Agriculture

(This post requires another caveat:  I am not an ag expert by any stretch of the imagination, so these are all observations that may, in fact, be seriously misguided from time to time.  In addition, this commentary may not be totally “fair and balanced,” but it is probably no worse than much of what’s out there.)

There have been some references to agriculture in previous posts, and if you’ve followed them all, you already know that Totogalpa is something like the tomato capital of Nicaragua.  Here I’ll try to expand a little bit and discuss agriculture in broader terms.  As I’ve been doing in past posts, a lot of the “discussion” will be in the form of pictures that I hope capture some of the interesting aspects of Nicaraguan agriculture.

I would break down the agriculture here into three principal types:  1) large, mono-culture commercial farms/plantations for export (rice, sugar, bananas, coffee, beef, etc.), 2) smaller, more diversified fincas where there is perhaps some mechanization (e.g., they may own a pickup or a small tractor) with crops grown for sale, but generally more locally (tomatoes, peppers, etc.) and 3) subsistence plots with mainly staples such as beans, corn and perhaps some silage-type crop.  Even from my limited observations, these categories are not comprehensive and absolute, plus there are other ways to categorize agriculture, such as chemical vs. organic.  In addition, tobacco for cigars is grown around Estelí, but tobacco tends to be labor-intensive and not so conducive to massive-scale farms.

A tobacco field for cigars near Esteli.  When the US embargoed Cuban cigars, a lot of cigar production moved to Nicaragua.

There are none of the large, commercial operations in the area I’m staying as they tend to be more in the lowlands where it is flatter and easier to implement large-scale operations.  I’ve not seen much of larger farms directly, but there are extensive rice fields near Sébaco, about half-way up from Managua.  I also know that there was a push back in the Somoza era to introduce cotton as an export crop and there is still some of that.  Cotton, of course, takes a heavy toll on the soil and this may have increased the use of chemicals.  We saw some sugar cane at a distance in the Leon area and experienced a coffee farm (but one that is very atypical).  These larger farms are generally using the corporate model of agriculture common in the developed world and for the most part do their share to support the Monsantos of the world.

Rice fields near Sébaco with burning in the background.

Picture of a couple of different ag chemical suppliers, both in towns near Sabana Grande, so even though we are not in a large-farm area, there is plenty of chemical use.  Note that both show crop dusting, although I’ve never seen or heard a small plane around here, let alone crop dusting planes.

Now I’ll sidetrack a bit and discuss some economics, another area I’m not an expert in, but why should that stop me?  There are plenty of people on radio/TV who probably know even less but seem to have a multitude of disciples!  When you consider the crops grown by large operations (rice, sugar, bananas, coffee, cotton, cacao…), you note that they are primarily for export (with the possible exception of rice, which is certainly a staple here).  The export of these crops, along with some timber and extracted minerals, has provided most of Nicaragua’s national income from colonial times onward.  Having such an economy, based on commodity export, appears to be one of the best ways to achieve the widest gap possible between rich and poor.  I have often lamented the consumer economy in the US as an almost obscene drain on the world’s resources, but I can now see at least one positive side.  In a consumer economy, the producers have a vested interest in the workers’ having the means to purchase—they can’t squeeze workers so hard that they stop buying.  (Henry Ford understood this 100 years ago.  The relatively high wages he paid were not altogether altruistic.)  In an export economy, however, there is absolutely no incentive to raise the level of the workers, but rather incentive to keep them as impoverished and desperate as possible, while the profits are all accruing to the few who are already wealthy.  This is how the economies of much of the developing world (generally ex-colonies) have been organized and may explain at least some of the persistent poverty in those countries. However, this same commodity export-based model that has led to tremendous inequality seems to be the very method of development promoted by much of the foreign aid, foreign investment, as well as policies of bodies like the World Bank.  Building a viable middle class in a commodity-export economy would seem to be a difficult proposition.  And now, back to our originally scheduled programming…

                         

There are a number of fincas in the vicinity of Sabana Grande and these are often marked by a gate designed for vehicles to pass through (unlike most houses, the finca houses don’t’ seem to be directly on a public street, but rather at the end of a private drive and not particularly visible from the street) plus signage giving the name of the farm and perhaps acknowledging the sources of funding for the operation.  Some are cooperatives, a relatively common form of business organization in Nicaragua and some are in private ownership.  While some of the fincas are buying in to heavy chemical enhancement to raise output (as evidenced by the ag chemical suppliers in most every town of any size), some are, or are in the process of going, organic.

Gate to a finca and a picture looking toward the house from the road.  Note how hidden the house area is.

More typical rural house with a barbed-wire gate, obviously not made for easy vehicle access.  In fact, barbed-wire must be one of the most-used products in the countryside.

Typical fence along a road.  Note how many rows of barbed wire and how closely the posts (or trees) are spaced.  Almost every square inch of land is enclosed by similar fences.

A co-operative farm with a pole-barn that could be at home in the US.

Hot houses on one of the local fincas.  These are not to extend the growing season since it doesn’t freeze here, but is more to protect the crops from insects and pests.

Fields with irrigation showing corn at the top an peppers/tomatoes at the bottom.  From the dark green color, the field at the bottom is probably fertilized chemically.

Subsistence farming is a hard life.  Like in the northern US, the growing season is about half the year, but here it’s the rainy season, rather than the warm season.  Plowing is done by oxen with plows that are basically sharpened tree trunks.  Harvesting is with machetes and threshing is with a stick on a raised stand.  Grazing is done on the steep hillsides and in the public right of way of roads.  A cow or two is often seen quietly grazing along the highway.  Traditionally, these farms have followed something of a slash-and-burn model, moving fields when the land is used up.  That is now changing at least in part because of the realization that clearing the hillsides (the only place left to go when the valleys were spent) leads to erosion, flooding, lower water tables, etc.  The re-forestation efforts of Grupo Fenix are both an attempt at remediation of the damage, plus a demonstration of the economic benefits of a diversified forest (a perma-culture model).

Oxen for plowing and pulling carts.

Elevated threshing stand showing farmers beating the grain with a stick.  It's strange to see 18th or 19th century methods, while the farmer may also be texting on a cell phone!

Typical road-side scenes. (including the litter)  The gate at the bottom is to the Centro Solar -- one of the passing bulls made his way into the yard and had to be helped out.

I’ve not seen large-scale feedlot operations and the cattle I’ve seen have been grazing on pasture (or ditches along the highway).  Most of the small farmers have a few animals, mostly very familiar to North Americans, although the particular breeds are a bit different.  One farm animal that is virtually universal in the country is the chicken—they are literally everywhere, cities and country.

A sampling of farm animals in the area.

The ubiquitous chickens.

There is ample evidence that Nicaragua officially recognizes the benefits of sustainable land use, of minimizing chemical use, of diversification, of reforestation, of water conservation, etc., because there are signs and banners proclaiming such in many places.  I have also seen several schools of agriculture, including one that is just a short walk south along the highway, so there are educational efforts to raise the knowledge-base of the local farmers.  I’m not sure if most of the focus is on large-scale farming or more on smaller-scale farms, but the nearby school (according to its sign) is focused on “appropriate” technologies (although what is appropriate is probably open to much debate). The bigger question, however, seems to be:  are these just slogans and buzz-words generated by bureaucrats in Managua (or Washington or Ottawa or Amsterdam…) or is the message truly being absorbed (and applied) by the populace?  Unfortunately, the short-term pressures of everyday life for the very poor likely trump any intellectual knowledge of long-term benefits of wise land use—cooking here still requires firewood, which requires cutting trees!  (Although I should be thinking in Spanish instead of German, the situation here relates well to one of my favorite quotes by the German playwright, Berthold Brecht, who stated:  “Erst kommt das Fressen, dann kommt die Moral,” which loosely paraphrased is:  First comes the basic subsistence of life, and only when that is taken care of can humans think of morality or other higher purposes.)  This short term view seems to be a general impediment to “progress in many developing countries, but when one sees close-up what life is like, one can hardly fault the people for wanting to survive until tomorrow and not worrying too much about a decade from now.

Banner and sign promoting re-forestation and water quality.

Local ag school near Sabana Grande which teaches appropriate technologies.

A steep hillside above Sabana Grande showing some clear-cutting with the trees just pushed into the ravine.  Obviously not everyone is getting the message about soil conservation and the importance of maintaining trees on the mountains.

One specific example of implementing sustainable practices we observed was at Selva Negra, a coffee farm/resort in the mountains near Matagalpa.  I’ll talk more about non-agricultural aspects of Selva Negra in another post, but the farm is a remarkable integration of many sustainable practices.  The coffee, of course, is grown in the shade, dispersed among other trees, such as bananas, citrus, etc.  The farm is very diverse with vegetables, flowers, beef, dairy (including cheese making), swine, poultry, etc.  The waste from each part of the operation is used in some other part and they even have a small on-site research facility to develop better practices.  Animal waste, depending on the animal, may be used for fertilizer, but may be better utilized for bio-gas production.  Coffee waste is difficult to deal with, but various waste products of the process are used to enhance composting or as food for worms.  Housing, a clinic and a school are provided for the workers and their families as the farm is about a 45 minute bus ride from Matagalpa.  There are, of course, many other coffee farms/plantations, some of which are striving to be organic.  Unfortunately, there is little incentive for the farmer, because they don't get much premium for organic, unlike the distributor, who charges much more for organic coffee.  All the coffee grown in the mountains is moved to lower, hotter elevations for drying.

This shows the coffee plants (they are really more bushes than trees as they are pruned back every three years.  Pickers do not need ladders at all to harvest the beans.  You can also see some banana and there are other, taller shade trees as well.

A view of some of the equipment in the beneficio at Selva Negra.  A beneficio is the place where coffee is processed to prepare it for the drying process.  This particular machine de-pulps the coffee and this is one of the first places the coffee goes after it is brought in.

You can’t really see them, but this is where the coffee hulls are broken down by worms.  Selva Negra uses two types of worms for different types of organic waste because the acid-level preference is different for different worms.  The plastic cover helps control light and moisture.

Large coffee-drying operation near Sabana Grande.  Done off-site from the growing because weather conditions that grow coffee don't dry it very well.