Implementing Silvopastural Agro-Ecosystems in Plan del Milagro, Limon Ecuador

Ecuador faces a range of conservation issues including but not limited to erosion/landslides, biodiversity loss, habitat fragmentation/edge effect, deforestation, watershed pollution, and pasture abandonment. Ecuadorian cattle ranchers exist at the intersection of these conservation issues and food production. Many cattle ranchers in the Plan del Milagro, Limon region face a unique swath of issues including lack of access to high-protein fodder and low incomes on top of the conservation issues previously stated. Silvopasture, as a potential livestock practice, could mitigate conservation issues while providing farmers with vertically grown high-protein fodder for their cows along with diversified streams of income. The trees in a silvopastural operation stabilize the soil to prevent erosion/landslides, increase the water holding/use capacities of the land to reduce runoff and watershed pollution, provide shade to decrease the stress of the livestock and increase livestock production, decrease the need to abandon pastures due to pasture degradation, act as corridors for wildlife to move through increasing local biodiversity and combatting habitat fragmentation/edge effects, and support local farmers by increasing food security and diversifying streams of income by providing alternative products to bring to market (wood, fruit, beans, flowers, etc.). The local farming community of Plan del Milagro is interested in pursuing silvopasture as a method for producing livestock, but lack the time, labor, and capital input requirements to do so. Interviews with the community indicate that local extension offices, the municipality of Limon Indanza, and local policy makers should connect with and further support farmer transitions into silvopastural modes of production to ensure a future of farming and landscape conservation in the area.