The GMCCMF Consortium Banner

LATIN AMERICA REGIONAL WORKSHOP

"COVER CROPS: COMPONENTS OF INTEGRATED SYSTEMS"

Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia
Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan
Merida, Yucatan, MEXICO

FEBRUARY 3rd to 6th, 1997

Introduction:

In Central and South America conditions for agriculture are extremely diverse. However, some common characteristics found are diminishing forest resources, slash and burn agriculture, soil erosion and poor water management. There is a need to establish more stable and productive agroecosystems especially with migrant, displaced and marginalised Campesino families.

Cover crops (CC) are annual or perennial, many are legumes, that cover the ground during part or all of the year. They have several attributes that can contribute to the attainment of less extractive and more productive agroecosystems which would reduce the need for forest clearance and the continued migration of farming families in search of land. Their dense cover of the ground reduces weed growth and thus labour and/or chemical weeding inputs; through their ability to fix nitrogen they contribute to soil fertility (N and organic matter build-up), and some CC have value as feed for people and/or livestock.

In several countries of the region a limited number of CC species have been adopted by farmers of specific uses (eg.Mucuna spp. in Guatemala and Honduras for maize/bean cropping systems). Farmer-led projects and participatory research with farming families are identifying different species, new applications and new ways of integrating the different components of agroecosystems (including agroforestry and crop x livestock interactions) to fully utilize the potential of CC. However, the benefits perceived by some farmers that use CC for weed control and soil improvement are not enough to sustain their continued use. There exists a need for greater integration of CC and to finds ways to aggregate economic value to outputs (short term benefits for a longer term use).

Workshop Participation:

Development project and extension workers, and researchers from CBOs, GOs, NGOs and NARS in Latin America together with collaborators from elsewhere will be invited to attend, as will representatives of CIDICCO and CIMMYT. Local Campesino farmers collaborating with projects in Yucatan will have the opportunity to explain their uses of CC during a field visit. The total number of workshop participants is not expected to exceed 30 people; 2 people per project will be invited. Limited financial assistance for attendance is available for people that have no othe funding available.

Workshop objectives:

Workshop themes:

Workshop programme:
Workshop outputs

Dates: 3rd to 6th February, 1997

Place: Merida, Yucatan, Mexico

Organisers:

Host Institution:

Financial support: Overseas Development Administration, UK

Contact numbers: