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Tittonell P, Fernandez M, El Mujtar VE, Preiss PV, Sarapura S, Laborda L, Mendonça MA, Alvarez VE, Fernandes GB, Petersen P, Cardoso IM. Emerging responses to the COVID-19 crisis from family farming and the agroecology movement in Latin America - A rediscovery of food, farmers and collective action. Agric Syst 2021; 190:103098. [PMID: 36567886 PMCID: PMC9759627 DOI: 10.1016/j.agsy.2021.103098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2020] [Revised: 01/25/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
CONTEXT In Latin America, the so-called informal sector associated with family farming and the agroecology movements were instrumental at coping with and adapting to the COVID-19 challenges. OBJECTIVE To assess the nature and extent of the early initiatives (first three months) deployed by this informal sector to cope with and adapt to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on food production and consumption in several countries of the region. METHODS We used key used informant consultation (n = 168), an online survey (n = 125) and the detailed characterisation of regional case studies (n = 4). Textual data was analysed and categorised using Reinert's method, combined with similarity analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS 65% of the initiatives were 'local' in terms of geographic reach, 30% of them started within the first month after the pandemic and most of them were urban or urban-rural, whereas only 29% of them were exclusively rural. The analysis of the textual information captured through the survey revealed four major types of initiatives that were deployed or adapted in response to COVID-19:1.Direct producer-to-consumer food sales, generally existing before the COVID-19 crisis but adapted/strengthened to cope with it;2.Short value chains that linked rural and urban organisations and individuals supported by national or local governments, readapted through new health and safety protocols;3.Newly developed support and training programs on sustainable food production for self-consumption or local commerce, in rural, urban or peri-urban settings;4.Food assistance and aid initiatives focusing on vulnerable populations, relying on solidarity networks associated with the agroecological movement. SIGNIFICANCE The pandemic highlighted the key role played by local food systems and value chains and the need to strengthening them through public policies, as a way to build food resilience in times of crisis.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Tittonell
- Agroecology, Environment and Systems Group, Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias de Bariloche (IFAB), INTA-CONICET, Modesta Victoria 4450 - CC 277, 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
- Agroécologie et Intensification Durable (AïDA), Centre de coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), Université de Montpellier, 34000 Montpellier, France
- Groningen Institute of Evolutionary Life Sciences, Groningen University, PO Box 11103, 9700, CC, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - M Fernandez
- Agroecology, Environment and Systems Group, Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias de Bariloche (IFAB), INTA-CONICET, Modesta Victoria 4450 - CC 277, 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - V E El Mujtar
- Agroecology, Environment and Systems Group, Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias de Bariloche (IFAB), INTA-CONICET, Modesta Victoria 4450 - CC 277, 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - P V Preiss
- Regional Development Posgraduate Program at University of Santa Cruz do Sul, Brazil
| | - S Sarapura
- School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, University of Guelph, Canada, 50 Stone Rd E, Guelph N1G 2W1, ON, Canada
| | - L Laborda
- Agroecology, Environment and Systems Group, Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias de Bariloche (IFAB), INTA-CONICET, Modesta Victoria 4450 - CC 277, 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - M A Mendonça
- Federal University of Viçosa (UFV) / Rural Economy Department (DER), Av. Peter Henry Rolfs, s/n-Campus Universitário, Viçosa, MG36570-900, Brazil
| | - V E Alvarez
- Agroecology, Environment and Systems Group, Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias de Bariloche (IFAB), INTA-CONICET, Modesta Victoria 4450 - CC 277, 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina
| | - G B Fernandes
- Centro de Tecnologias Alternativas da Zona da Mata (CTA-ZM), 36.570-000, Caixa Postal 128, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - P Petersen
- AS-PTA Agricultura Familiar e Agroecologia, Brazil
| | - I M Cardoso
- Federal University of Viçosa (UFV) / Soil Science Department (DPS), Av. Peter Henry Rolfs, s/n-Campus Universitário, Viçosa, MG36570-900, Brazil
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