the world of organic agriculture - Organic Eprints

16 Organic Farming in Latin America
Hundreds of varieties of corn, liquid and solid cocoa, all sizes of squashes, all kinds of tomatoes,
over 90 varieties of chilies, many of the foods found today in the world’s tables were seen for the
first time by European eyes after Columbus arrived to the continent.
The Aztecs in Mexico had a complex and massive system of food production that involved
irrigation from the mountains, elevated beds and artificial channels with fishes and seaweeds,
and precise rotations all over the lake surrounding their gigantic capital Tenochtitlan.
In those same days, when the Spanish invasion arrived to Cuzco, in Peru, they met a culture
of expert agriculturists. Learning their skills from their ancient neighbors, the Aymaras, and
developing a real soil and production science, the Incas were able to farm millions of hectares
distributing seeds along an empire that stretched from Central America to the North of
Argentina and Chile. They developed probably over a thousand varieties of potato, a food that is
now a staple food in countries throughout the world, but through industrial farming, is suffering
enormous genetic erosion, as only a few varieties are used.
All these traditions are alive in the farmers of indigenous descent along the mountain ranges, from
Mexico to Patagonia. Hundreds of thousands of small farmers are now gathering in associations
to redignify their knowledge within the organic movement, using the Internal Control System to
certify their crops. Many of those families produce coffee, cocoa, sugar, bananas or other organic
crops for export and have a small vegetable plot for food security and bartering. Others unite
to reach the weekly markets around the cities, bringing their vegetables and fruits. They are
striving to make a living, but organic agriculture has allowed them to plan their harvests and find
a growing market for their products.
16.2 The Market
16.2.1 Local Markets
Some countries in Latin America have an internal market of organic products. In Brazil, for
example, some producer associations like the Eco Vida network in the southern states get their
vegetables and fruits together once a week and take them in their own trucks to the markets in
the big cities, selling in open fairs or supermarkets under the name of the farmer or the brand
name of the association. A very similar but smaller situation can be seen in Ecuador through
the Fundación Maquita Cushunchic - Comercializando Como Hermanos MCCH. In Costa Rica,
vegetable producers have the slogan: “From my family to your family”.
16.2.2 Supermarkets
Supermarkets in the continent are beginning to sell organic products. Vegetables and fruits are
sold in Uruguay, Costa Rica, Honduras, Peru, Brazil and Argentina among others. In Nicaragua,
the supermarket chain “La Colonia” sells organic products, especially vegetables. Sparser is the
offer of processed products, due to the difficulty of getting big enough quantities. Argentina has
a wide variety of oils, flours, honey, wine, and tea on the shelves and some supermarket chains
have developed their own organic brands or their clearly defined organic sector. Sol de Acuario
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