Agriculture and Human Values

, Volume 26, Issue 3, pp 233–243 | Cite as

Institutionalizing agroecology: successes and challenges in Cuba

  • Erin Nelson
  • Steffanie Scott
  • Judie Cukier
  • Ángel Leyva Galán
Article
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Abstract

Over the past two decades, Cuba has become a recognized global leader in sustainable agriculture. This paper explores how this process of agricultural transition has taken place, and argues that it has largely been led by research institutes, non-state organizations and the Cuban government, which have all contributed to the institutionalization of agroecology in both policy and practice. This process has been highly effective in terms of the numbers of people using agroecological techniques. However, although these techniques have been widely adopted by farmers across the country, this paper suggests that many still perceive maximizing production to be a higher priority than maintaining a commitment to agroecological ideals. For these farmers, agroecological farming is viewed primarily as a pragmatic decision rather than an ideological or moral one, and they may thus be susceptible to shifting back to conventional production if this option became politically and economically feasible

Keywords

Agroecology Cuba Institutionalization Sustainable agriculture 

Abbreviations

ACTAF

Asociación Cubano de Técnicos Agropecuarios y Forestales (Cuban Association of Agricultural and Forestry Technicians)

ANAP

Asociación Nacional de Agricultores Pequeños (National Association of Small Farmers)

CENSA

Centro Nacional de Sanidad Agropecuario (National Centre for Agricultural Health)

CREE

Centro de Reproducción de Entomofages y Entomopatogenos (Centre for Reproduction of Entomphages and Entomopathogens)

INCA

Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Agrícolas (National Institute of Agricultural Sciences)

MINAGRI

Ministerio de Agricultura (Ministry of Agriculture)

NGO

Nongovernmental organization

UBPC

Unidad Basico de Producción Cooperativa (Basic Unit of Cooperative Production)

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Notes

Acknowledgements

The authors are extremely grateful to all the farmers who participated in this study and opened their homes and hearts to the researchers involved. We would also like to thank four anonymous reviewers and the editor of this journal, Dr. Harvey James, for their constructive criticism and support in the writing of this paper.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008

Authors and Affiliations

  • Erin Nelson
    • 1
  • Steffanie Scott
    • 2
  • Judie Cukier
    • 2
  • Ángel Leyva Galán
    • 3
  1. 1.School of Environmental Design and Rural DevelopmentUniversity of GuelphGuelphCanada
  2. 2.Department of Geography and Environmental Management, Faculty of EnvironmentUniversity of WaterlooWaterlooCanada
  3. 3.Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Agrícolas (National Institute of Agricultural Sciences)HabanaCuba

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