Agroecology in semiarid Chaco forests of Argentina: transdisciplinary analysis of a sustainable peasant farm

• Published in: Agroecology and sustainable food systems 2021-09, Vol.45 (8), p.1139-1164
• Main Authors: S M, Cotroneo, A, Walsh, E J, Jacobo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural ecosystems; Agricultural expansion; agroecological lighthouse; Agroecology; Cash crops; Context; Farming; Farming systems; Farms; multiple-use forest management; Peasant farming; Public policy; Socio-ecological system; Subsystems; Sustainability; Sustainable agriculture; Sustainable use
• ISSN: 2168-3565; 2168-3573
• DOI: 10.1080/21683565.2021.1887045

Forest and traditional cultures are threatened by agricultural expansion in the Dry-Chaco region of Argentina, where sustainable farming systems have scarcely been documented. Combining peasant and academic knowledge, we have addressed a distinctive peasant agroecosystem, describing multiple dimensions and analyzing sustainability processes in three nested scales: farm subsystems, the farm as a system, and farm links with its social-ecological context. Key synergies between management and natural assets conservation are revealed in detail, as well as productive activities (7) and species (75), of which their ecology and possible uses (43) are well known. This allows high productivity and self-sufficiency levels that account for most of the family economy, the majority of which is non-monetary and not linked to cash crop farming. Strong links to community, peasant organizations, NGO´s and public institutions help to manage and deal with external threats. However, public policy for rural infrastructure does not always contemplate peasants as inhabitants of the region. Traditional knowledge enables sustainable use of the Chaco forest. Nevertheless, additional support from other stakeholders would appear to be a necessary requirement in order to harness the potential of locally based peasant farming in the current threatened context.