Strengthening Small-Scale Agricultural Production in the Andean highlands of Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, and Cañar (Ecuador) and in the Piura region (Peru)

The project aims to strengthen resilient value chains for milk, small livestock, and family farming to ensure control of the agricultural frontier in the Andean paramo and conserve ecosystem services in the face of local effects of climate change. The beneficiaries include 8,392 small farmers and livestock keepers (4,280 women and 4,112 men) in high Andean rural areas. Some of the achieved results include agroecological production, where eight producer associations in Cotopaxi, Tungurahua, Cañar (Ecuador), and Piura (Peru) (around 1,200 producers and their families) implement good practices in small-scale family farming and livestock management based on sustainable use of water, soil, and waste utilization. Additionally, the agricultural sector and local governments in Ecuador and Peru have enhanced their capacities to develop Climate Change Plans based on Climate-Compatible Development and in line with national regulations. Implementation and trials funded by local funds FMPLPT (Ecuador) and FORASAN (Peru) have consolidated a financial model, financing agricultural activities ensuring increased resilience of agri-food chains, control of the agricultural frontier in high Andean areas, and efficient water usage. Furthermore, sustainable best practices and methodologies implemented in Climate-Compatible Agricultural Development and fundable by local funds (Tungurahua and Piura) are systematized, disseminated, and replicated at the national and regional levels.