Organization of a seminar to present the silvopastoral model in Pupiales
On 25 March, the Impulso Verde Kuaspe Foundation organised a seminar to present the silvopastoral model to representatives of the ASOPROLECHE dairy farmers’ cooperative in the municipality of Pupiales (78 farmers).
Professor Diego Rosendo Chamorro Viveros, from the Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia (UNAD), representative of the SilvoPaz network (a network of farmers who have implemented the silvopastoral system) and member of the Impulso Verde strategic committee, presented the challenges and the many advantages of the silvopastoral model: continuous production of fodder, well-being of the livestock, up to 25% more milk production per head for half the surface area of the grasslands, conservation and protection of water resources, etc.
The Impulso Verde Kuaspue community nursery network, in charge of tree production for the implementation of the model at the regional level, was represented by the Manantial de Vida, Pumamaki and Sinchimaki associations.
Considered one of the main dairy production areas in Colombia, Nariño has been a predominantly agricultural region since the colonial period, where dairy activity has continued to grow.
The UPRA (Rural Agriculture and Livestock Planning Unit) estimates that only 9.3% of the region’s land area should initially be used for agricultural activity, compared to 24% in reality.
Agricultural activity accounts for 39.3% of Nariño’s GDP. Dairy farming has been increasing, especially in recent years, and this has actively contributed to deforestation. The Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) estimates that the region is losing about 8,000 hectares per year. As a consequence, the department of Nariño is ranked among the 10 Colombian departments that suffer the greatest loss of forest cover each year, accounting for 6% of national deforestation.
In order to curb this deforestation while reconciling the agricultural activity essential to the economic development of the communities, the implementation of silvopastoralism as a model that respects nature, and the environment is essential and urgent.
During the seminar, UNAD and the representatives of the different associations identified the native tree species to be used from 2021 to implement the model in several ASOPROLECHE farms.
Impulso Verde’s network of nurseries will provide the trees to implement the model in a sustainable way, and will be able to rely on the expertise of UNAD, which has been running this project on a national scale for more than 15 years with numerous partners such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Following this seminar, the Impulso Verde team and representatives from ASOPROLECHE and UNAD visited the farm of Ricardo Orbes, who has been implementing the silvopastoral model for more than 15 years, and who has demonstrated the effectiveness of the model, particularly in terms of profitability. He is conducting his livestock activities in an environmentally friendly way.
