Foreword - IDL-BNC @ IDRC - International Development Research ...

50 F.A. Orozco and D.C. Cole
the action-research process as a whole was carried out at the end of the project.
It used self-evaluation questionnaires completed by participants in the potato
platforms and cross-sector groups, and was complemented by in-depth interviews
with these participants and additional actors connected to Ecosalud II.
Interventions
Work with the potato platforms was essential to mobilize human and modest
fi nancial resources to extend Ecosalud II’s interventions to different settings. In
keeping with community-based research models (Viswanathan et al. 2004 ) ,
interventions were developed at multiple levels that corresponded to the key
actors’ mandate or scope (community, municipal, and provincial) (Orozco and
Cole 2006 ) .
At the community level, numerous fi eld schools and fi eld days were held for
farmers to allow them to share their understanding of ecosystems and their experiences
with traditional and new agricultural practices, including reducing highly
hazardous pesticide use. Other interventions included community theatre, healthpromotion
groups, and puppet shows preformed at schools, during which questions
were raised about current agricultural production, its impacts on health, and
the reasons for pesticide use. Efforts were made to develop joint responses
to changing practices, in keeping with “radical” approaches to health education
(Oliveira 2005 ) .
At the municipal level, ordinances were jointly drafted by the research team
and local policymakers to promote local policies on training and agricultural
extension related to alternative crop-management practices (Orozco and Cole
2008 ) . As an off-shoot of the project, a farmers’ organization teamed up with a
municipality to obtain NGO support to set up a local store to sell less hazardous
products and provide information on integrated pest management. The store has
developed into a Centre for Agriculture and Livestock Services (Coagro-Q), which
is led by farmers’ organizations and has farmers as the main partners along with
the municipality and nongovernmental organizations. Currently, more than 300
farmers are involved in some way with the Centre – seeking advice, purchasing
products, receiving training in healthy and sustainable agriculture, or providing
consultation to other farmers.
At the provincial level, Ecosalud II assisted Ministry of Health staff with peer-topeer
interchanges. For example, an emergency physician from Carchi came to
Chimborazo’s regional hospital and trained emergency and health centre staff in the
diagnosis and treatment of pesticide poisonings using protocols jointly developed
with Ecosalud II. To bolster surveillance for acute pesticide-related poisonings,
reporting forms and a jointly developed health-information system were shared, and
epidemiology staff in each province were trained, with the assistance of a Canadian
epidemiology student.