LATIN AMERICA REGIONAL WORKSHOP
FEBRUARY 3rd to 6th, 1997
February 10, 1997
Each theme was treated initially via the simultaneous presentation of the case
studies mentioned earlier (2 in the morning session, 3 in the afternoon session
on February 3), and then discussed by as many working groups.
· The availability of CC seeds, along with its diversity (or the lack
thereof: hence the exaggerated emphasis on mucuna-based systems perhaps) was
identified as a serious constraint to diffusion of CC systems, mainly because
there are no established mechanisms for seed production in the various
institutions, apart from what can be achieved via farmers to farmers seed
transmission. A series of technical problems associated with seed production
and conservation were also mentioned as an important obstacle.
With respect to the role of research in accompanying the introduction of CC
systems, the lack of formal, routine mechanisms or room ("espacios") for
discussion of problems and agendas between research-oriented institutions,
development ones and farmers' organizations or communities was blamed for
allowing a lot of the research to be extractive in nature (no useful products,
not even the information recollected, ever comes back to the community), and
many times out of touch with real production problems or context. It was
suggested that NGOs in particular should be much more active in identifying and
proposing research topics to researchers, and that it could be worthwhile to
establish contractual commitments between researchers, technicians and farmers
regarding the research agenda, the outputs of the research, and how costs and
benefits are shared between the various actors.
Other Working Groups are as follows:
WG 3: Cover crops in soil and water conservation
WG4: Integration of cover crops and livestock
WG 5: Adoption and adaptation of cover crop technology
Further information on the outputs will be posted in March, 1997. Or, you can contact the organizers at:
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Update on the
Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan
Merida, Yucatan, MEXICO
Workshop themes
Workshop Program
Presentation and discussion of WG main findings (afternoon)
Outputs from the Working Group 1: Cover crops in annual cropping systems
Main conclusions included the necessity to use indigenous knowledge (IK) as a
starting point for promoting alternative cropping systems, the diversity and
fragility of this knowledge among communities and farmers, and the key role
that the project's and technician's attitude plays in taking advantage of, or
wasting, IK for devising efficient strategies to introduce CC systems. WG 2: Cover crops in perennial cropping systems
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Last edited:February 27, 1997
Authors:
Christine Stockwell
Lucy Fisher
URL http://ppathw3.cals.cornell.edu/mba_project/gmcc/MeridaUpdate.html