Colombia and Andean Region (2010-2011)

Environmental observation in the field

Group work on innovation

In the Andean countries, small and intermediate rural producers account for a substantial share of basic food production, and also for the existence of stable rural societies with strong cultural identities. However, they benefit little of programmes and investments in technological development, which focus on the large, mainly export-oriented plantations. At the same time they are increasingly vulnerable to climate oscillations such as long dry seasons, soil degradation, or extreme rainfalls and floods.

LASO facilitated tailor-made Training Courses on “Participatory Technology Improvement” and on “Biodiversity and Climate Change in the Andean Region” for peasant leaders and rural technicians of the Colombian PBA Corporation and its associated organizations in Ecuador, Perú, and Bolivia: NGO’s, rural co-operatives, and research centres. Among many topics, the programme included the systematization of many local experiences in sustainable agriculture, food security, natural resource management, participatory research, and agricultural value chains. Rural strategies of adaptation and mitigation of climate effects in order to preserve agro-biodiversity and food security. The courses led to a Handbook for Rural Participatory Technology Improvement and to an still-growing regional digital network on Andean sustainable agriculture.