the
message they want to deliver.
More recently,
CLADES has also been asked to extend its work
to preparing and advocating improved
macro-policies around national agricultural
planning. Because of its growing expertise
and international recognition, CLADES has
been approached by a number of national and
international agencies to make its members'
experiences more available to government
policy makers, not only in Latin America, but
Asia and Africa as well.
These
activities are all carried out by CLADES
members, supported by a very small
secretariat of three persons. By combining
the energies of different groups into a more
focused and collective effort, CLADES has
been very effective. CLADES has overseen
three programs over the past five years
toward transforming peasant agriculture
throughout Latin America. By examining the
content of these three core programs, one can
better understand how this impact is being
achieved.
Training
Programs
CLADES designs
its training programs from the bottom-up, to
ensure that their techniques are not only
scientifically valid, but also closely
adapted to the different agroecological
situations of regions as well as the
prevailing cultural and socioeconomic
conditions. This approach is typically
missing in the conventional university
courses. For example, CLADES' training
considers the differences between peasants
working for subsistence and those linked to
markets, and between different climatic
conditions in the region (tropical, Andean,
temperate). The curriculum is designed to
integrate social and physical considerations
into an agroecological paradigm, and to train
the personnel of member institutions, both
through theory and through actual local
practice in existing NGO programs.
The training
is offered at three levels:
I .
Entry-level, which introduces the
agroecological concepts that support the
various techniques commonly used, such as
cornposting, raised beds, crop rotation,
integrated pest management, etc.
2. A
second-level seminar/workshop, which provides
a detailed proposal fitted to the specific
peasant conditions in one particular zone.
3. Specialized
courses in topics requested by member NGOs,
delving deeper into thematic areas, such as
soil conservation, rapid rural appraisal,
biological pest control, etc.
CLADES also
offers a Training at a Distance course,
"Human Centered and Agroecological Rural
Development," which is currently offered
in seven countries: Chile, Peru, Bolivia,
Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Cuba. The
course has been attended by over 2,000
students, and will soon be extended to
Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and possibly
Mexico.
Research
Program
Given the wide
diversity of agricultural systems practiced
by Latin American peasants, and the variety
of constraints to productivity they confront,
it is impossible to develop a single method
or technological approach that suits the
whole range of small farms. Most are on hilly
land, with low fertility and high erosion,
but others are marginal in other ways, such
as rainfall, access to transport/markets, and
educational level. Respecting this diversity
is the hallmark of NGOs, but they need to
establish their own research and
demonstration centers where they can try out
new and old techniques before sharing them
more broadly with the peasants. Very little
research has been done in Latin America at
this local, applied level with direct
relevance to existing peasant practices. This
is where CLADES can promote local research
for quite different ecological niches and yet
also collect and standardize the
methodologies and results to share them more
broadly.
Research
priorities were defined after CLADES
conducted a survey of all its members,
applying a set of performance- indicators and
evaluation methodology that assessed the
technical viability and potential impact of
the proposals offered by member NGOs. Each
member's capabilities, staff skills, and
principal weaknesses were inventoried. As a
result of this survey, CLADES research
support is directed at soil and water conser-
vation, plant protection, cropping systems
management, conservation of genetic
resources, agroforestry, and animal
husbandry. For example, after a competitive
review in the early 1990s, CLADES selected 30
proposals for research grants to be completed
in 1994. These research grants include:
Phytoveterinary
strategies for goats in Pernambuco, Brazil.
Cropping systems for Andean soils in Pacajes,
Bolivia.
Biological
control of major crop insect pests in
Cajamarca, Peru.
Biological
control of cotton pests in Argentina.
Water
harvesting in coastal drylands in Chile.
Conversion
studies of sugar beets from high-input to
low-input management in Chile.
Agriculture
and aquaculture based on raised fields and
canals in Cauca, Colombia.
Communication
and Information Program
Clearly it is
important to publicize the experiences,
leanings, and research being accumulated by
CLADES and its members. The Communication and
Information Program makes available to
CLADES' members all the relevant technical
information generated by the consortium's own
research, as well as that from universities
and other research groups. The program is
also proving to be a key tool in
decentralizing important information,
bringing the information directly to those
who need it in their rural development
programs. Four main channels comprise this
program:
1. The
twice-yearly regional magazine, Agroecology
and Development, disseminates the analysis of
successful local experiences that promote and
enhance food production and resource
conservation, as well as information on
research advances and training activities.
Its issues are sent throughout Latin America
and even across the world.
2. Regional
newsletters, low-cost booklets, and training
materials on specific topics are published to
assist members and training of local
extension workers and farmers. Publications
include a manual on ethnoecology, programs
for in situ conservation of crop genetic
resources, and rapid rural appraisal.
3. Videotapes
and slide programs have been produced to
illustrate very practical concepts, tools,
and methods of sustain- able agriculture.
4. Readers,
containing up-to-date articles on relevant
topics, have been compiled and distributed to
training course participants.
Working
Associations with Universities in the Region
Despite the
worldwide explosion in academic activities
related to conservation and sustainable
development, there are few agricultural
colleges in Latin America that have seriously
integrated environmental concerns into their
curricula. Without a critical mass of trained
professionals, there is little hope that the
future graduates will be able to redirect
teaching and research programs, or orient
public policy toward sustainability. For this
reason, CLADES has been engaged in a
collaborative program to help strengthen the
training capabilities of selected Latin
American universities in agroecology and
sustainable rural development. CLADES has
joined with the University of Andalusia,
Spain, and the Latin American Association of
Agronomy Schools (Asociacion de Escuelas de
Agronomia en America Latina, ALEAS), to
create the International Faculty of
Agroecology and Development (Facultad
International de Agroecologia y Desarrollo,
FIAD). This university institution
facilitates the dialogue between the
sustainable development practitioners and
scholars. Presently, courses for agronomy
students are being designed, as well as a
master's program to prepare academics in
sustainable rural development.
In September
199 1, CLADES, in collaboration with the UN
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), held
a conference entitled "Developing an
Agroecology Curriculum in the Latin American
Agricultural College" in Santiago,
Chile. This conference allowed NGO
technicians and university professors to
discuss the ways the existing agricultural
curricula needed to be changed to incorporate
environmental and suatainavle delopment
concerns. The conference culminated with the
signing of an agreement between CLADES and I
I Latin American Colleges of Agriculture
(Univ. de San Simon-Bolivia, Univ. Nacional
de la Plata-Argentina, Univ. of Chile, Univ.
Federal de Palotas-Brasil, Univ. Nacional
Agraria La Molina-Peru, Univ. de la
Republica-Uruguay, Univ. Nacional de
Cajamarca-Peru, Universidad Autonoma de
Chapingo-Mexico, Univ. Nacional del
Nordeste-Argentina, ISCAH-Cuba, Univ. Mayor
San Andres-Bolivia). The agreement defines
the terms to develop a more integrated
program of curriculum development, special
professional training and internship
programs, interdisciplinary research
programs, and the production of training
materials to strengthen the universities.
CLADES and
the Broader Policy and Socioeconomic Issues
CLADES
recognizes that profitability at the
household level depends not only on what
peasants and NGOs can do, but even more
importantly, on the macro-conditions under
which the peasant production operates. There
are many policy obstacles that prevent
peasants from fair competition in the market,
thus limiting the chances for any
agroecological strategy to be taken up at the
household level. A major challenge for CLADES
is, there- fore, to create alternative policy
scenarios that reduce antipeasant biases in
institutional and policy frameworks, and
instead provi 'de peasants with access to
land, resources, public services, appropriate
technologies, credit, etc. CLADES maintains
that solutions to major environmental
problems in Latin America, such as solion to
the problem of rural poverty. Therefore,
extensive changes in the structural
conditions and the policies that continuously
produce widespread poverty are needed.
CLADES
increasingly strives to:
* Determine
ways Latin American NGOs can influence
agricultural and environmental national
policy.
* Define
strategies so the NGOs can transcend their
small-scale
impact, to
effectively "socialize"
agroecological development strategies.
* Foster
research on specific policy changes and
assess the impacts of such changes on
socioeconomic and environmental parameters.
CLADES seeks
to address several key questions:
What economic
policies will favor a more equitable and
sustainable agriculture in each country?
What set of
technologies will minimize adverse
environmental effects without significantly
compromising benefits?
What would be
the comparative economic return of export
agriculture and peasant agriculture using
alternative farming systems under current or
less distorted policy conditions?
What are the
production efficiencies of alternative
technologies when compared with conventional
high-input technologies?
What kind of
applied research will be necessary to
generate and promote agroecological
technologies that enhance economic viability,
but reduce ecological costs?
What are the
natural resource costs and benefits of the
various technologies?
Relations
with Northern Institutions
From the
beginning, CLADES initiated its relations
with northern institutions based on the
concept of "partnership." The basis
of the partnership has been CLADES' working
agenda: the formulation of an agroecological
proposal, the creation of professional
capacities within NGOs, and the reinforcement
of local institutional capabilities to foster
rural development.
A significant
group of European, American, and Canadian
donor agencies have committed their support
to CLADES' working plan. The plan has created
the conditions for a North-South partnership
that has gone beyond providing funds, into
sharing the responsibilities and challenges
included in CLADES' agenda. Leaving aside
confrontational attitudes, CLADES proposes a
negotiating table between institutions of the
North and South, built upon a working plan
that specifies the technological needs of the
Latin American peasant production unit.
Several participants committed to agroecology
in different ways sit at this table: Southern
NGOs, university researchers and professors
from the South, donor agencies of the North
(mostly the US and Canada), and Northern
research and advocacy institutions.
The strategy
of the common table has increasingly led to a
collaborative arrangement whereby the search
for agroecological, technological innovation
has been a shared task between northern and
southern actors. Concrete activities have
taken place, all reflecting the spirit of
cooperation with which the table was
conceived:
Annual or
bi-annual meetings between CLADES'
Secretariat and the donor agencies and
foundations to discuss needs, opportunities,
and tasks accomplished.
Collaboration
from US scientists/researchers in CLADES'
courses and workshops.
Travel by
selected CLADES technicians to California to
visit research projects and on-farm
experiences in organic production.
Cooperation
and exchange of information with northern
institutions interested in particular issues
(i.e. Rodale International, RAFI, IIED,
ILEIA, WRI, IFOAM, PAN, etc.).
CLADES'
working plan has assigned an important role
to northern institutions interested in
particular development and conservation
issues, such as pesticide regulation, seed
conservation, tropical rain forest
protection, and agroecological research. In
fact, CLADES provides an institutional
arrangement to channel their contribution
through representative organizations,
avoiding a dispersion of efforts through
parallel activities and ad hoc organizations.
In summary,
the partnership has initiated a much needed
South North dialogue on issues of relevance
to rural development and conservation of
natural resources. An exciting result of
North South partnership is the opening of
mutual benefits. Because CLADES has access to
professional expertise that is available in
several member institutions, some northern
NGOs can use these resource persons to train
their project officers. On the other hand,
these contacts with donor agencies and
institutions can facilitate the access of
Southern NGOs' personnel to research centers
and universities in the North.
Source: Based
on An Agroecological Working Team Promoting
Sustainable Rural Development With
Small-Scale Farmers in Latin America, written
by Andres Yurjevic and Miguel Altieri,
published in Journal of Learning 1, ICFID,
Canada, 1995, pp. 39-46. Information also
drawn from "Monitor Report: Consorcio
LatinoAmericano sobre Agroecologia y
Desarrollo (CLADES), " a report for the
Inter-American Foundation by Peter Rossett,
Center for Latin American Studies at Stanford
University.
- Contact
Person: Andres Yurjevic,
Executive Secretary
CLADES (Consorcio Latinoamericano
sobre Agroecologia y Desarrollo)
- Casilla
97 Correo 9
- Santiago,
CHILE
-
- Phone:
56-2-234-11-41 or 56-2-233-70-92
- Fax:
56-2-233-8918
- Email:
adm@clades.mic.cl
-
From: For All
Generations, Making world agriculture more
sustainable (p.275-283). A WSAA Publication,
Edited by: J.Patrick Madden and Scott G.
Chaplowe.
