The peasant farmers encounter many difficulties in marketing their agricultural products as they retain little control over commodity prices and commercialisation channels. Government trading-policies that favour agro-industries and large-scale plantations have often meant increased economic fragility and malnutrition for the local farmers.
The farmer associations are seeking to build-up local economies and evoke traditional forms of exchange of goods. The Agroecological School has undertaken a strategy of socially-just and ecological marketing that favours equitable returns, direct trading and agro-climatic diversity, based on more than 30 locally-produced organic products.
Our work has also focused on developing rural micro-enterprise schemes that encourage community-processing technologies such as: chocolate, wines, milk and meat products, bread and cakes, fruit conserves and herbal medicines. This has been complemented by research work on the nutritional benefits of organic products and the use of bio-materials in ecological packaging and handicrafts.
