Chapter 5 The Governance of Food Sovereignty in Ecuador

200 Pages·2013·2.89 MB·English

Listening to the Voice of Pachamama

Assessing Food Sovereignty as a Local Strategy for Community
Well-Being in Ecuador

Paola Cevallos Cazar

A 120-Point Thesis in Partial Fulfilment of Requirements for the
Degree of
Master of Development Studies

School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences
Victoria University of Wellington

Bendeciré al Señor en todo tiempo;
Mis labios siempre lo alabarán
(Salmo 34:1 – NVI)

I will always thank the Lord;
I will never stop praising Him
(Psalm 34:1 – GNT)

Table of Contents

ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................................................ V
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................................. VII
LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES AND PLATES ..................................................................................................... IX
GLOSSARY ....................................................................................................................................................... XI
GLOSSARY (CONTINUATION) .......................................................................................................................... XII
LIST OF ACRONYMS ....................................................................................................................................... XIII
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ..................................................................................... 17
1.1 POSITIONING THE TOPIC WITHIN THE ECUADORIAN CONTEXT ............................................................................. 19
1.2 MOTIVATION, AIM OF THE STUDY AND OBJECTIVES ......................................................................................... 24
1.2.1 Thesis Rationale .............................................................................................................................. 24
1.2.2 Research Aim ................................................................................................................................... 25
1.2.3 Research Objectives......................................................................................................................... 25
1.3 THESIS OUTLINE ....................................................................................................................................... 25
CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH DESIGN AND POSITIONALITY ..................................................................................... 27
2.1 PHILOSOPHICAL STANCE AND THEORETICAL GROUNDING ................................................................................. 27
2.2 METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................................................... 29
2.2.1 Case Study Approach ....................................................................................................................... 30
2.3 RESEARCH METHODS ................................................................................................................................ 31
2.3.1 Primary Data ................................................................................................................................... 31
2.3.2 Secondary Data ............................................................................................................................... 36
2.4 DIFFICULTIES AND LESSONS LEARNT ............................................................................................................. 36
2.5 ANALYSIS OF DATA ................................................................................................................................... 38
2.6 REFLECTIONS ON MY POSITIONALITY ............................................................................................................. 38
2.6.1 My Original Positionality ................................................................................................................. 39
2.6.2 My Research Participants’ Positionality .......................................................................................... 39
2.6.3 My Enriched Positionality After Research ....................................................................................... 41
2.7 REFLECTIONS ON MY AGENCY AS A CRITICAL RESEARCHER ................................................................................ 42
2.8 SUMMARY............................................................................................................................................... 43
CHAPTER 3: FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AS A CONCEPT – THE CONVERGENCE OF THEORY AND PRACTICE .............. 45
3.1 FOOD SOVEREIGNTY – ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION ............................................................................................. 45
3.2 EXTRACTIVIST AGRICULTURE – IMPLICATIONS FOR COMMUNITIES AND THE ENVIRONMENT ..................................... 46
3.3 ORGANIC FARMING – THE FIRST STEP FOR CHANGE ........................................................................................ 50
3.4 FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND AGROECOLOGY ...................................................................................................... 51
3.5 SOCIAL COHESION, POLITICAL ACTIVISM AND THE PRACTICE OF FOOD SOVEREIGNTY WORLDWIDE ........................... 54
3.5.1 La Via Campesina – A Global Movement ........................................................................................ 55
3.5.2 The Practice of Food Sovereignty in Latin America ......................................................................... 56
3.5.3 The Institutionalisation of Food Sovereignty in Latin America ........................................................ 59
3.6 SUMMARY............................................................................................................................................... 61
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CHAPTER 4: AGRARIAN CHANGE AND CHALLENGES IN ECUADOR .................................................................. 63
4.1 ROLE AND NATURE OF THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR IN ECUADOR ....................................................................... 63
4.1.1 Socio-Economic Importance of Agriculture ..................................................................................... 63
4.1.2 Rural Poverty in Ecuador ................................................................................................................. 68
4.1.3 Land Tenure Structure ..................................................................................................................... 70
4.1.4 Access to Water and Credit ............................................................................................................. 73
4.2 EVOLUTION OF THE PEASANT STRUGGLE: ORGANISATIONAL STRENGTHENING AND RESILIENCE ................................ 75
4.3 SUMMARY............................................................................................................................................... 77
CHAPTER 5: THE GOVERNANCE OF FOOD SOVEREIGNTY IN ECUADOR ........................................................... 78
5.1 HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF THE RESURGENCE OF THE LEFT IN LATIN AMERICA ......................................................... 78
5.2 CURRENT POLITICAL FRAMEWORK IN ECUADOR .............................................................................................. 80
5.2.1 Political Constitution of 2008 – The Emergence of the Sumak Kawsay ........................................... 80
5.2.2 Sumak Kawsay as a Concept and Discourse .................................................................................... 81
5.3 THE INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR RURAL GOVERNANCE IN ECUADOR ........................................................... 82
5.3.1 Legislation and Plans Related to Food Sovereignty ......................................................................... 86
5.4 ASSESSMENT OF THE LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK IN ECUADOR WITH REFERENCE TO FOOD SOVEREIGNTY 89
5.4.1 The Promotion of Clean Technologies ............................................................................................. 89
5.4.2 Biofuels ............................................................................................................................................ 91
5.4.3 Genetically Modified Crops ............................................................................................................. 91
5.4.4 Policies on Availability of Productive Resources .............................................................................. 93
5.4.5 Agrarian Revolution Schools (ERAs) ................................................................................................ 96
5.5 SUMMARY............................................................................................................................................... 98
CHAPTER 6: CASE STUDY FENOCIN ............................................................................................................... 100
6.1 HISTORY OF THE CONSOLIDATION OF INDIGENOUS AND PEASANT ORGANISATIONS IN ECUADOR ................................... 100
6.2 FORMATION AND CONSOLIDATION OF FENOCIN ................................................................................................ 103
6.2.1 Plurinationality versus Interculturality .............................................................................................. 104
6.2.2 Structures of Representation of FENOCIN ......................................................................................... 106
6.2.3 Analysis of Representativeness of FENOCIN ...................................................................................... 109
6.3 THE INSTITUTIONALISATION OF FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND AGROECOLOGY WITHIN FENOCIN ....................................... 110
6.3.1 Conceptualisation of Food Sovereignty ............................................................................................. 110
6.3.2 Tools for the Implementation of Food Sovereignty in the Field ......................................................... 111
6.4 SUMMARY............................................................................................................................................. 113
CHAPTER 7: CASE STUDY KALLARI ................................................................................................................ 114
7.1 THE GEOGRAPHIES OF CHOCOLATE ............................................................................................................ 114
7.1.1 Resistance with a Chocolate Terroir .............................................................................................. 115
7.2 CACAO IN THE ECUADORIAN ECONOMY ...................................................................................................... 117
7.3 A THICK JUNGLE OF GREEN IS MY HOME – CONTEXTUALISATION OF THE CASE STUDY ......................................... 119
7.4 SOIL PREPARATION: LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR THE KALLARI COOPERATIVE ............................................... 122
7.5 THE PHILOSOPHY OF KALLARI .................................................................................................................... 125
7.6 THE CONCEPT OF FOOD SOVEREIGNTY IN THE FIELD ...................................................................................... 126
7.6.1 The Chacra ..................................................................................................................................... 127
7.6.2 Agroecology in the Amazonian Rainforest Context ....................................................................... 129
7.7 ANALYSIS OF THE CASE ............................................................................................................................ 131
7.7.1 Social Fabric................................................................................................................................... 131
7.7.2 Logistical and Practical Aspects .................................................................................................... 132
7.7.3 External Influence .......................................................................................................................... 134
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7.7.4 From the Chacra to Your Palate: The Value Chain Approach ........................................................ 135
7.8 PUTTING THE CASE STUDY INTO A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE ................................................................................ 136
7.9 SUMMARY............................................................................................................................................. 138
CHAPTER 8: FOOD SOVEREIGNTY, LIVELIHOODS AND GOVERNANCE – CONCLUSIONS ................................. 139
8.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES: A REVIEW ............................................................................................................. 139
8.2 FOOD SOVEREIGNTY: TWO UNIFYING THEMES ............................................................................................. 145
8.2.1 Relevance of the Practice of Food Sovereignty for the Improvement of Farming Communities’
Livelihoods .................................................................................................................................................. 145
8.2.2 Resilience and Political Agency through the Practice of Food Sovereignty ................................... 151
8.3 POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE ACHIEVEMENT OF FOOD SOVEREIGNTY IN ECUADOR ................................... 156
8.3.1 Access to Land ............................................................................................................................... 157
8.3.2 Valuation of the Natural Heritage ................................................................................................. 159
8.3.3 Permanent Platforms for Participation and Deliberation.............................................................. 162
8.4 FURTHER AREAS OF RESEARCH .................................................................................................................. 163
8.5 FINAL REMARKS ..................................................................................................................................... 164
APPENDIX 1: DOCUMENTATION RELATED TO THE VICTORIA UNIVERSITY’S HUMAN ETHICS APPROVAL ..... 166
APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONS OUTLINE ............................................................................................................... 172
REFERENCE LIST ............................................................................................................................................ 174

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Abstract

This thesis explores how the concepts of food sovereignty and agroecology have been
adopted in Ecuador, and evaluates their potential to contribute to farming communities‟ well-
being. It draws on the perceptions of civil society and grassroots movements. Consequently,
this study has adopted a multiple case study approach. The first case study analyses the
formation and consolidation into a single movement of a federation of peasant movements
that pursue food sovereignty as one of their main objectives. The way in which food
sovereignty has been institutionalised within the movement is elucidated, in order to examine
the strategies put into place by the social apparatus. The second case study carefully examines
a community undertaking that has successfully applied the principles of food sovereignty,
while improving the farmers‟ livelihoods. This case study elaborates on the specific
characteristics inherent in the practice of food sovereignty and agroecology in the field, and
intertwines this information with the culture and philosophy of the community involved. In
order to identify the potentiality of replication, the community undertaking is put into global
perspective through a comparative analysis that allows the identification of local and global
influences that can make such an initiative successful. Acknowledging that food sovereignty
is a holistic and complex concept, and that appropriate frameworks need to be established,
this study has scrutinised the current governance framework in Ecuador, and consequently
suggested policy recommendations that would support the widespread practice of food
sovereignty and agroecology. Two aspects beyond the research objectives have emerged:
firstly, the potential of the food sovereignty approach for the improvement of farmers‟
livelihoods; and secondly, the political significance of the concept, manifested through
resistance and resilience at the grassroots level.

Key Words: Food sovereignty, food security, agroecology, extractivist agriculture,
traditional ecological knowledge, holistic well-being, rural sustainable development, case
study approach, community undertaking.

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