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ALC’s Coffee farmer Cooperative Partners share experiences of diversification project at Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Expo and UVM

Leticia Velasco and Rigoberto Hernández Jonapá, collaborators from the CESMACH coffee cooperative (based in Chiapas, MX), visited the Northeast in mid-April. ALC members Martha Caswell, Janica Anderzén and Ernesto Méndez met up with Lety and Rigo in Boston, where the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) held its annual Expo, from April 11-14. The team presented findings from Smallholder Coffee Diversification Project at a panel and participated in an academic poster session.

The Expo brings together a diversity of actors in the specialty coffee sector to share the latest trends in the coffee industry. However, we and our colleagues noticed that key contributors to the coffee value chain were largely missing – the smallholder producers. While vendors were showcasing expensive machinery and baristas were competing to make the best latte, the producers were visible mainly in pictures on banners and in brochures. Lety noted that although it was interesting to see the Expo, she was a little disappointed with what she saw. “Buyers are not looking for friends, they are only interested in our product”, she commented after the Expo.

Despite these feelings of disillusionment, we were heartened by the words of Todd Caspersen, Director of Purchasing and Production at Equal Exchange, who joined us as a panelist. Todd shared that he sees this kind of research project, with multiple partners, as an interesting way for Equal Exchange to engage outside of the “transactional relationship” with farmer groups. He sees this as very important and discussed the importance of “building our muscles” as we look for solutions to challenges, such as climate change, which threaten the future viability of coffee production. The team also enjoyed moments of solidarity with other smallholder producers, as we learned about the current campaign being carried out by members of the Símbolo de Pequeños Productores (SPP – the small producer symbol). The focus of this campaign is setting a price for coffee that covers costs of production and provides some profit to producers. The difference between the SPP and other labels (i.e. organic or Fair Trade) is that the prices and the standards are set by representatives of smallholder cooperatives themselves, rather than by people and organizations based in consuming countries in the global north.  

After the Expo, the team headed to Burlington. ALC hosted a panel at UVM with participation from Ernesto (ALC), Rigo and Lety (CESMACH), Marcela Pino (Food 4 Farmers) and Nate Van Dusen (Brio Coffeeworks), where panelists discussed their perspectives on livelihood diversification for smallholder coffee farmers. The guests also shared their experiences at an ALC lab session, and in an event hosted by the Brio Coffeeworks at their facilities. In addition, Janica (ALC PhD candidate) shared her research in the diversification project at the UVM student research conference.

All of these events presented great opportunities to learn about the producers’ experiences and perspectives, and to discuss how researchers and NGOs can support farmers’ organizations in implementing diversification strategies that can help farmers face challenges such as low prices, climate change, and food insecurity.  

– Janica Anderzen, ALC PhD Candidate at University of Vermont

Ernesto Mendez Joins International Researchers, Farmers, and Activists in Brazil

ALC Director and PSS Chair, Ernesto Mendez, traveled to Florianópolis, the capital city of Santa Catarina, Brazil, to attend a leadership team meeting of the Collaborative Crop Research Program (CCRP), of the McKnight Foundation. The week-long meeting brings together staff and researchers from the 3 regions of the CCRP in the South American Andes, West Africa and East and South Africa. As part of the visit the CCRP team met with CEPAGRO, an agroecology focused organization, based at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC). CEPAGRO’s work aligns well with the ALC’s Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach. The gathering at the UFSC, brought together 30 professionals and students from the US, Brazil, Canada, El Salvador, Ecuador, Kenya, Germany, Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Peru, and England.

The history of agroecology in Brazil is a rich one, based not only in land stewardship and diversification of farmer livelihoods, but also in the struggle to maintain access to land. “In order for Agroecology to happen, the democratization of access to land for the people of the countryside and of the city is necessary,” said Eduardo Rocha of CEPAGRO.

Throughout the afternoon, leaders and representatives from regional and local communities, indigenous communities, and urban farmers shared their triumphs and struggles employing agroecology in the face of inequitable access to land and its associated discrimination. Those present included Shirlen Vidal de Oliveira and Helena Jucélia Vidal de Oliveira, representatives of the Quilombo Vidal Martins Community, in Rio Vermelho, Florianópolis; Fábio Ferraz and Bárbara Ventura, of the Amarildo de Souza Commune Settlement, and Cacique Artur Benites and Alexandro and Fábio, of the Guarani community of Aldeia Tekoá vy ‘a, in Major Gercino. Also present were urban farmers Raquel Solange de Souza and Alaércio Vicente Pereira Jr, CEPAGRO research partners Dana James and Evan Bowness of University of British Columbia, and Professor Antonio Munarim, of the Vianei Center for Popular Education.

What stood out to most participants that afternoon was the opportunity for knowledge sharing and collaboration amongst stakeholders of different backgrounds. Urban farmer Raquel Solange reflected on how impactful it was, “to communicate with the people who came from outside and also to know the natives and quilombos, because I have never visited a village or a quilombo. As a social worker I’ve given several lectures, but that theme I owned. And to be there to talk about Agroecology, it was just my personal experience, it was more to put my heart out.”

CCRP members also enjoyed a presentation on direct marketing for family farmers from the Family Agriculture Marketing Laboratory (LACAF). As agroecology advisor of the CCRP, which aims to support access to local, sustainable and nutritious food through collaborative research and knowledge sharing among small farmers, research institutions and development organizations, Ernesto reflected, “Brazil is strong in Agroecology and it is very important to listen to you, the producers and indigenous people. It is very important to learn from the experience in Brazil.”

This blog is based on an article, in Portuguese, by Clara Comandolli de Souza, Journalist at CEPAGRO. The original piece can be accessed here

ALC Community member and PhD candidate Alissa White spoke with New York Times reporter Kim Severson and lent some insight for her story about how climate change is impacting our diets. UVM Alum Lily Calderwood is also featured in the article.

Keep following us here, and on instagram and facebook for further updates on agroecology as a science, movement, and practice.

Image Credit: MSJonesNYC

Ernesto Mendez, ALC Director, reflects on ‘Synergies between Agriculture and Environmental Studies through Agroecology’

I came to the United States when I was 18, seeking to get away from the violence of the civil war in my native El Salvador, and thanks to the economic privilege of my family. After several years of career exploration, and also deeper learning and reflection about the social and environmental realities of my country, I chose agriculture.  Both my father and grandfather had farmed commercially, among other pursuits, in El Salvador, and I was always drawn to the farms. Along with this interest, I developed a concern for the multiplicity of challenges that smallholder farmers in Latin America, and around the world, face to this day. These range from social and ethnic discrimination, to lack of basic services and/or agricultural technical assistance. A career in international agricultural development, a field that focuses on working with farmers in developing countries, seemed like a great option for me. 

At first, my focus was on the science of agricultural production as a means to improve the well-being of farming families. However, as I expanded my studies, I realized that production was only one part of the issue, and that strengthening the livelihoods of farming households requires a broader understanding of the social, political and environmental challenges that they face. While pursuing degrees in Crop Science and Tropical Agroforestry, I found the field of agroecology, which, at the time, was defined as the ‘application of ecological concepts and principles to sustainable agriculture’. This notion made a lot of sense to me, and as the field has evolved over the years, it has remained my passion and my inspiration.  The first concrete confluence between agroecology and environmental studies came when I started a PhD at the University of California, Santa Cruz. I joined an interdisciplinary environmental studies program, with a concentration in agroecology. It was here that I first engaged with true interdisciplinary scholarship and challenged myself to deepen my learning in the social sciences. As a teaching assistant, I was working with students majoring in environmental studies with a curriculum very similar to the one we have at UVM. The position that I took at UVM in 2006, which integrated agriculture and environmental studies, was a perfect fit!

In my view, agroecology brings together the strengths of environmental studies to an agricultural context. Both fields share an emphasis on inter/transdisciplinarity, valuing and respecting the knowledge of farmers and indigenous people, and an awareness of social justice and the political economies that affect people and landscapes. In the last decade, researchers, social movements and farmers have embraced agroecology as an approach that can catalyze a transformation towards more sustainable and just food systems. Two key lessons I have learned from over 25 years working in agroecology are: 1) we need to be collaborative and 2) we need to be humble. Both of these qualities are necessary to stay open to an increasing level of complexity, and to find solutions in an inclusive way. I believe there are opportunities to better integrate the fields of agroecology and environmental studies to support the livelihoods of both farmers and eaters, while conserving the ecosystem services of agricultural landscapes. 

ENVS students interested in agroecology have a variety of options to engage with it at UVM. The Plant and Soil Science Department (PSS), which I now chair, is in the process of strengthening its agroecology curriculum, reinforcing hands-on and high impact learning practices, as well as changing the major and minor names to Agroecology. We have also integrated the Farmer Training Program (FTP) into PSS, and are seeking for this initiative to have more interactions with the UVM Community. My research group, the Agroecology and Livelihoods Collaborative (ALC), carries out agroecological investigations in Vermont and Latin America, with a long trajectory of work supporting environmental conservation and farmer livelihoods in smallholder coffee cooperatives. We have recently launched a 2-semester ALC Undergraduate Research Fellows Program (see a UVM Communications story about the program here), with a focus on agroecology and Participatory Action Research (PAR). All of these are collaborative initiatives, which have brought together a diversity of faculty, staff and students from PSS, ENVS, UVM Extension and others outside of UVM. 

Agroecology can help study and address a range of issues in agriculture, including ecological analysis of practices, options to improve farmer livelihoods, and how researchers and social movements can work together to advocate for better policies. As both an ENVS and PSS professor, I am really looking forward to building stronger partnerships between our growing agroecology initiatives and the Environmental Program’s students, faculty and staff.  

–Ernesto

The first cohort of ALC Undergraduate Research Fellows at a farmer partner dinner held in 2018, at Jericho Settlers Farm. From left to right Karen Nordstrom (ENVS Advisor), Nell Carpenter (ENVS ALC Fellow), Allie Pankoff (ENSC ALC Fellow), Lizzy Holiman (Food Systems & Eco-Ag ALC Fellow), Emily McCarthy (ENVS ALC Fellow), Elise Schumacher (Food systems and ALC Fellow) and Ernesto Méndez (ALC/PSS and ENVS).

Picture of a shaded coffee farm in Chiapas, Mexico, owned by a member of the CESMACH cooperative, showing a diversity of land uses and agricultural activities. The ALC has an ongoing project on diversification in Mexico and Nicaragua.

From the IPES-Food Website:

15 October, 2018 (Rome, Italy) – It is possible for communities, regions and whole countries to fundamentally redesign their food and farming systems – but doing so requires changes in the way communities envision their food systems, the way knowledge is shared, the way that food systems are governed, and the values underpinning them.

This was the message from IPES-Food’s new report, ‘Breaking away from industrial food and farming systems: Seven case studies of agroecological transition’, released on October 15th, 2018.

The case studies follow on from IPES-Food’s 2016 report, From Uniformity to Diversity, which identified the vicious cycles locking industrial food and farming systems in place, despite their severe impacts on human health, economic and social well-being, biodiversity, and climate change.

The case studies provide concrete examples of how, in spite of these barriers to change, people around the world have been able to fundamentally rethink and redesign food systems around agroecological principles.

Steve Gliessman, lead author of the report, said: “The case studies show that change doesn’t always start in the field. Transition can be kick-started by community-building activities, farmer-researcher partnerships and even by external shocks that make people question the status quo.”

First offering of Agroecology Graduate Certificate Introductory Course

The ALC team recently concluded the first offering of PSS 311: Introduction to Agroecology, the first course of our Certificate of Graduate Study in Agroecology (CGSA). We had a great crew of 11 participants, from the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico. The course is a hybrid, with 3 weeks online, and 1 week face to face. The face to face week was spent working and connecting with ALC Vermont partners, including The Farm Between, Diggers Mirth Farm, Bread and Butter Farm, the Intervale Center, UVM Catamount Farm & Farmer Training Program and the Vermont Community Garden Network (VCGN). We connected over great local food from Blossom, Barrio Bakery, Bread and Butter burgers, and different vendors at Summervale, ArtsRiot South End food trucks and the Mendez-Nordstrom household. We are grateful for all the learning with the first CGSA cohort, and very excited to launch the remaining courses of the first full CGSA offering. Below we provide some images of a full and meaningful week (click on pictures to enlarge).

Adelante !!!

In mid July, ALC director Ernesto Méndez joined Maria Rosa Yumbla and Ronald Herrera, PhD students at the Universidad Pablo de Olavide (Spain), at the Andes Community of Practice (CoP) meeting of the Collaborative Crop Research Program (CCRP), in Arequipa, Perú. Yumbla and Herrera are conducting PhD studies in agroecology, and working on an ALC project on farmer research networks and participatory action research (PAR) with smallholder peanut farmers in Bolivia. At the CoP, Yumbla and Herrera presented their PAR work with farmers on developing an ‘agroecological x-ray’ to assess the state of their farms and discuss a transition towards agroecology. The term agroecological x-ray was coined by a participating farmer. The CoP included about 14 projects from Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia supported by the CCRP, a program funded by the McKnight Foundation.

Katie Goodall, who did her Ph.D. with the Agroecology and Livelihoods Collaborative (ALC), in the Plant and Soil Science Department, at UVM, carries on strong with agroecology teaching. Now an Assistant Dean at the School for Field Studies, Katie is returning to the University of Michigan’s Biological Station to teach Agroecology. She was a teaching assistant at the station, for several years, while pursuing her master’s degree at the University of Michigan. Congratulations y Adelante (Forward), Katie ! Read more here: https://lsa.umich.edu/umbs/news-events/all-news/search-news/katie-goodall-returns-to-umbs.html

ALC director participates in West Africa Community of Practice (CoP) of McKnight’s Collaborative Crop Research Program (CCRP)

In his role as agroecology advisor to the CCRP, ALC director Ernesto Méndez joined the CCRP’s West Africa CoP for their annual meeting, held in Niamey, Niger, February 26-March 3. This year, the CoP brought together 14 research projects, which are being implemented in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso. Project themes range from improving varieties of sorghum and millet, to the use of agroforestry, and the co-creation of agroecological knowledge between farmers and scientists. In addition to learning and interacting with participants, Méndez led a workshop on ‘Frameworks to Assess Agroecological Perfomance’, where participants applied the use of agroecological frameworks in their projects. He was joined by ALC collaborator Steve Brescia, Executive Director of Groundswell International, who discussed agroecology as a science, a movement and a practice. During the workshop, participants engaged with different agroecological frameworks and principles by project, and discussed actors, opportunities and recommendations, by country, in terms of agroecological science, movement and practice.

In January, ALC Master’s student, Alissa White, presented at the American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas. White writes, “I joined about 2,000 people who are mostly weather scientists and climate physicists for their 98th annual meeting.  This long-standing scientific community made the theme for this year’s meeting “Transforming communication through co-production”.  There was a clear acknowledgement that the science they have been working on for so long is now extremely politicized by climate deniers.  This leads to many challenges in communicating climate science, but social science research which indicates that co-producing climate knowledge overcomes those communication challenges.  So these traditional scientists are aware that they need to learn how to invite stakeholders into the research process.”

Here is a link to her presentation titled, “Bridging the Climate Information Usability Gap in Agricultural Communities“. Follow the link to view her abstract.