ABSTRACT
A characterization and analysis of the production systems of aromatic, medicinal and spice plants (AMSP) was carried out in La Molana, Atrato-Chocó, Colombia throughout the identification of their biophysical, socioeconomic and financial characteristics, in order to propose agroecological alternatives that solve the problems and identified needs in said systems; applying methodologies and evaluation indicators of agricultural systems addressed to sustainable rural development, design, implementation and evaluation of agroforestry arrangements, agroforestry systems accompanied by WOST analysis, and agroforestry planning of productive units (APPU), this information was collected through the application of a focal workshop and semi-structured questionnaires to 40 smallholders. Therefore, eight productive units (UP) with four plots and four rooftop, which was characterized throughout a simple random sampling without replacement. The results indicate that these smallholders destine 15.6 ha to AMSP production, from which 11 ha are crops structured in plots within native forests and 4.6 ha are destined to crops in rooftops around the houses. The units produce on average, 110 units (bunches) per week, which are offered to informal vendors in the market place of Quibdo-Choco, Colombia with prices which ranged from COP $ 1000 to COP $ 3000 according to plant size and species. Likewise, was determined that the economic incomes of the AMSP units depend mainly on the following planted species: Cilantro cimarrón (Eryngium foetidum L.), cimarron (Eryngium foetidum L.), Albahaca (Ocimum basilicum L.) and Oregano (Origanum vulgare L.), which are the most economically important species in the study area.
Subject(s)
Plants, Medicinal , Ethnobotany , Social Planning , Colombia , BiodiversityABSTRACT
Con el propósito de analizar la importancia del Desarrollo Rural Sustentable (DRS) se presenta una revisión bibliográfica que explora, con base en elementos filosóficos y teóricos, un grupo de experencias mundiales, que busca finalmente construir un modelo conceptual de DRS, el cual se pueda operacionalizar y evaluar en aproximaciones iterativas. Esta propuesta está basada en la participación democrática de los pueblos y en el manejo de su ambiente para alcanzar un desarrollo igualitario, sustentable y sostenido. El manejo ambiental que se propone, conjuga así los objetivos de la democracia política y económica, con la social y cultural a través de un proceso de descentralización económica y política, guiado por los principios del ordenamiento ecológico de las actividades productivas, de la diversidad étnica y biológica del ambiente y de la autogestión productiva de las comunidades. La concepción del DRS planteada, por el hecho de ser una abstracción mental y por ser un proceso contenido en tiempos, contextos socio-económicos y ambientales diferentes, no puede construirse como un enunciado generalizador. Aunque, es probable que líneas de su diseño pudieran estrapolarse hacia ámbitos generales de otras comunidades.
To analyze the importance of Sustainable Rural Development (SRD), the literature was reviewed for philosophical and theoretical elements of global experiences. The final objective was to construct a conceptual and operational model of SRD which could be evaluated using interactive approximations. This proposal is based on the democratic participation of targeted communities and management of their environment to achieve balanced and sustainable development. Environmental management thus combines the objectives of political and economic democracy with social and cultural ones through a process of economic and political decentralization. It is guided by principles of ecological organization surrounding production activities, ethnic and biological diversity in the environment, and productive self-management of the communities. The proposed concept of SRD, being a mental abstraction and a time involved process with different socio-economic and environmental contexts, cannot be constructed as a general statement. Instead, it is likely that its design would be more useful at providing general insights for others communities.