Agroecología desde los servicios de extensión rural

According to a study conducted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Costa Rica uses between four and eight times more pesticides per hectare than the other countries of the Americas that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which are Canada, the United States, Mexico, Chile, and Colombia. While most of these countries use an average of 2 kilograms of active ingredient per hectare (kg ai/ha) of agricultural land, Costa Rica uses more than 9 kg ai/ha.

This type of conventional agriculture in Costa Rica is part of the growing ecological problems of the unsustainable economy. In contrast to this type of agriculture, alternatives such as agroecology are emerging, which is based on the collective knowledge of small producers combined with the applied knowledge of modern science to identify problems and develop long-term solutions adapted to their ecological and cultural contexts.

The purpose of this proposal is to strengthen agroecology-based extension services, supporting the empowerment of smallholders, enabling them to innovate and adopt agroecological practices and technologies adapted to the accelerated challenges of climate change

The Latin American Network of Rural Extension Services (RELASER), through the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), will be the counterpart organization to develop the project in a manner complementary to this proposal for small agroecological producers, with the objective of addressing the expansion of agroecology and the transition to sustainable food systems for small producers in Africa (Uganda and Madagascar) and Latin America (Costa Rica and Ecuador).

In the case of Costa Rica, the IFAD project will be coordinated by the Latin American Network of Rural Extension Services (RELASER) in close collaboration with the Technological Institute of Costa Rica (ITCR), which is part of this Forum, represented by Dr. Ricardo Salazar Díaz from the School of Agribusiness

Thus, with this proposal, we aim to support the transformation of production through participatory extension services, focusing on agroecological methods and technologies. To achieve the proposed indicators, we have identified three agro-chains in which the Agribusiness School has previous experience: i) coffee, ii) livestock, and iii) cocoa. We are coordinating directly with the Coffee Institute (ICAFE), the National Chamber of Milk Producers, and three cocoa producer cooperatives (Coopecacao Norte, Coopecacaoafro, and OSACOOP) to identify small producer families, expected to number at least 500 beneficiary families across all regions of the country.

The project will promote farmer-to-farmer learning inspired by the Farmer Field School methodology. The group of producers will visit farmers' farms on a rotating basis, and the host farmer chooses the topic to be addressed. The group works on and discusses the day's topic with the support of the facilitator

Fortalecer los servicios de extensión basados en la agroecología, apoyando el
empoderamiento de los pequeños productores, permitiéndoles innovar y adoptar prácticas y tecnologías agroecológicas adaptadas a los desafíos acelerados del cambio climático

Agronegocios: Producción agropecuaria
Ciencias Sociales: Desarrollo Humano Sostenible
Idiomas y Ciencias Sociales: Educación, tecnología, innovación en los procesos de
enseñanza y aprendizaje y Filosofía, sociología, derechos humanos y género