Ilex Guayusa: A new driver for sustainable development in

Ilex Guayusa: A new driver for sustainable development in agroforestry systems in the Western Amazon Presenter: Aliana Piñeiro, Director of Evalua@on and Development Presented at a Seminar: “Can Agroforestry Address Food Security Concerns Under a Changing Climate?” on November 11, 2014 Gothenburg, Sweden | Sponsored by SIANI and FOCALI Map of Napo, Ecuador No se puede mostrar la imagen. Puede que su equipo no tenga suficiente memoria para abrir la imagen o que ésta esté dañada. Reinicie el equipo y, a continuación, abra el archivo de nuevo. Si sigue apareciendo la x roja, puede que tenga que borrar la imagen e insertarla de nuevo.
Geographic/Historical Context •  Napo Province in Ecuador ranges in al@tude from 300 to 1200 meters above sea level •  At higher eleva@ons there is premontain forest and in the lower eleva@ons there is lowland wet tropical forest, the WWF calls this the Napo Moist Forest •  Amazon region in Ecuador was historically isolated un@l the 1970’s when it became a petroleum based economy •  Unlike the coast of Ecuador, there was almost no investment in agriculture in the Amazon region, only in the last 15 years has there been much government investment in cash crops like cocoa, coffee, etc. Indigenous Tradi@ons •  In the Ecuadorian Amazon, indigenous people wake up before dawn to drink guayusa with their family and discuss their dreams and plan for the day ahead. •  One guayusa tree is tradi@onally grown by a family’s home. A newly married woman typically brings a cu_ng of the guayusa from her childhood home to plant at her new home with her husband and her future family. •  Guayusa has been domes@cated by the indigenous people of the Amazon by clones for so long that the plant’s ability to reproduce sexually has greatly diminished. Tradi@onal Agroforestry Systems •  There are several types of agroforestry systems in the Amazon such as silvo-­‐pastural, cash crops (coffee and cocoa) with some shade trees, but we focus on tradi@onal agroforestry systems of the indigenous people of the Ecuadorian Amazon. •  Chacra is the Quechua word for “farm”, which is used all throughout S. America; however in the Ecuadorian Amazon it specifically refers to the forest gardens of the indigenous people. They typically farm on less than 5 Ha. and have subsistence crops like yuca and plantain, medicinal plants, fruit trees, various palms and @mber trees. •  In the last 15 years, they have added cash crops such as corn, cacao, naranjilla and coffee with limited success, they generally have low yields and receive ligle pay for their products. •  Most recently they have introduced guayusa, a plant that has always been in their chacras for family consump@on, as a new cash crop. RUNA’s mission: to look for new ways to create value for tropical forests that benefit local people and forest eco-­‐systems RUNA -­‐ Commercializa@on of Guayusa •  RUNA has transformed a tradi@onal crop for family consump@on into a profitable agroforestry crop suitable for local farming prac@ces. •  Since 2010 RUNA has exported to USA and Canada and in 2014 began selling on the Ecuadorian market •  RUNA Guayusa is sold in 7000 stores in the USA •  In 2014 RUNA works with 2900+ small scale indigenous farmers as suppliers •  Over 5 years the market has experienced exponen@al growth; in 2010 farmers sold 22,000 lbs. of guayusa to RUNA, in 2014 farmers will sell over 600,000 lbs. ILEX GUAYUSA •  Ilex guayusa, a tree na@ve to the Western Amazon, is in the same family as holly and yerba mate and is one of hundreds of Ilex species in the Americas. •  Guayusa is found mostly in the Ecuadorian Amazon but it is also found a in Peru and Colombia. It can be kept in a leafy bush but it can grow up to 20 meters if lek unpruned. It reacts well to pruning, it can be coppiced. •  It is a very rare sight to see a guayusa tree with flowers as far as we know currently, guayusa does not reproduce sexually, only through cu_ngs. •  Its leaves contain high concentra@ons of caffeine and an@oxidants. Guayusa trees are shade-­‐tolerant, pest resistant, readily adaptable perennial crops cul@vated in tradi@onal agroforestry systems. How can we manage this growth sustainably? Agroforestry •  We created a research program with Yale University and Dr. Florencia Montagnini to inves@gate how guayusa produc@on can be sustainably scaled up in agroforestry systems. •  We are working with researchers and farmers to iden@fy best prac@ces. •  Through our network of stakeholders in the region, we are able to disseminate the findings. •  We recently published a Guayusa Best Prac@ces Manual and a Compendium of Technical Informa@on to share informa@on with farmers and other public and private ins@tu@ons. Guayusa in agroforestry systems Through our research we have concluded that guayusa can be grown with na@ve species such as: •  Trees: –  Laurel (Cordia alliodora) –  Chuncho (Cedrelinga cateniformis) –  Chonta palm (Bactris gasipaes) –  Copal (ProCum copal) •  Fruit trees: –  Chirimoya (Annona cherimola) –  Guaba (Inga edulis) –  Plantain, banana, beans and peanuts Certain cash crops are also suitable as long as they are cer@fied organic •  Cash Crops –  Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) –  Corn Pruning and coppicing Through our mul@factorial research plots we have found that guayusa responds well to pruning, especially coppicing. These illustra@ons are from our Guayusa Best Prac@ces Manual. Gene@c study •  Objec@ve: to determine the gene@c diversity of guayusa in Ecuador –  Collect samples around Ecuador –  Samples analyzed at the lab at San Francisco University in Quito •  Results: Guayusa has a low gene@c diversity compared to other Ilex –  Two main groups exist – North and South •  Given the shallow gene pool, it is beger to plant guayusa in mixed systems and at distances of 4m to protect the crop from plagues that might damage it. Species mixtures The agroforestry inves@ga@ve plot has shown that compared to the monoculture plots, soil nutrient content is retained beger and therefore expensive organic fer@lizers do not need to be used as frequently by farmers. Fair Trade/Inclusive Model •  Diversified income –  Grown in agroforestry systems, guayusa provides an addi@onal income to farmers and allow them to diversity into another cash crop while maintaining their current cash and subsistence crops. •  Fair Trade Cer@fica@on –  Cer@fica@on guarantees a minimum price for guayusa, allows for dialogue among stakeholders, and includes payment of the Social Premium Fund to be used by coopera@ves and farmer groups for community projects. •  Partnerships with guayusa coopera@ves and other actors in the value chain –  Runa has created the Guayusa Roundtable to facilitate communica@on among stakeholders Next steps for RUNA Using the guyausa model of create of a value chain, we are working with new products in agroforestry systems including medicinal plants, natural fibers, palm fruits, and rain forest nuts. We hope to con@nue to find ways to benefit local people and ecosystems through crea@ng value for other products in tropical forests. Thank you Swedish Interna@onal Agricultural Network Ini@a@ve Forest, Climate & Livelihood Research Network Torsten Krause, PhD Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies