When it comes to farming and protecting the environment, Pedro Herrera is on top of things
— in more ways than one.The Colombian farmer’s fields are high up in the
Andes, some 1,500 meters above sea level, in the southern department of Cauca. The
community in which he lives is aptly named: Buenavista (Good View). Like an eagle’s
nest, Herrera’s earthen-floor home overlooks a vast grey-green landscape which,
though spectacular, bears many scars of deforestation and erosion.
His farm lies at the head of a 7,000-hectare area drained by the Cabuyal River, which
in turn feeds into the larger watershed of the Ovejas River. What runs downhill from his
land, through a network of springs, streams, and rivers, eventually makes its way to the
department’s populous capital city of Cali, 100 kilometers to the North.
With help from a local alliance of development agencies called CIPASLA, Herrera and
other farmers have willingly taken on the role of "first line of defence" for
the environment of the Cabuyal watershed.
The relationship is one of give and take: the farmers, including those living lower in
the watershed, fence off mountain springs, plant trees, and manage hillsides to prevent
erosion. In exchange, CIPASLA member organizations provide research services, technical
advice, training, and information. These cover animal and crop production, processing,
marketing, land management, community organization, and other topics of daily life.
CIPASLA also arranges loans for agricultural and agroindustrial enterprises, such as
raising chickens, making marmalade, and processing milk.
Specific strengths of member agencies and community groups thus merge in a logical
series of steps aimed at improving people’s food security and livelihoods while
protecting the environment. The unstated corollary of that dual goal is that natural
resource conservation is the last thing on the minds of hungry people with no money in
their pockets. The emphasis in this "fair deal" approach to development is on
building the capacity of communities and individuals to plan, organize, and carry out
projects themselves.
Harmonizing Development Efforts
CIPASLA is the Spanish acronym for the Interinstitutional Consortium for Sustainable
Agriculture in Hillsides. The idea for the alliance originated in the early 1990s. A
senior official with Colombia’s national agency for integrated rural development
(DRI) was becoming concerned over the lack of coordination among various public and
private development agencies working in Cauca. While his call to share documentation and
experiences with going projects was largely ignored, it nonetheless gave impetus to the
notion that something needed to be done to get local development efforts in tune with each
other.
In 1992 the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Cali called a
meeting of the various agencies. CIAT was in a good position to promote a dialogue on ways
to harmonize local development. First, because of its longstanding agricultural research
programs, it had regular and close contact with farmers in Cauca. Second, it had
considerable expertise in geographical information systems, a key tool in managing natural
resources over a large area like a watershed. Finally, members of its research staff were
looking for organizational models to stimulate technology adoption, thereby improving the
livelihood of poor farm families.
Magnolia Hurtado de Campo is CIPASLA’s executive director and an agricultural
engineer by profession. She recalls that first meeting organized by CIAT, attended by 20
organizations. "Each agency defended its territory. People who had worked for 10
years in the Ovejas watershed had never even met each other!"
With the dialogue launched, follow-up work led to the selection of the Cabuyal
subwatershed, with its 23 rural districts (called "veredas"), as a good testing
ground for the consortium approach to development. Working with local authorities, CIAT
conducted an investigation to find out more about local farmers’ perceptions as to
what problems needed to be tackled.
The blueprint for CIPASLA was set out at a workshop in 1993, again hosted by CIAT.
Among the participants were six community leaders. "People got to know each other and
were convinced they should begin working with each other," says Hurtado.
CIPASLA set up its head office in the town of Pescador in Caldono municipality in early
1994 and Hurtado took up her director’s duties a few months later. Funding for
CIPASLA came from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), DRI, and
CIAT, which remain its principal supporters. More money was later provided by the
Colombian Ministry of Agriculture and two other government agencies. Equally important to
CIPASLA’s operations are the contributions of goods and services by participating
organizations and labor by farmers.
The consortium now has 14 members. These include seven government agencies, five NGOs,
and one international center (CIAT). The member organization representing the interests of
the residents of CIPASLA’s target area is ASOBESURCA, the Beneficiaries’
Association of the Cabuyal River Subwatershed. ASOBESURCA is a key player in the
consortium: it controls funds for projects and has two of five seats on CIPASLA’s
steering committee.
Erosion of the Community
"You have to understand that this was a community that was tired of politicians,
lies, and poverty," says Hurtado. "The people were nonbelievers in development.
But if you change a community from being nonbelievers to being active participants, then
you’ve gone a long way. Let me use a metaphor from natural resource management.
What’s basic here is that our community has recovered from a case of
‘erosion’. The people are now part of the process of development. They are the
ones who decide where they’re going."
By erosion, Hurtado means the disillusionment and apathy that creep in when development
efforts fail because they are disconnected from people’s real needs. If farmers
can’t make an honest living from the land, some may be tempted to cultivate illicit
crops or sell their properties and move to the city. Unfortunately, urban life often
proves even more difficult. Social erosion also means the departure of young Colombians to
join the guerrilla forces because they are frustrated with the status quo.
Counting on the tips of her fingers, Hurtado lists changes in community behavior and
attitudes that CIPASLA has recently witnessed. Not only do farmers participate in the
activities organized by the consortium — like planting trees and setting up buffer
zones along water courses — they often take the initiative themselves. For example,
"The farmers of El Cidral have organized night watches against forest fires because
of the dry spell linked to El Niño. So if a fire breaks out, the farmers act. In the past
there would have been general apathy toward such group efforts."
She cites another example of the more proactive stance: "A technician was
contracted to train local people in the operation of a milk processing plant. He only
showed up for the sessions 3 days a week. The community came and asked that he not be paid
and that the money be given directly to them."
The benefits of CIPASLA’s work go well beyond stimulating a change in attitude,
explains Hurtado. "This was really a one-crop community, based on cassava. Because of
CIPASLA, the farmers have been able to diversify their production. This has improved their
incomes and reduced the environmental pressure that cassava production exerts on the
hillsides."
Diversifying Production
Herrera’s farm in the upper reaches of the watershed is a showcase for the
diversity of crops that can be grown on a small farm even while natural resources are
being meticulously protected. Herrera’s own resourcefulness, experience, and openness
to new ideas are undoubtedly the main reason for his success as a farmer. CIPASLA,
however, has served as a catalyst, providing him with advice and credit. "For all the
questions I used to have about farming, I had to supply my own answers," he recalls.
"Now I have technical assistance."
Although Herrera has set aside more than one-third of his 17 hectares to protect five
natural springs that feed the watershed, his farm income has gone up. He is also growing a
wider range of crops, both for his own table and for marketing. The 10 hectares he has
under production provide for the needs of his extended family of 11.
"My cattle used to drink at the springs and stir up the water," says Herrera.
"Sometimes they would even get stuck in the mud." Then, following advice from
CIPASLA, he fenced off the springs to keep the cattle out and planted trees. The buffer
zones, which promote both water quality and increased flow, amount to about one hectare
per spring. These are a big contribution to the community, since water from Herrera’s
land makes its way to six aqueducts serving downstream households.
In exchange for his cooperation, Herrera received concrete tubs to water his cattle.
These were paid for by the coffee growers’ association which is a member of CIPASLA.
While the fenced-off areas aren’t cultivated or trodden on by animals, they are still
productive. From the woods, Herrera can still harvest a tasty native fruit called lulo.
Among his cultivated crops are beans, maize, coffee, sugarcane, cassava, sweet peas,
and — his pride and joy — blackberries. His cows give him milk for home
consumption and for sale, and in a hillside pond he raises carp, the surplus of which is
sold to neighbors. In addition, his wife raises chickens, thanks for a small credit
arranged through CIPASLA.
Lucrative Blackberries
The blackberry enterprise has been particularly profitable. "Six or seven years
ago," says Herrera, "some of my neighbors were cutting down the forest to make
charcoal. Then, they shifted to growing blackberries." The technology for that crop
was adapted to local conditions by a committee of farmer-researchers of which Herrera was
treasurer. Their field trials were successful and about 10 local farmers took up
production.
Then, for various reasons, interest in blackberries began to wain. CIPASLA, seeing the
potential of this highly marketable crop, encouraged farmers to pursue production. As a
result, about 12 farmers in Herrera’s community formed an informal association of
blackberry producers. This allowed them to arrange the needed financing from the CIPASLA
beneficiaries’ association, ASOBESURCA.
The blackberry producers make their loan payments after the harvest. The money is then
recycled to other CIPASLA/ASOBESURCA projects.
In earlier years, Herrera sold his crop harvests at the farm gate to middlemen. But his
farm diversification, especially the blackberry operation, has given him enough cash
income to buy a truck. Now he markets his own produce in nearby towns and, to offset his
fuel costs, also transports materials for his neighbors.
Along with advances in crop production, Herrera has also protected his slopes from
erosion and taken care not to contaminate soil or water. "Live barriers" of
improved grasses hold the soil in place in steep areas and fallen leaves are left as
ground cover to slow down rain runoff.
To avoid disturbing the soil too much, Herrera doesn’t plow his fields; soil
preparation is kept to a minimum. He also uses very little chemical fertilizer and no
pesticides at all. Crops are protected mainly through rotation, intercropping,
insect-repelling border plants, and weeding with a machete so that roots are left intact.
Community-led Research
Pedro Herrera is just one of many contributors to, and beneficiaries of, CIPASLA’s
work. Not all are as well off as he and his family though. Most farms in the larger
watershed of Ovejas, of which the Cabuyal River is a part, are less than a third the size
of Herrera’s. And only a little more than half the population actually owns the land
they live on.
Under such conditions, research on crop production and resource management must be
carefully tailored to farmers’ meager means. Of this, CIPASLA is keenly aware. In
decades past, says Hurtado, agricultural research was geared to commercial production,
with no adaptation to small-scale farmers’ conditions. As a result, efforts to
transfer technology to rural communities met with dismally low adoption rates.
Under the CIPASLA approach, research and training partnerships are formed between
community groups and agencies with the required expertise — for example, to promote
flower growing by women’s groups. Going one step further, CIPASLA also help farmers
set up small agroindustries, such as cheese making, and identify market outlets.
In some instances, farmers do adaptive research themselves, through small local
committees called CIALs — such as the one that led to blackberry production by
Herrera and his neighbors. Nine such groups are operating in CIPASLA’s target area.
Again, these farmer committees normally have the technical support of a partner research
organization — like CIAT or Colombia’s national agricultural research institute,
CORPOICA.
ASOBESURCA, the beneficiaries’ association, is actively involved in such
farmer-led research and promotion of agroindustrial development through small projects.
However, admits Jorge Trujillo, the association’s president, "The needs of the
people always exceed the supply of assistance."
Addressing Community Interests
How the interests of community members — the beneficiaries — percolate
through to center stage in a complex structure like CIPASLA is of special interest to CIAT
researchers. As a key architect of the CIPASLA experiment, CIAT wants to understand better
how organizational dynamics, especially at the grass roots, can be harnessed for
development.
Helle Ravnborg is a researcher and socioenvironmental planner with CIAT. For her,
making sure all community interests are addressed, especially those of the poorest people,
is essential. While she believes the creation of a beneficiaries’ association was
fundamentally a sound idea, she is uncomfortable with ASOBESURCA’s structure.
Under current arrangements, each district’s local government (called a Junta de
Acción Comunitario) appoints one representative to ASOBESURCA. This results in some
community interests and groups being left out or underrepresented, according to Ravnborg.
For example, although Paez Indians account for more than 10 percent of the Cabuyal
watershed population, indigenous people have only one representative among 28 ASOBESURCA
members.
Moreover, says Ravnborg, articulate researcher-farmers "can get up in a public
meeting and give a synthesis of community problems," while certain other individuals,
with perhaps equally valid interests, remain silent.
Another problem, says the CIAT researcher, is the way money is allocated from
ASOBESURCA’s project fund. This tends to result in well-off people getting the
largest share of resources, including access to technical help. "People have been
left to themselves to organize projects. They tend to focus narrowly on the project fund.
There’s no guidance about exactly what overall watershed management is all
about."
Ron Knapp, manager of CIAT’s project on community management of natural resources
in hillside watersheds, points out that CIPASLA is an on-going experiment in community-led
development. "Let’s let it run its course so we can see what works and what
doesn’t," he says.
Scales of Intervention
Community representation in watershed management is just one of many issues facing
organizations like CIPASLA and CIAT. Both Ravnborg and Knapp ask a key question: What is
the best scale for interventions such as research, training, technical assistance, and
development projects? On the organizational side, should you work with households, farmer
research committees, the local community, or the overall consortium of organizations? And
at what physical scale do you intervene: the field, farm, the local district, the
subwatershed, or the overall watershed?
"There’s no recipe for this," admits Knapp. On the one hand,
"certain solutions to problems are so divisible that an individual farmer can do
something that makes a difference." On the other hand, "some interventions are
useless unless many people do it." In the case of efforts to introduce new crops or
improved varieties, the four-member farmer research committees (CIALs) are a suitable
level for action, he says. "It’s a matter of cutting the suit to fit the
cloth."
For Knapp, the crucial element in a bold experiment like CIPASLA is promoting community
responsibility: "We’re trying to get people to have a vision, express their
preferences, and be able to make midcourse corrections if necessary. There are enough
dynamic forces operating in this landscape that you know there are bound to be changes. An
organization like CIPASLA has itself to be dynamic and flexible enough to cope with these
forces of change."
"There’s more to watershed management than just keeping a pristine
environment," says Knapp. "What I can’t accept is that these productive
landscapes, through mismanagement or apathy, might cease to be social assets. I can’t
accept that productive farmers might have to move to a city slum and wipe windshields for
a living."
For CIPASLA, the effort to improve the social and physical fabric of the Cabuyal
watershed is only a beginning. With 4 years of experience now under its belt, the
consortium has begun extending its operations to other areas of the greater watershed of
the Ovejas River.
Meanwhile, in its capacity as an international research institute, CIAT is working with
organizations in Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua to test the consortium model. In
Honduras, for example, a consortium has been set up for the sustainable development of the
Tascalapa River.
Assessing Impact
Because watershed management puts heavy emphasis on long-term processes like natural
resource conservation and community development, it can be decades before the overall
impact becomes clear. Thus, for CIPASLA, the "final" jury may be out for a long
time.
Nevertheless, a partial assessment of CIPASLA’s impact in the Cabuyal River
watershed was recently conducted. A combined British and Colombian team compared six local
communities that had links to the consortium with six that hadn’t. The results are
expected to be published this year.
The last word goes to Jorge Trujillo of the beneficiaries’ organization,
ASOBESURCA: "The main achievement of CIPASLA has been to organize and coordinate the
work of the consortium members. I don’t know whether a model like CIPASLA can be
replicated elsewhere — but it should. Development organizations that work in
isolation are wasting their time."
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