The Contribution of Organic Farming to Farmer and Ecosystem Resilience in a Changing Climate
– A Comparison of Different Cacao Cultivation Systems in Alto Beni, Bolivia.

In Alto Beni, Bolivia, the production of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) is one of the main sources of income. Farmers in the region have formed producers’ associations to enhance organic cultivation and obtain fair prices since the 1980s. These local initiatives to improve natural and socio-economic conditions in the Bolivian secondary rainforests form an ideal basis for research to contribute to the scarce data basis on organic agriculture in the tropics and to evaluate its performance regarding the producers’ livelihood situation with special emphasis on climate change adaptation strategies. Four different land-use systems were classified according to their ecological complexity (successional or multistrata agroforestry system, simple agroforestry system, traditional system, monoculture) for comparative purposes. On the basis of the long-term system comparisons in field trials by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in Alto Beni, aspects of their field trials are applied for the use in on-farm research. Thus, a comparison of soil fertility, biomass and crop diversity is combined with qualitative interviews and participatory observation methods. The aim of the Echanges-Universitaires-project, which was part of a larger research project, was capacity building in Bolivia in the field of organic agriculture and continuing cooperation between the research institutions Centre for Development and Environment (CDE, University of Bern), and the Instituto de Ecología (Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz) through field work with students from Bolivia and their supervisors.
   

Producer of certified organic cacao explaining the advantages of his successional agroforestry system near Sapecho, Bolivia (2009)

In a three months field work study, data for three Master’s theses (University of La Paz) and part of the data for a PhD thesis (University of Berne) were gathered conjointly. Activities were soil sampling and mappings of biodiversity aspects (abundance of native bee species, abundance of their main nectar sources and abundance and species richness of ants). This information is compared in the different land use systems (mainly organic vs. conventional cocoa cultivation) for the Master’s theses and combined in the PhD thesis with socioeconomic information from qualitative interviews with the participating farmers in order to determine perceived impacts of climate change on farming in the area and to better understand the rationales behind farmers’ land-use system choices. After the field study, a final workshop with the participating farmers, students and their supervisors was held in the research area. In the workshop, preliminary results such as a comparison of the soil organic matter content in the different cultivation systems was presented and a participatory climate hazard impact assessment¹ followed by a coping and adaptation strategies assessment was conducted. Participants were cocoa producers from organic agroforestry systems (both successional or multistrata and simple) as well as from conventional monocultures. Rising temperatures and an extended dry season ranked highest among the impacts of climate change for cocoa trees and the working conditions of the producers. This perception was clearly supported by climate data from PIAF-El Ceibo gathered since the 1060s in the research area. During the discussion, the importance of the organic matter content in the soil was stressed for adaptation as well as shade trees in the cultivation system. As obstacles in the installation of agroforestry systems, missing technical support and a general lack of equipment was mentioned. Further, cocoa yields are often lower for the short term than in monocultures. This could be compensated by better production and marketing strategies of fruits and other products from agroforestry systems, as several farmers stated.