Heladia Arcia González, peasant from the Ngäbe-Buglé indigenous region. Photo: FAO
Heladia Arcia Gonzalez is a diligent student. In less than a year he learned to multiply much more than numbers: not only did he double the number of chickens and tubers on his plot in the Panamanian region of Ngäbe-Buglé, but he was also able to reinvest in his business without relying on beloved loans.
Heladia is a student at a box farming school. Its story is that of 3,000 indigenous women in rural Panama who are learning the skills to manage it.
The purpose of the school is to increase the production of vegetables and poultry on family plots to produce enough nutritious food and generate a greater source of income during the year.
The indigenous population of Panama represents more than 12% of the total population, the country has seven indigenous communities that basically live in six regions or counties. They are traditionally disadvantaged teams with demanding economic expansion situations given that poverty in these regions affects more than 85% of the population.
Indigenous men in Panama earn on average 57 cents less than non-indigenous men, while they earn about 70 cents less.
However, the statistic that worries most is that six out of 10 young people suffer from chronic malnutrition in these regions, which affects only their expansion but also their ability to be informed and their long-term development.
“I consumed, I sold, I made money and I had a feast that I had not had,” says Heladia when referring to her participation in the productive inclusion program Social Cohesion, implemented through the Ministry of Social Development.
The spirit of the social team is one more money program, that is, it provides for production that complements other existing aids. In this case, it joined the Oportunidades Network, a conditional money movement program established since 2006 in Panama, which delivers per economic month to mothers whose children are in school and receive regular fitness checks.
The social team spirit has given Opportunity Network recipients a way to generate income of their own. The programme focused on women from other indigenous communities, who live in the poorest areas of the country.
Gaston Mariano Blanco, Senior Social Protection Specialist at the World Bank, says the main purpose of the social team spirit program is the food security of families living in extreme poverty in Panama. The program also contributes to improving the living conditions of those families in order to build the human capital of their children.
Peasant cash schools
In box cultivation schools, academics and their instructors, who are agricultural technicians, identify disorders and responses to crops through hands-on learning. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has developed the technique called the school of boxes for agriculture. in other countries since the 1980s. These schools are important for the implementation of rural productive inclusion projects.
Basically, the instructors speak the language of the network and are part of it. While education is basically technical, nutritional and nutritional recommendations are also provided to inspire behaviors that replace healthier eating. For example, the seeds that are delivered are accompanied by vegetables, foods that were not in the past a local staple.
Throughout this educational process, they are also provided with agricultural tools, seeds, chickens and poultry feed, thus editing the transfer of wisdom.
After a year of participation in the program, Heladia increased the production of its agricultural plots: it earned USD 570 from the sale of its surplus production of yam and banana. On other occasions, it had implemented loans for long harvests; this time, however, he invested the money he earned and did not take out a loan.
Úrsula Martínez, a specialist in social coverage at the World Bank, says that a transversal technique of the program is “to empower women through the economic empowerment that is achieved by expanding their skills to give a contribution to the household. “of the products their access to economic and monetary resources and highlight their role in the community.
Women’s participation in farm board schools has also “developed their voice. “Initially they spoke little in the workshops, but they have become more expressive and participatory.
The Ministry of Social Development implemented this programme in coordination with FAO, with investments and technical assistance from the World Bank. An impact assessment, which is nearing completion, is expected to yield favorable evidence to scale up the pilot assignment. up at the national level.
This site uses cookies to optimize capacity and provide you with the most productive experience imaginable. If you continue to browse this online page beyond this page, cookies will be placed in your browser. For more information about cookies, click here.