Conventional Food Plot Management in an Organic Coffee Cooperative: Explaining the Paradox

Abstract

This research analyzes farmers’ motivations for conventional management of subsistence food crops, in contrast to organic management of coffee destined for export. Semistructured interviews, focus groups, and financial analyses were conducted with farmers from a small organic coffee cooperative in western El Salvador. We sought to identify what factors have motivated peasant farmers to manage subsistence crops, primarily maize and beans, with agrochemicals. We found that a combination of environmental, economic, social and political factors have driven agricultural management decisions. The environmental requirements of coffee are distinct, where coffee in a diverse shaded agroecosystem responds better to low-input management than maize grown on steep slopes in nutrient-poor soil. In addition, there are no direct economic incentives for subsistence farmers to manage food crops organically, while the benefit of a price premium does exist for organic coffee. Finally, institutional support for agriculture encourages organic production for export crops and generally overlooks subsistence farming. Our data show that half of the farmers lost money on their food plots, with agrochemicals representing the largest cost. This research suggests that small-scale farmers need support in transitioning to more economically and environmentally sustainable farming practices.

Keywords:

• subsistence agriculture
• agrochemicals
• maize
• agroecology
• Central America

Notes

1. Holdridge life zone classification system is based on local environmental conditions including altitude, rather than latitude alone.

2. Farmers indicated that the daily cost of labor was $4 plus lunch, which they valued at $2.

3. The nitrogen content per 100 kg of 16-20-0 fertilizer is 16 kg; nitrogen content per 100 kg of ammonium sulfate is 21 kg.

4. Twenty eight of 29 ACOES farmers were included in this calculation due to one data point being removed for suspected inaccuracy.

5. Household income was calculated in 2008 including all income made by all working members of the household. This data is reported in Morris et al. (2013).

6. As a point of comparison, typical maize productivity data of 1,905 kg/ha was estimated for Central America (FAO and CIMMYT 1997), 1,848 kg/ha estimated for Costa Rica based on agrochemical use (Thrupp 1990), and 1,200 kg/ha reported for the Brazilian Amazon (Hecht 1992).

7. Recommendations on fertilizer requirements for optimal maize production vary for different regions and different crops, soils, and climatic conditions. Osmond and Riha's (1996) model determined that 140 kg N ha-1 was recommended for optimal maize yields in Brazil, while rates of 65–75 kg of nitrogen per hectare are recommended for maize in Swaziland (Mkhabela et al. 2001).