470 producers in the Ecuadorian Amazon receive training to implement sustainable livestock production

• The training program is provided by the National Government through the PROAmazonia program, with the support of CATIE in the province of Morona Santiago.

September 14, 2021. 'The practices that the producer families learn in this training program contribute to the efforts made by the country to have a sustainable livestock production, free of deforestation,' said Karina Barrera, Undersecretary of Climate Change of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition (MAATE, its Spanish acronym), after visiting one of the Field Schools that PROAmazonía offers together with CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center), in Morona Santiago.

PROAmazonia is the Ecuadorian government program that promotes the transformation of traditional agricultural production models and encourages the promotion of sustainable production and consumption patterns, working to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from deforestation.

Currently, 470 livestock producers are actively participating in the 25 field schools formed at the provincial level in the cantons of Palora, Huamboya, Pablo VI, Morona, Sucúa, Proaño, Méndez, Twintza and Taisha.

PROAmazon promotes a sustainable livestock farming approach that consists of incorporating good livestock farming practices and silvo-pastoral systems on the farms, which implies conserving the trees present and making adequate use of natural resources, thus transforming the farms into more productive and environmentally responsible areas.

'We hope that these actions represent a great boost to the livestock sector in the Amazon, since the ultimate goal is to promote that livestock activity contributes to the conservation, recovery and sustainable use of biodiversity; in addition, to influence the improvement of production and profitability indicators, benefiting both livestock families and the environment,' said José Salvador, CATIE field technician in Morona Santiago.

José Saldaña, a farmer who participates in one of the Farmer Field Schools (Escuelas Campo), said he was very grateful to the institutions that carry out this training program, and noted that each module encourages him to change traditional livestock practices for new sustainable livestock practices, such as the development of fodder banks and the incorporation of improved pastures, in order to make his livestock farming more profitable and sustainable. 'I am very happy because it is the first time I see these trainings here in this sector,' said Saldaña.

The PROAmazonia program is implemented by MAATE and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG, its Spanish acronym), with support from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and financing from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

More information:

Santiago Garzón Proaño
ECA Coordinator Ecuador
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Written by:

Karla Salazar Leiva
Communicator
Information Technology and Communication
CATIE
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