Ecological Agro Forestry: Necessary, Appropriate, Successful in the

Humid Tropics
1st presenter Gerd Schnepel, Asociacin Sano y Salvo Safe and Sound, Nicaragua
2nd presenter Elba Rivera, Fundacin La Esperanzita; Nicaragua
sanoysalvo@yahoo.com
http://web.me.com/gerd.schnepel.2043/Nueva.Guinea.RAAS.Nicaragua/Welcome.html
Key words: agroforestry, biodiversity, water, women, poverty-eradication

Introduction
The humid tropics in Nicaragua, which is the eastern half of the country, are under permanent threat of many different kinds: the rainforest belt, still existing about 30 years
ago, was reduced to small pieces of forest without connection, even the big rainforest
reservation Indio Maz in the SE corner is frequently invaded by small farmers and big
cattle ranchers. Not adequate production schemes are grains, tubers and livestock, ignoring all three of them the forest vocation of humid tropics. "Alternatives", being introduced in the last years, worsen the situation: oil palm plantations for fuel production,
other mono-cultural tree plantations like teak (tectona grandis) and melina (gmelina arboreum); first intentions to set up open-pit gold mining were started.
Degradation of the land, lower yields, soil erosion, and ongoing conflicts between indigenous people and mestizo settlers characterize the situation, accompanied by nearly
complete absence of respect for the environmental laws, facilitated by corruption and
threats.

Methods, materials, actors

The association of small eco-farmers Sano y Salvo Safe and Sound was founded in
1998 to interrupt these deadly circles on all possible levels, taking on a giant challenge,
still fighting heavily against the adversaries' activities, which are backed by money and
political power. The association was formed as the main actor, to avoid being attended,
assisted, "helped" by an NGO from the outside. Changing farmers from main destroyer
of the environment (because of their huge number) to guardian of the biosphere can
only be successful, when they understand and apply concepts, theory and practise themselves.
First thing is changing the path of agriculture to ecological succesional* agro-forestry,
something what does highly respond to the vocation of humid tropics, and moreover
produces more than grains and tubers. Highly diversified plots, "productive forest", are
installed at each member's farm, normally 1 manzana (= ha) in size, up to 30, 40 species can be found on the plots, from ginger to coco palms, from lemongrass to jackfruit
trees**.

Agroforestry, which is highly diversified, covers all layers of a forest and respects the lifetime and development cycles of each
species. See also: Joaqun Milz: Gua para el Establecimiento de Sistemas Agroforestales, La Paz 2002
*

Case study Alfonso Nez Bravo, Punta Gorda River, Nicaragua, with numbers and image material.

This first step is very difficult, because it is against the convictions, mentality and habits
of our farmers, who only did know how to produce grains, "knew" that one has to
"slash-and-burn", and moreover have only been interested in fast results at the shortest
time possible. Showing the leaders before, how the system works (by visits, videos etc.),
is one kind of entrance into a generalized spreading of the plots in the membership. After one year first produce can be harvested, and of course we do adding value, on farm
processing, equipped with different dryers, fermentation boxes etc. etc.
The difference to other "projects" coming from the outside is that the whole process is
intensely accompanied by training and education. Training means to learn all the techniques of agroforestry, tree cut, shadow management, biological control of pests and
diseases, harvesting and post-harvest treatment and some possibilities to improve the
starting conditions of the plot, like green manure, bokashi (fermented compost) and others. Education means introducing the farmer and his family to the natural circles between, e.g., rain, trees, rivers, biomass, humus layer, organic substances. We do all this
very practically, seeing typical places, digging at the riverside, counting species in a
forest etc. The farmers' experience is that the water situation even in the humid tropics
gets worse: here they understand, why creeks and rivers have less water than before or
are contaminated. And they accept their co-responsibility covering the river banks again
with trees, or do not accept any longer the activity of loggers and ranchers, who cause
the damage*.
"The farmers and his family" our workshops include the women and the young people,
who work at the farm: the young people will continue the work and have to be included
in ecological agriculture as soon as possible; many young men and women moreover
will leave and study elsewhere: getting them interested in environment, water, ecoagriculture, processing, farm economics etc. creates us a necessary future force of support and help. The women have a very special role in our rural society and in our association. Mostly they work at home, the men work outside. Our workshop "The Family
on the Organic Farm" tries to influence this: more and more women take part in the outside work as well, having as a pre-condition a changed behaviour of men. A women
group inside the association organized themselves as "The Entrepreneurs" going beyond
farm yard production: they produce quantities of poultry of all kind, of pigs and hairsheep, and they got a one acre plot of diversified agroforestry, with especially fruit trees,
and they produce the food stuff for the animals on farm. They do this not just for improving the family's diet, but for selling the produce on the local farmers' markets and
on a national level**. Education and capacity building change their role and self understanding.
One more important accent, set by the women's participation, is sustainability and future
oriented work. To change from short time success to long time sustainable ways of doing a farm seems to be more the sake of women than men. Having them more and more
participating and deciding in the association, improves our durability and way of thinking about the future and the coming generations. And last but not least: involving the
women gives us more security: the application of organic standards and there nonviolation is in good hands, when the women farmers are part of the contract ...

*
*

Image material of workshops, of processing and selling the produce will be shown.
* Case study: seora Mxima Trujillo, Buenavista, Cao Chiquito, with numbers and image material.

A topic, more and more discussed among farmers, is the climatic change. Its effects on
the agricultural cycle are visible, the rainy season dos not start at the same time as before, sometimes gets interrupted, sometimes is prolonged a lot, affecting harvest and
income. What scientists say, can already be felt locally: more problems, more poverty*.
And the coastal strip and its islands are threatened by the Atlantic rising. Agroforestry
gives us two arms against these effects: one is that diversified productive forests withstand climate irregularities a lot better than let's say a beans field. And the other is that
Sano y Salvo Safe and Sound actively contributes positively to world climate by planting thousands and thousands of trees on an organic, rich soil. The farmers hope (and
work on it) to get this mitigation work be paid soon by CO 2-emissioners. Farmers getting interested in climate change understand soon the contribution of fire, of cattle to the
emission of greenhouse gases.
The situation in the countryside is heavily influenced by economical and political interest, mainly from far away groups and persons. The strengthening of the farmers' families' conscience, which means in first place an understanding of the natural base of their
existence, accompanied by the experience of better yields and better income, facilitates
their disposition and willingness to fight for "mother nature": it influences their electoral
decision, it makes denunciation of environmental delinquency possible, it makes them
close the farm gate, when the Canadian gold prospector is showing up with false promises. Lobby work, public protest, direct defence of the rural life and its potential are
the consequences, when educated small farmers found a way for a better life through
ecological agriculture**.
In the humid tropics of Nicaragua there are at least 6 different ethnic communities, with
there own culture, history, language and customs: Miskito, Mayangna, Rama, Garfona,
afro-descendants and mestizos. Sano y Salvo Safe and Sound's membership includes
about 20% Ramas, what for two reasons is a very special situation and challenge. The
Rama have been mainly fishermen and hunters, the latter is very restricted today, the
first activity is yielding less and less income for the family. So a first group of Rama
decided to accept the necessity of doing agriculture on their communitarian lands. Agroforestry is for them a very friendly and likely alternative to extend their economical activities because of their own culture and understanding of nature and forests. It really
is difficult to change fishermen to farmers, but it is possible and is advancing under the
pressure of the daily needs***. The other speciality of this movement of a growing group
of them is that it contributes to the mutual understanding of the two sectors of rural society: mestizo settlers, just taking "no one's" land, slash and burn, destroying the soil
and finally selling it to the cattle ranchers; and Rama , owners of this very same land,
having wanted to keep it sane and natural. Since 2010, after decades of struggle, the
Rama got their legal land titles, but there is no "border police" and a very low law enforcement. Ongoing clashes are reported, both sides are threatening each other with violence. The Rama Territorial Government declared it would not throw mestizo farmers
out, if those stop destroying everything; so our eco-farmers mestizos and Rama are
an ideal base to start this reconciliation process; both groups in reality have the same
interest in relation to nature and environment, a conviction grown by education and

Elba Rivera, "Actuar hoy ... y no maana ni el da despus de maana" [Act Today and not Tomorrow. Nor the Day After
th
Tomorrow]. Speech at the IV Montral Millenium Summit on Climate Change and Poverty, Montral 2010.
*

**

Image material from fairs, exhibitions, public appearance, legal initiatives are accompanying this part.
Images from the Rama people, their fishing and agricultural activities will be shown.

common experience. Both groups unite to reject external interests, which made them
adversaries and enemies.
Small poor farmers of one of the poorest countries of the American continent cannot
afford to do all the mentioned action on their own. Maybe they could, if they have a
hundred years or more, but they don't. They like all of us are in a competition
against time. Therefore it is absolutely clear that eco-farmers like those organized in
Sano y Salvo Safe and Sound need external support, need at first donations, need capital for their own revolving credit schemes, need a lot of things before doing the appreciable things mentioned. Lobbying, education, political impact, legal action, water rescue, climate mitigation are all things, which a farming organization cannot pay by its
own. Therefore private and public development aid is highly necessary, if one thinks to
win the race against time.

Conclusions
Ecological agriculture which is in the humid tropics diversified agroforestry does the
miracle and proves that organic is life:
Ecological agriculture in the hand of a conscious farmers organization ...
asks for education, makes education urgently necessary and opens the door for doing it successfully;
gives the land back to the coming generations, and in better shape;
restores and maintains soil fertility;
guaranties abundant and clean water;
produces sustainably, respecting the forest vocation of the humid tropics;
does not allow any more excuse to destruct the rainforest reservations,
secures food safety in its double sense of the word;
produces sufficient quantity and healthy quality it's safe and sound.
produces health for the rural population and all consumers;
includes rural women in productive field work and animal husbandry, unleashing
their enormous potential for ecological agriculture;
improves the small farming family's income and it's social security, selling locally,
nationally and by export.
improves income by adding value to the produce, on-farm and under farmers' control;
creates the base for a local agro-industry with lots of new jobs;
eradicates poverty instead of reducing it, makes life an option instead of survival;
changes mentality and attitude of all involved people towards "Organic is Life";
reconciles invading settlers and indigenous people, owners of the territory;
gives us arms of impact against the climate change, mitigating consequences and
capturing greenhouse gases.
Ecological tropical agroforestry is connecting all the mentioned aspects; none is isolated,
together they can create miracles, overcoming the obstacles, like: stubborn governments,
shortsightedness, greed and its disastrous consequences ... and the lack of education.