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The Agriculture Center operated by our partner in El Salvador, the Coordinadora, hosts a variety of training activities, grows seedlings, hosts their new seed bank, and produces organic fertilizers and pesticides.
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As much as possible, they build local agricultural capacity. This means not only reducing dependance on imported seeds and chemicals, but also each farming family having the skills to manufacture organic fertilizers, develop seed stock appropriate to local conditions, and raise their own seedlings. The staff also received training on grafting lime, orange, mango, plum, and guayaba trees as well as ornamentals like roses and carnations. |
 Staff worked with Coordinadora agronomists to host and train 15 farmers last year in a variety of organic agriculture techniques |
 After repairing their hurricane damaged greenhouse, the staff put it back in use to produce a variety of seedlings: eggplant, cabbage, okra, tomatoes, and bell peppers. |
Families used these seedlings, above all, in their family gardens. It costs the Coordinadora less to produce these plants in their own greenhouse versus purchasing them from a commercial supplier. They pass these savings on to the farming families in their communities. The greenhouse has also made it easier for them to adapt plants to the local climate and conditions. |
The Cuban tomatoes that have proliferated recently, for example, began as just a handful of seeds from Cuba. These are the first seeds that the Coordinadora has found that are well adapted to local conditions and are do not have GMO terminator technology. That is, farmers can save these seeds year after year and replant them while other seeds will not bear fruit on the 2nd generation.
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Last year, the Coordinadora expanded its reforestation efforts to the main highway leading to Ciudad Romero. Planted along a 10 kilometer stretch from El Mono to El Marillo, on both sides of the highway, these trees reduce erosion, contribute to biodiversity, create habitat for birds and other species, and beautify the area in general. Their nursery produced a variety of tree species, including Neem, Maquilishuat (El Salvador's National Tree), Cedar, Olive, and Belize Cherry. Trees for family farms include Plum, Loquat, Guava, Mango, and Avocado as well as many others. |
 The Maquilishuat Tree |
Organic Fertilizer and Pesticides
Agriculture in El Salvador, as in much of the developing world, came to
depend on imported fertilizers and pesticides over the last several decades.
These chemicals not only cause long-term damage to the soil but have also
become prohibitively expensive for low-income, small-scale farmers. With
that in mind, the Coordinadora has dedicated considerable energy to developing
inexpensive alternatives that do little or no damage to human health or
the environment.
The Agriculture Center staff built a 200 square foot structure to produce Bokashi: compost produced through intensive fermentation. In this building with a palm roof and bamboo walls, they produced more than 26,000 pounds of fertilizer that farmers used for their vegetables. At the Ag Center, they also produce liquid fertilizers and fungicides for use in gardens and fields.
Seed Bank
The Coordinadora seeks to dramatically increase the biodiversity of the
crops grown in the region. Currently, many farmers still must purchase
seeds and seedlings from agribusinesses. Those plants are quite expensive,
their seeds cannot be replanted, and they have limited biodiversity making
them more vulnerable to disease and pests.
In 2006, the Coordinadora began developing its own seed bank on 20,000 cubic feet of land at the Agriculture Center. With it, they aim to supply farmers with a wide variety of species and varieties at a lower price and that produce their own seeds which farmers can replant. Through agricultural exchanges (described below) and other activities, the Coordinadora has received and begun producing 25 different fruit, vegetable, and medicinal plant seeds. A refrigerator helps preserve seeds for later sale to the public. They also make the seeds available to their farmers through “green credit” (for example, at the end of the growing season a farmer can repay his loan of 1 pound of beans with two pounds of the same beans).
Four Key Staff of the Ciudad Romero Agricultural Center
 German |
 Gerardo |
 Lorena |
 Leonidas |
Other Advances in the
Coordinadora’s Agriculture Program
Inter American Foundation
In the fall of 2005, the Coordinadora began a massive, multi-year agriculture project with financial support from the Inter American Foundation with a grant for close to half a million dollars (paid over 4 years). The project’s main goal: food security for 125 families through sustainable agriculture training and technical support. Using a train-the-trainers model, the project’s 125 direct beneficiary families will, over the long-term, not only support themselves but also provide technical support to people in their communities, creating a ripple effect. Food security means moving beyond subsistence farming to growing a variety of crops year-round (rather than just the rainy season), using organic techniques (reducing costs and health hazards), improving nutrition (through a more balanced and varied diet) and reducing vulnerability to disasters (by growing crops less vulnerable to flooding, pests, etc).
Hurricane Stan hit in October 2005, less than month after the IAF project began. Fortunately, the IAF allowed the Coordinadora to redirect staff and financial support to addressing the emergency and helping families get back on their feet by getting at least a basic corn crop in the ground. Towards this end, they provided seeds and technical assistance to 284 families to grow corn and beans.
By early 2007, the original project was in full swing. More than a dozen women and men have received intensive training as agricultural promoters, using the Ciudad Romero Agriculture Center, covering topics such as the history of agriculture, plant propagation, organic agriculture, tree grafting, and natural medicine. 60 families have planed and planted their diversified farms, growing a variety of fruit and vegetable crops.
Some families have also reported higher incomes. However, please note that given the poverty that most families live in, most of their new crops go directly to feeding their families rather than generating income. Even those families who do have extra crops to sell still aren’t, in most cases, opening savings accounts. Instead, that income goes to immediate and urgent needs like medicine or school supplies. Thus, while their quality of life goes up tremendously, it is hard to measure using the yard-stick most common in the United States: cash income and savings.
Currently, the crops that families don’t consume
at home have a market within their own communities. However, the Coordinadora
has already begun developing a marketing system (Red CABAL) to handle
the sale of excess crops to neighboring communities and, eventually, municipal
markets. To the same end, the Coordinadora has laid the groundwork for
producing value added goods such as tomato sauce to make the best use
of seasonal and/or highly perishable crops.
Mesoamerican Permaculture Institute & Other Exchanges
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The Coordinadora’s farmers and agronomists have participated in a variety of local and international interchanges with others practicing organic agriculture. These experiences, many with financial support from the American Jewish World Service, have allowed them to learn a variety of new techniques and share their skills with six other organizations from the region doing similar work.
In November 2006, as part of the AJWS-sponsored ICAS Network,
the Coordinadora hosted a two-week permaculture training and exchange
at the Agriculture Center. The Mesoamerican Permaculture Institute introduced
both farmers and agronomists to a variety of organic farming techniques
and a holistic framework where sustainable farming is just part of a recipe
for cultivating healthy, sustainable communities.
For example, participants learned how to design family gardens that integrate
pest control, medicinal herbs, and more in a way that a family can provide
for their own fruit and vegetable needs with minimal land use. They even
built a demonstration garden at the Agriculture Center between the dorms
and the office.
Solar Water Pump
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The spirit of innovation and experimentation characterizes the Agriculture Program. The agronomists constantly test new methods, techniques, and technology to determine if they are appropriate and, if so, how to adapt them to local conditions.
On a field just outside of Ciudad Romero, they’ve
begun a demonstration project to irrigate using a Solar Water Pump. Earlier
experimentation with bicycle and other human-powered pumps had found that
while they could effectively irrigate family gardens that way, the technology
did not scale up well to full sized farms (3-5 acres). The solar pump
may provide an appropriate and affordable alternative to gas-powered pumps.
Until recently, solar power remained beyond reach due to price and repair issues. Today, prices have come down and El Salvador now has competent suppliers who can also provide technical and maintenance support when necessary. This supplier also backs up the hardware with a long-term guarantee. These new developments have encouraged the Coordinadora’s Agriculture Team to begin researching this new technology.