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| Pedro learned how to graft. |
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| Communal tree nursery. |
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| Family home. |
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| Hiking to the plots. |
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| Individual tree nursery. |
16/03/2005, by Hugh Kininmonth
S.D.E.G. (SOLIDARIDAD PARA EL DESARROLLO Y LA EQUIDAD DE GENERO)
6ta. Calle 16 - 26, Zona 3, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala C.A.
http://www.celasmaya.edu.gt/acace/
This is my second and final review of the agricultural component of the PROEVAL RAXMU project. I visited Cobán for five days from the 7th to the 11th of March 2005 and spent the whole of this time visiting communities within the area and discussing the project with the director David Unger and senior field officer Rudy Cu Cajbón. We visited eight of the fifteen communities involved.
When I first evaluated this project two years ago it was just beginning. At the time I thought the plan a good one. Now it is nearing the end of its first phase and I am very pleased to report there has been a tremendous amount achieved.
The main aim of the project has been to encourage farmers in the designated communities to introduce tree husbandry to their farm activities. And in so doing, increase and diversify their sources of income while moving away from slash-and-burn agriculture.
The approach chosen was to introduce a significant variety of tree species. These have included various citrus and tropical fruits, a range of stone fruits, a good selection of species for timber production and some other cash crop species such as Macadamia, Vanilla and Allspice.
In each community, depending on elevation and climate, a selection of these varieties has been introduced. This has spread the risk of failure of any given species and has the added benefit that the farmers can decide for themselves in which direction they would like to aim their future tree plantings. Towards fruits, nuts, timber, or a mixture of all.
The initial cultivation of the tree seedlings has taken place in three ways. In a central nursery in Cobán, run by the PROEVAL RAXMU staff. In communal nurseries in the communities or small individual nurseries on each farmers plot of land.
Results vary among the nurseries, with some of the communal ones being highly productive and in other cases suffering neglect. Certainly, when a communal nursery receives the attention it requires it looks impressive, as hundreds of trees can be produced quite quickly. Overall though I was inclined to think the individual nurseries are a bit more productive than the communal ones.
As well as learning how to cultivate seedlings in a nursery environment the farmers in the project have also been taught how to collect and sprout their own seeds. These can be collected either from existing trees in their area, trees they see in other communities, or from new ones they have grown.
A lot of time and effort in training programs has also been directed toward teaching the participants how to graft cuttings onto existing root stock. So they are now able to collect and cultivate seeds from trees of their choice, as well as take cuttings to graft. I think the teaching of this combination of skills has been one of the highlights of this project over the last two years. Equipped with these new skills farmers can now expand their tree production very quickly and even more importantly, they can do it with no cash outlay at all.
What I heard from farmers involved in the project and observed on their plots of land, led me to believe that there are now many of them who are truly committed to the continued expansion of tree husbandry in their farming activities. Those involved have mostly received somewhere between thirty to fifty trees each. Some cultivated by PROEVAL RAXMU, others by themselves. In dollar terms, the cost of cultivating and distributing these trees has been minor. However, their value in terms of introducing farmers to the benefits of trees in a farm program have been inestimable.
It is quite common that projects in Guatemala fail when technical people, with their funding, leave communities to continue with a project under their own steam. From what I saw and heard in the communities we visited I don't believe that will be the case with this project. In fact, quite the opposite. The success rates of the tree plantings and the enthusiasm demonstrated by many of the farmers leads me to believe that tree husbandry has now been successfully introduced as a permanent part of farming life in the communities involved. And not only that, I think the success rates and enthusiasm of the participants will ensure that they will continue to plant more trees and their successes will encourage many other farmers to follow their example.
The effect of this project on slash-and-burn agriculture in the area should prove to be significant. The approach to this has been a very sensible one. Farmers have been encouraged to plant trees throughout their corn fields. The trees are planted at wide spacings though and the corn is still sown as before. The difference is that the farmers know the presence of the trees will effect what they do with crop residues after harvest. Thus they have acknowledged the need to move away from burning in these areas.
Planting trees for timber in areas of secondary growth forest has also achieved some degree of acceptance. Hopefully this will also discourage farmers from slashing and burning these areas. In some communities where land ownership remains unclear there have been some communal plantings as well. I interpreted these plantings as being signs of enthusiasm to get on with tree production regardless of obstacles.
So, has the project achieved its original aim and for that matter has it been a wise use of donated money? My conclusion is a most definite yes.
My overall impression is that they are at a point where we can say they have made a very good start. There have been upwards of 30,000 trees planted, which is significant. More importantly though, they now have the knowledge and skills required to expand at will. And without any cash outlay at all. To walk through the farms involved is inspiring and it would be wonderful to see this project taken up in other areas as well.
I have worked in Guatemala for six years, all of this time with a non government organization. My experience is that all too often NGO's here do not use their funding as the donors would hope. One of the very encouraging aspects of the PROEVAL RAXMU project has been that the money has been spent on helping the farmers involved as originally hoped. Not wasted on vehicles and nice offices.
The areas in which many of these communities are located have no road access. In fact during my inspection of the work, we walked continuously for three days in the mountains without coming anywhere near a village with road access. And there were more communities even more remote than those I visited. I mention this because it is not easy to find skilled professional field officers who are prepared to put in the hard work required to visit such remote communities on a regular basis. The living conditions during such field work are very basic indeed. Also, staff all speak the local language (Q’eqchi’).
Accordingly I was very impressed by the dedication shown by the PROEVAL RAXMU people. David Unger and Rudy Cu Cajbón are committed to this work to an extent not commonly seen amongst NGO workers in Guatemala.
What does the future hold for this work? The capacity for this project to expand is almost limitless. Most communities have at least thirty to forty families of which less than half are usually involved with the project. So as others in the community see the success being achieved with tree plantings I think there will inevitably be many more farmers who adopt the same practices. And likewise with communities not already involved. It is the nature of farmers to watch and adopt the successful practices of others. As well as this, the farmers already involved could mostly plant another two or three hundred trees each without any adverse effect on their existing cropping.
Accordingly I think it would be constructive for this project to continue for at least a few years more. It would also be good to see the farmers guided through the next stage of the tree cycle. This would include working with them to implement new weed control methods in fields which now have trees as well as corn. Encouraging them to plant more trees and burn less. And particularly to guide them with pruning. It is a common experience in Guatemala that despite being shown how and why to prune, farmers prove very reluctant to cut into their new trees. Particularly with the fruit trees, it would be a shame to see them not yield much fruit simply for the lack of a bit of timely pruning over the years to come.