By Chantal Bianchi | Project manager
The alternation of drought and flooding in the San Cristobal de las Casas region (Mexico) is
confronting peasants to a state of growing impoverishment and food insecurity. For several
years, Secours Catholique-Caritas France has been supporting communities in this region to
strengthen food security. At the end of this project in March 2018, Secours Catholique-Caritas
France commissioned (as usual) the evaluation of this project. Following the results of this
evaluation, the participation of Secours Catholique in the continuation of this project could be
validated. However, the interim reports provided since 2015 by our partner are very
encouraging.
Context of the project
Mexico is bordered by the United States, Guatemala and Belize. The Mexican economy is very
dependent on the United States, oil revenues and funds transferred by migrants. The country
experiences very high inequalities and thus presents the characteristics of a developing country:
- increased poverty,
- institutional violence,
- social and regional inequalities,
- the importance of the informal economy,
- inadequacy in the fields of education or health.
Member of the OECD, Mexico is, after Brazil, the second largest economy in Latin America.
Chiapas is one of the 31 states of the Federal Republic of Mexico. Located south of the
Yucatan Peninsula. Chiapas covers about 75,000 km² in the 2 million km² of Mexico and has
4,823,243 inhabitants with a large indigenous population component. It is one of the
country's richest in natural resources (oil, timber, mining, fertile land, water, biodiversity).
Despite these strengths, it ranks last in the national standard of living with the highest
unemployment, child mortality and malnutrition rates in the country.
Presentation of our partner
The region of San Cristobal de las Casas covers half of the territory of the Federal State of
Chiapas (mainly in the Highlands) and has 2,500 indigenous communities.
Action Sociale Samuel Ruiz was created in 1994 to organize solidarity and provide
comprehensive support to the displaced and victims of the internal conflict. This partner has
developed since its inception an integrated approach to the development and strengthening of
the most vulnerable communities living from agriculture and depend to a large extent on
weather conditions (drought, storms and floods) in a period of adaptation to change climate.
In 2012, she received the Community Development Award from the Compartir Mexican Social
Foundation, which recognizes Mexican institutions working for social advancement and the
inclusion of the poorest.
Our project
Affected by climate change, Chiapas is in an area of high geographical and environmental risk
due to its location in one of the hurricane zones. Since 2009, peasants have particularly
suffered from the alternation of weather phenomena "El Niño" (Pacific Ocean current that
brings drought) and its current "La Niña" (which brings torrential rains). Farm families are
facing a situation of chronic food insecurity. The beneficiary communities of the project are
located in the 13 municipalities of the regions of Los Altos and La Selva. They are among the
most affected by these repeated bad weather and are considered "corn granaries" in the state.
In this context, the response of Action Sociale Samuel Ruiz is on the one hand, to support
farmers and their organizations to sustainably face recurring shortages of corn and seeds,
and on the other hand, improve production and preserve the culture of traditional "milpa".
This system combines corn-bean-pumpkin crops and can also be grown with coffee
or banana with agroforestry techniques. In this region, the Mesoamerican "milpa" is the basis
of peasant food self-reliance and rural family economies. It is at the center of a strategy aiming
at the management and the protection of biodiversity. For our partner, this component is part
of a broader process of supporting and strengthening the most vulnerable communities that
live off agriculture and depend, to a large extent, on weather conditions (drought, storms and
floods), in a period crucial to adaptation to climate change.
In addition, Social Action Samuel Ruiz faces a number of challenges: in the last elections in
Mexico, political parties, to win votes, offered inputs and chemical pesticides to farmers,
thus encouraging them to abandon corn and basic seeds prodcution for monocultures
(avocado, African palm, peach and species for biodiesel production). In addition, in 2011, the
Chiapas government signed an agreement with North American company Monsanto to
cultivate 20,000 hectares of transgenic corn in the state. This agro-industrial model calls into
question the small peasant model that today guarantees biodiversity and the preservation of
communities through the transmission of their goods and know-how.
For 2015-2018, the project focused on 6 parishes in Chiapas. Following the evaluation of this
last tranche of the project currently underway, a new project will be established in which the
intervention area, the objectives, the number of beneficiaries and the budget will be refined.
Global objective : To support the process of food sovereignty in the Ch'ol pastoral zone in Chiapas, with an
approach of local capacity building, resilience and sustainable development. Specific objectives :
- The diversity and quality of agricultural production (milpa and market gardening) of families
is improved by applying the principles of agroecology.
- Rearing and production of farmyard animals is improved.
- The conservation of natural resources and the regeneration of productive ecosystems is
strengthened, they are more resistant to climate change.
- The organizations of the strengthened peasant communities act for the sustainable
development and the defense of their territory.
Beneficiaries :
- Direct beneficiaries: 624 families (3,313 beneficiaries including 1,648 men and 1,665 women)
- Indirect beneficiaries: 578 families (2,969 people) from 84 communities.
Our results :
Technical capacity building for ecological farming
- 379 families work the traditional Milpa agro-ecological way on 199 ha
- 12 varieties of maize are grown
- 316 families grow vegetables
- 30 varieties of vegetables and local plants are grown (onions, tomatoes, parsley, beans, squash ...).
Experiments with "Milpa interposed with fruit crops" are conducted (lemons, oranges,
papaya, coconut, carambola, avocado ...) as well as with trees for the exploitation of wood.
Collective learning and knowledge-sharing spaces are developing in 9 communities.
Strengthening dietary diversity through the practice of small livestock.
- 289 families are able to manufacture and use veterinary care products, and create breeding
conditions for small livestock. The interest of families and community promoters in these
techniques is growing.
- New practices such as the introduction of bananas and cassava into animal feed are developing.
- A specific method is applied for breeding: different groups take turns for small livestock
breeding, transmitting the animals and their knowledge to another group every 2 years .
- 40 sheep distributed to 8 communities and 30 pigs to 6 other communities.
Recovery of local species and protection of biodiversity
After the biodiversity inventory carried out in the first year of the project, 7,360 plants of
different species were distributed (cocoa, orange, lemon, mango, avocado ...) in the 29
nurseries created in the first year. 37 communities (279 families) are involved in this
component of the project. Some families are beginning to reap the benefits of their work
(oranges, lemons, cocoa, papaya ...) and diversify their diet
- 60 hives were installed on 3 plots managed by 3 groups
- Beekeeping and management training workshops (administration, accounting and marketing)
and 5 follow-up visits were conducted. The product of these hives is consumed or sold in the
form of honey or processed products generating additional income.
the total amount spent by Secours Catholique on this project was 46 000€ in 2017 and
129 000€ since 2015, date of the beginning of this program.
Secours Catholique should continue its support to improve the food security of these indigenous
peasant families in the north-east of the Diocese of Chiapas. Agro-ecological production and
resilient agriculture, the preservation of seeds and local biodiversity will continue to be
strengthened, as will the structures of community organizations.
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