Subject: WSAA NEWSLETTER: PART 1 OF 3
From: [email-masked] (World Sustainable Agriculture Association)
Date: 1 Jul 1994 20:51:54 -0400
Newsgroups: alt.sustainable.agriculture

DEAR FRIENDS OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE -

The World Sustainable Agriculture Association is an
association of autonomous organizations and like-minded 
individuals joined together in 1991 for the purpose of 
advancing sustainable food and farming systems.  

The WSAA Newsletter, now being produced quarterly, may be 
reproduced freely with credit to individual authors and WSAA. 
It is posted here in three parts due to its length and for ease
of selecting articles of most interest.  Views expressed are those 
of the authors and do not necessarily represent the positions of 
WSAA or its Associates.  Subscriptions are available for $18/year 
from the California office.  Those wishing to exchange newsletters, 
please contact the Washington Office, which houses a small but 
growing Resource Center on Sustainable Agriculture.  For further 
information, contact: 

Office of the Executive Director
8554 Melrose Avenue
West Hollywood, CA 90069 USA
Tel:  (310) 657-7202    Fax:  (310) 657-3884
Email:  [email-masked]

Newsletter Editor
WSAA Washington
1331 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
WDC, 20004  USA
Tel:  (202) 347-0637    Fax:  (202) 347-0654
Email:  [email-masked]

WORLD SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER     
Dedicated to the well being of all people in harmony with Nature

VOLUME 3  NUMBER 13    SUMMER 1994

IN THIS ISSUE:

PART I

FOCUS ON FARMERS:  
     New Approaches to Agriculture in Central America and Mexico

REGIONAL FOCUS:  Mexico and Central America
     First International Organic Coffee Conference, Chiapas
     La Providencia Coffee Cooperative, El Salvador
     El Salvador at a Developmental Crossroads
     Intensive Organic Agriculture for Chiapas, Mexico
     Agrinet:  Electronic Information Network for Mexico

PART II

FOCUS ON POLICY: 
     Leveraging Change for Agriculture in International Institutions 
     Call for Input:  Indicators of Sustainability
     Protecting the Earth for Sustainable Development

PART III

FOCUS ON HEALTH:  WSAA Health Directorate Update (synopsis)

NEWS IN BRIEF
     "Two Years After UNCED" Conference Set for July in US
     America's Farmers are Gaining Ground
     Australians Look to Future with Sustainable Farming
     Special Thanks to Contributing Editors

RESOURCES
     Brief Reviews of Publications:
     Two Steps Backward, One Step Forward:  Cuba
     Growing our Future:  Food Security and the Environment
     Growing Dilemmas:  Guatemala, the Environment, Global Economy
     Pesticide Problems in Caribbean Basin
     FactSheet on Agriculture and the World Bank

FOCUS ON RESEARCH:  Working with Nature in Mexico

                             ****

FOCUS ON FARMERS

NEW APPROACHES TO AGRICULTURE IN CENTRAL AMERICA
AND MEXICO  by Jim Adriance

	During the last 50 years the environment in Central America 
has suffered enormous damage as the result of human development 
activities.  Large-scale commercial activities in agriculture, forestry, 
livestock, etc. have caused the greatest damage.  In addition, social 
inequities in land ownership have increasingly forced subsistence 
farmers onto more and more fragile ecosystems such as hillsides, 
watersheds, and lowland rainforest regions.  As the agricultural 
frontier shrinks, subsistence farmers have fewer options for 
migration and therefore their interest is growing in techniques 
that conserve resources while giving good production and economic 
returns.

	There are other factors fueling the movement by small-scale 
farmers in Central America towards sustainable agricultural 
methods.  Decreasing returns in production from chemical inputs 
along with their increasing costs, as well as the lack of credit for 
small-scale farmers (due to structural adjustment) are important 
factors motivating farmers.  At the same time, there has been 
significant growth in the number and availability of productive 
farmer-friendly techniques developed by NGOs working closely 
with farmers.  

	In the past, government extensionists and people from a 
variety of organizations came to small-scale farmers in the region 
pushing different fixed models of organic and green revolution 
agriculture without taking into account increased labor and cash 
costs to the"se farmer.  Farming practices have been forced on farmers 
who have not had the chance to adapt them slowly and specifically 
according to the unique characteristics of their land.  This has resulted 
in further economic hardship and increased resentment by farmers 
towards those trying to implement improvements.  Working closely 
with farmers to tailor sustainable practices to their particular conditions 
has been much more successful.

	World Neighbors, an NGO that has worked for 25 years in 
Central America, has done much work with farmers to develop 
sustainable techniques.  Their work has shown one can get 2-5 fold 
increases in production on small hillside parcels that have been farmed 
with slash-and-burn techniques.  Increases in production and reduction 
of costs are usually the most interesting to the farmers.  Part of World 
Neighbors' strategy is to take new farmers to see farmers who have 
developed and used sustainable techniques in order to get a first 
hand look at success.  Environmental benefits such as reduced soil 
erosion, improved soil quality, and reduced chemical contamination, 
are important components of these new techniques. 

	Dissemination and transfer of ideas, sharing and spreading of 
information between NGOs and farmer groups has been 
critical to the success and growth of the sustainable agriculture 
movement in Central America.  A horizontal approach to technology 
transfer has often been more successful than a vertical model where 
experts come in with solutions from the outside.  The premise of 
many outside extensionists is that farmers are ignorant and that 
outsiders have the answers.  What outsiders often fail to see is the 
farmer rationale for different practices.  Among the benefits 
of slash-and-burn agriculture for example is killing of pests, clearing 
a large area in a short time, and low labor costs.

	Several NGOs in the region have shown great ability at working 
with farmers to find techniques that not only cost less but increase 
the short-run and long-run productivity of their land.  Facilitating 
farmer-to-farmer exchanges of information and encouraging local leaders 
to continue experimentation are integral parts of this work.

	Contributing to the movement, SIMAS (Servicio de Informacion 
Mesoamerican sobre Agricultura Sostenible) in Nicaragua is 
documenting techniques and training methodologies that are working 
and they are publishing them in a "farmer friendly" style and 
making them available to farmers, NGOs and governments.  In many 
countries, networks are being built and information is being 
communicated.  A group in Honduras, CIDICCO (The International 
Covercrop Clearinghouse) has been working for five years to 
document and share information on nitrogen-fixing covercrops. 
CIDICCO is now connected to over 500 organizations in 63 
countries through publications and electronic mail.  ALTERTEC in 
Guatemala has organized several Central America initiatives 
including annual organic farmer meetings (160 people attended this 
year, up from 40 people four years ago) and building national 
organic certification capacity.   COSECHA, in Honduras, provides 
training to NGOs, farmer leaders, government workers, and others in a 
farmer-first, farmer-to-farmer methodology that has been successful 
with small scale farmers.

	There are limits and constraints in the movement towards 
sustainable agriculture in Central America.  One "recipe" will not 
work for all farmers and should not be forced on them because of 
success elsewhere.  Experimentation must be encouraged 
and patience is necessary.  Farmers must be allowed to adapt to their 
specific situation and abilities.  Research needs to be done on proving 
which techniques might$ke better in certain areas.  Documentation of 
the results of new techniques must be improved and communication 
about results, good and bad, should also be improved. ***

Jim Adriance was a Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica, working 
with farmers to diversify agriculture by introducing new crops in a 
primarily coffee producing area.  During his time at the Inter- 
American Foundation, he worked for five years in Peru and Ecuador 
with projects in community health, microenterprise, land-use 
planning and rural development.  For the past two years he has 
focused on sustainable agriculture and regional integration in 
Central America.  He may be contacted at the Inter-American 
Foundation, 901 N. Stuart Street, Arlington, Virginia; tel: (703) 841-
3800; fax:  (703) 525-9315; email: [email-masked].

A more detailed International Sustainable Agriculture Issues Report 
on this topic is available from WSAA Washington for US$3.00 
(includes postage and handling).  

REGIONAL FOCUS:  MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA

The focus for this quarterly issue is Mexico and selected 
countries in Central America.  It is not at all representative
of the work towards sustainable agriculture in the region,
but is a brief glimpse of the activity occurring as people
seek to revitalize their soils, farms and communities.

FIRST INTERNATIONAL ORGANIC COFFEE CONFERENCE HELD IN 
CHIAPAS, MEXICO       

	The first international organic coffee conference, sponsored 
by the Mexican Association of Ecological Farmers (AMAE) and the 
International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) 
was held in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico April 11-14.  Approximately
320 participants from 16 countries, both producers and traders, met 
to discuss biological pest control, norms, certification and quality control, 
ecological management of plantations and social organization and fair 
trade.

	Jose E. Juarez Varela, of the Union de Ejidos de la Selva, 
addressed the conference from the point of view of his union of 
coffee growers, representing producers from 30 indigenous 
communities in Chiapas:

	"We have come to this first International IFOAM Conference 
on Organic Coffee after a large process of preparation and discussion
concentrating on three issues of major importance.  That is, the 
construction of markets and the definition of norms on certification 
that guarantee the consumers the nature of the product they are 
requiring; the development, promotion and diffusion of an adequate 
technology for organic production in the sense that sustainable 
agriculture doesn't mean stop doing things but doing them in another 
way, nor renouncing the increase of productivity but doing it another 
way; and finally, the consolidation of social bases that are needed to 
impulse a project of this character.

	The fall in prices (of coffee on the world market) has caused 
hundreds of thousands of small growers of this aromatic product all 
over the world to experience enormous financial difficulties.  It has 
stimulated larger groups of growers to search for niches in the 
market with more rentability, such as organic coffee.  At the same 
time, it has brought others to decline the intensive use of 
agrochemicals to increase production and combat plagues, and to 
reevaluate the use of organic compost and the labour force of family 
as a way of reducing production costs.

	However, it wouldn't be just to state that economic motivations 
are the only or major factors responsible for the development of 
organic agriculture.  At the same time, other motivations are 
important.  First of all, the growing conscience among growers that it 
is necessary to cultivate in harmony with the environment, instead 
of abusing it, to value the earth as a patrimony of humanity and to 
look after it for future generations.  This conscience is the seed of a 
new vision of civilization.

	In the second place we have to consider the real roots of 
traditional agricultural practices still existing among a lot of growers.  
Without giving mythical propositions to qualities in the past, it is 
true that there exists an accumulated agricultural knowledge with 
elements on how to manage natural resources in a sustainable way, 
ignored by the green revolutions, but which large groups of growers 
-- most of them indigenous -- have preserved and practiced.

	In the third place, the existence of a growing market, on the 
one hand because of consumers preoccupied for their own health, the 
natural environment and for the well being of growers, on the other 
because of commercial and industrial agents responding to these 
demands, have constructed bonds that facilitate the expansion of 
organic agriculture.  

	Finally, the activities of foundation, NGO's and universities have 
contributed in a real spirit of solidarity to promote this kind of agriculture 
and have recognized it as a key to create just relations of cooperation 
between the North and the South."

Ed's Note:  The Union de Ejidos de la Selva R.I., Las Margaritas, 
Chiapas, Mexico is a member of C.N.O.C., the national Coalition of 
Coffee Farmer Cooperatives.  C.N.O.C. is committed to "Producing 
better coffee...and a better society."  For further information, contact 
Gabriela Ejea, CNOC, Tabasco 262 Desp. 301 Col. Roma C.P. 06700 D.F. 
Mexico; Tel: 514 02 05; Fax: 207 05 08.

	La Selva co-op is a member of Aztec Harvests Coffee Company, 
incorporated in 1992 by several of Mexico's farmer coops 
participating in CNOC, to give farmers direct access to coffee markets 
in the United States, and help them gain fairer prices for their 
product, which they control "from the coffee plant to the roasting 
plant."  Aztec Harvests' La Selva co-op is implementing reforestation 
projects and a sustainable organic cultivation program.  It is a model 
program for other Aztec Harvests organic farmers in Mexico, and 
includes an informational database on soil history, farmers, and 
their cultivation of organic coffee.  Contact Lilith von Foerster of Aztec 
Harvest at 1480 66th Street, Emeryville, CA 94608, USA; Tel: (510) 
652-2100; Fax: (510) 652-2636.

	For more information about the conference, contact:  Jose A. 
Dardon Hernandez, Conference Organizer, Finca San Miguel, Calle 
Central Poniente No. 14-A, Tapachula, Chiapas, 30700 Mexico; Tel: 
962-51682; Fax: 962-60455 or Bernward Geier, IFOAM General 
Secretary, Okozentrum Imsbach, D-66636 Tholey-Theley, Germany; 
Tel: (49) 6853-5190; Fax: (49) 6853-30110.

LA PROVIDENCIA:  POST WAR RESTORATION THROUGH 
APPLICATION OF ORGANIC PRODUCTION METHODS IN A COFFEE 
COOPERATIVE
by Salvador Alfredo Palma

	El Salvador, a densely populated country in Central America, is a 
nation with an economy based on agriculture.  Unfortunately in El 
Salvador agriculture is practiced with an intense and often irrational use 
of pesticides.  The country is second among the most deforested in 
Central America, and this has led to a severe level of overall ecological 
deterioration.  Added to this in 1980 was a decade long civil war which 
made it impossible to farm in a "normal" manner.  One positive aspect of 
these war stricken areas is that they have become real natural resource 
reserves.  The inhabitants of these zones, who are mostly poor small 
farmers and agrarian reform cooperatives, had little opportunity for 
development during the armed conflict.  These farmers and cooperatives 
are now considering organic crop production as an important 
opportunity and solution to their economic and social problems.

	In this ex-conflictive area the La Providencia Cooperative is 
implementing one of the organic coffee production projects which has 
been certified by OCIA (Organic Crop Improvement Association).  This 
project is yielding substantial benefits to Coop members and at the same 
time is producing a commodity with a growing demand among 
consumers both eager to acquire products free from contaminants, and 
aware of the need to protect the world we all are living in.  La 
Providencia is encouraged by the fact that their production efforts are 
resulting in economic benefits allowing them to find solutions to their 
social needs.

The La Providencia Cooperative

	La Providencia Cooperative is located in Canton La Ceiba, 
Municipality of San Augustin, Department of Usulutan, Republic of El 
Salvador.  It was organized inj982 as a result of the national agrarian 
reform fomented by the  Government.  The coop membership is 
currently 147 members, 60 women and 87 men.  The cooperative is 
located in a region that was seriously affected by the civil war, which 
ended with the signing of the Peace Accords in December 1991.  This 
means that from 1980 to the end of 1991 it was impossible to 
systematically work the farms in this region.

	This situation resulted in two major phenomena regarding coffee 
farms in the region:  (a)  Almost 90% of these farms were abandoned or 
only minimum maintenance activities were carried out, thus leading to a 
sharp drop in the coffee yields to only 70-140 kg/hectare; (b) as 
mentioned, plantation maintenance was poor or not done at all, but did 
result in the beginning of a process of regeneration of the tropical humid 
forest which has fostered abundant biodiversity.  This regeneration has 
occurred in such a way that currently La Providencia is not facing severe 
pest or disease problems due to the natural control and repellent efects 
that some species of insects and trees are having on the plantation.  
Nutritional deficiencies are also at a minimum.  

	In order to preserve and appropriately handle this plant and 
animal wealth, an agreement was signed between the La Providencia 
Cooperative, UCRAPROBEX (Union of Agrarian Reform Cooperatives 
Working in Coffee Production, Processing and Exporting), and CLUSA, 
(Cooperative League of the United States of America).  These combined 
efforts resulted in La Providencia being the first coffee farm certified by 
OCIA as producers of organic coffee in El Salvador.  This places El 
Salvador in a group of fourteen organic coffee exporting countries in 
Latin America.

	Achievements.  The Organic Certified Coffee Project has resulted 
in significant achievements in the following major areas:

	Training:  Cooperative members have acquired abilities and 
knowledge of the organic production process.  This has resulted in an 
increase of motivation, income, farm maintenance, and improved 
working discipline.

	Production/Agronomic:  Coffee farms have recovered significantly 
through trunk pruning or branch layering practices.  Plants treated with 
this technique show a vigorous production of new growth.  Due to the 
good results obtained through pruning, this technique is now accepted in 
spite of the fact that in the beginning it had a negative impact on yield.  

	Compost fertilization has had a noticeable positive impact.  Coffee 
plants treated with this technique are developing soundly; these are 
primarily the trees that were pruned.

	Soil conservation practices have allowed the maintenance and 
protection of those areas susceptible to erosion within the farm.

	Ecological.  The absence of the use of agrichemicals in the organic 
coffee plantation and in reserve areas has progressively allowed for a 
high level of recovery of the natural biological balance (wild fauna and 
flora).

	Cooperative members are now aware of the importance of 
ecological issues and as a result have assigned an area as a forest 
reserve, and through reforestation with Teak trees former deforested 
areas have now recovered.

	Socio-economic:  The use of techniques such as pruning, shade tree 
control, compost fertilization, soil conservation works, and composting 
structure construction for the preparation of organic fertilizer, creates 
the continuous need of hand labor and of agricultural and animal 
byproducts.  At the same time these activities have supplemented the 
process of an agricultural revitalization of the community.  Family 
incomes, opportunities for employment, and use of appropriate 
technologies have all increased.

	Marketing:  Initial sales of organic coffee production have allowed 
the cooperative to have an income that has been used to pay off working 
loans and also provide profit margins they have never experienced 
before. Additional manpower is required at all stages of the organic 
coffee production process which positively affects the socioeconomic well 
being of Coop members who now have access to steady employment.  

	This project was funded by USAID through the Cooperative League 
of the United States of America (CLUSA), with the cooperation of 
UCRAPROBEX, the cooperative union which exports "Pipil" coffee.

	For further information contact:  Ing. Salvador Alfredo Palma, 
CLUSA, Avenida Las Acacias 130, San Benito, San Salvador; tels: 
(503) 98-2765, 98-2806, 98-2974; fax: (503) 98-3476.

(Eds. Note:  This is an edited version of a paper delivered in April 1994 
at the First International Organic Coffee Conference, cosponsored by the 
Mexican Association of Ecological Farmers (AMAE) and the International 
Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM).  The agrarian 
reform cooperative, "La Providencia," was awarded the 1993 National 
Ecology Award of El Salvador for their outstanding and pioneering 
achievements in reversing ecological decline through organic agricultural 
production.  As noted by the author, "despite the critical situation they 
were facing, they undertook the task of changing over to the organic 
production system with great effort, devotion, and tenacity."  

EL SALVADOR AT A DEVELOPMENTAL CROSSROADS
by Monika Firl

	El Salvador, after 12 years of civil war, finds itself at an historic 
developmental crossroads.  The Peace Accords signed in 1992 outline 
a reinsertion plan for ex-combatants and a national reconstruction 
plan that includes legal land transfers to the campesino population, 
support for educational programs and vocational workshops, and 
credits for productive projects.  Additionally, a slight shift in the 
political balance insinuates that these tendencies could be 
incorporated into a permanent national platform.  This is the moment 
when El Salvador could alter its development path from subsistence 
to sustainability.

	But as with any post-war situation, this is also a moment of 
enormous social pressure.  Urgent needs in housing, health care, 
education and increased productive capacity require immediate 
decisions.  Juxtaposedly, the environmental crisis facing El Salvador 
requires that these decisions be as meticulously planned and 
executed as possible.  Environmentally speaking, there is very little 
"margin of error" in El Salvador.

Problems are Obvious, Solutions Less So

	According to a survey done by the Interagency Mission of the 
United Nations in February 1992, there exist four general situations 
that should be considered "environmental emergencies" in El 
Salvador: soil depletion; deforestation; pesticide residues; and the 
overall contamination of water in the majority of El Salvador's rivers 
and lakes.  This reality affects the criteria with which planners and 
poicy makers must approach development questions; mistakes could 
be irreversible.

	Organic agricultural production, natural pesticides, natural 
medicines and community-scale recycling projects are hot topics of 
debate among the gamut of progressive, non-governmental 
development offices taking up the gauntlet to face El Salvador's 
development quandary.  Unfortunately, these discussions are often 
held in absence of an enormous quantity of information and 
experience that others have already gathered.  An adequate system 
of collecting, systematizing, evaluating and disseminating practical 
information on these topics simply does not exist in El Salvador.

	During 12 years of civil war, when open communication was a 
hazardous business, a popular social movement was forced to 
develop education, health and productive projects in isolation from 
each other.  Today, in "peace" it is assumed that the same kinds of 
hazards no longer exist.  But the shift to open coordination and 
exchange of practical information and experience has not come 
naturally to most development groups.

	Interviews at universities, research centers and development 
offices in El Salvador reveal that a considerable amount of ideas, 
information and practical experience in designing and implementing 
sustainable development models do indeed exist within the country.  
But in general that information remains locked within a tight circle of 
authors.  There is very little information exchange among distinct 
development offices doing similar work in different geographical and 
political zones within the country.  

	El Salvador has been able to an even lesser extent to take 
advantage of an outside world of information on appropriate 
technologies, environmental protection and more efficient use of 
natural resources.  During the war in El Salvador these lines of 
communication were cut.  Knowledge of many technical options 
remains 'untapped."

A Cooperative Center for Information on Alternative 
Technologies

	The "Centro Cooperativo de Informacion sobre Tecnologias 
Alternativas" (CENCITA) is an effort to facilitate the exchange of 
information among community members, technicians and planners 
within El Salvador and between El Salvador and the international 
community.  CENCITA is an independent project under the legal 
umbrella of FUNDESYRAM, a Salvadoran Foundation for socio-
economic development and environmental recuperation.  

	CENCITA is organized as a "cooperative," comprised of 
associates representing local universities, research centers, 
development organizations, and rural communities and cooperatives, 
each with their corresponding rights and responsibilities.  
Information gathered from each of these associates constitutes the 
basis for a network of local information exchanges.

	The ultimate objective of CENCITA is to achieve a 
"democratization" of information.  As "first steps" in this process, 
CENCITA is facilitating the exchange of information at several levels 
among its own network of associates.

Information Exchange Between "Campesinos" and "Campesina"

	The "campesino" or "campesina" who actually works the land for 
his or her survival are the people most desperately needing access to 
practical, technical information about how to recover, conserve and 
most wisely use his or her natural resources.  But the reality is that 
they are generally the last individuals to find this kind of information 
in their own hands.

	As a means of "democratizing" technical information, CENCITA--
in partnership with local development organizations--is facilitating fora 
for technical information exchange among "campesinos" and 
"campesinas."   This information will then be systematized and 
redistributed to each participant and to the participating organizations, 
and will be disseminated via popular media such as written guidebooks 
and community radio stations.

Information Exchange Between "Tecnicos" and "Tecnicas"

	As a mechanism to put into practice the exchange and 
systemization of information among "tecnicos" and "tecnicas" working 
in the field, CENCITA is facilitating the formation of "technical round-
tables."  Each technical round-table would have one particular area of 
sustainable technology as its focus.  Topics in agriculture will include 
organic fertilizers, soil and water conservation, integrated pest 
management, etc.  The same mechanisms would be utilized for 
alternative energy sources, water conservation and purification, and 
recycling systems for solid wastes as CENCITA expands into these 
areas.  

	Meanwhile, CENCITA continues to actively solicit information 
from alternative technology organizations outside the country such as 
international information networks, university research centers and 
international private, non-profit centers for the promotion of 
alternative models of development.

Monika Maria Firl is a freelance journalist and director of CENCITA.  
She has been living in El Salvador since October 1991.  For further 
information contact her at CENCITA, Apdo. Postal 2543, Centro de 
Govierno, San Salvador, El Salvador, Central America.  Tel. (503) 98-
0648; Email: [email-masked]

{INTENSIVE ORGANIC AGRICULTURE FOR CHIAPAS, MEXICO
by Jenna Berg, Ph.D.

	Children's Community Garden, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation, 
works with indigenous families and communities in organic agriculture 
and education in Chiapas, Mexico and in the highlands of Quiche, 
Guatemala.  Our goal is to help communities reclaim their sustainable 
relationship with the land, recover a cultural and agricultural link with 
the past, and through education be able to improve their health and 
make informed choices about the use of technologies (including foods, 
chemicals, medical care, televisions, consumer goods, etc.) that are ever-
present in the global system of which they are now, inescapably, a part.

	We utilize intensive organic agricultural techniques which are 
sustainable for both the land and the people, and which make use of local 
resources, local labor, and appropriate technologies for the culture and 
the environment.  The gardens are a teaching tool, and children who 
work on these agricultural projects also attend school with proceeds from 
their work.

	The citizens of Morelia, a small, indigenous community of 280 
families located two hours east of San Cristobal de Las Casas, have 
requested the help of Childen's Community Garden, Inc. to implement an 
intensive agricultural project that will create sustainable gardens in the 
heart of the community.  The aim is to provide fresh, nutritious produce 
without the use of chemical fertilizers or insecticides/herbicides.   The 
free flow of basic food stuffs to this community, including fruits and 
vegetables, has been greatly restricted by the Mexican Military since 
January 7, 1994.  Also denied is access to basic farming tools, seeds, and 
supplies, but the rains are coming and it's time to plant.  Funds are being 
sought to continue the project, already off to a good start with an 
enthusiastically organized rotating labor force which has built several 
raised beds in the town center.  Men, women and children have actively 
participated in a three-day skills workshop to learn sustainable 
agriculture skills, and are hoping to complete thirty demonstration beds 
over the next three months.

For more information, contact:  Jenna Berg and Michael Steady, Co-
Directors, Children's Community Garden,Inc., c/o Josefa Ortiz de 
Dominguez 7B, San Cristobal de Las Casas, 29250 Chiapas, Mexico; Fax: 
(52) 967-82093.  United States address is 2244 The Circle, Apt. 2, 
Raleigh, North Carolina 27608.  Donations for the Morelia project to 
purchase seeds, tools, hose, photography documentation, educational 
materials and equipment are very much needed and will be greatly 
appreciated.  

AGRINET:  AN ELECTRONIC INFORMATION NETWORK  
FOR MEXICO'S SMALL AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS 
by Dr. Scott S. Robinson

	Mexico's small agricultural producers are the backbone of 
this country: economically and culturally, historically and in 
the present, they are vital to the well-being and to the very 
identity of Mexico.  Relying almost entirely on traditional 
farming methods, they lack the technological advantages of the 
large agribusinesses with their mechanized production of high- 
profit crops for export.  However, in light of today's concern 
with the preservation both of the country's cultural heritage 
and its environmental and physical resources, their low-tech 
methods appear of increasing relevance to the future. 
  
	Still, the country's small producers must compete in a 
market which includes large capital-intensive agribusinesses, 
foreign-based companies with advanced technology, 
international produce brokers, and all the sophisticated 
mechanisms of the interconnected twenty-first century global
economy (including the developing international trade blocks,
such as the North American Free Trade Agreement).  The small
producers themselves, the country's campesino farmers, are aware
of the fact that their greatest challenge lies in developing ways
to function effectively in this context, and that their greatest
need is for access to vital information and for greater ease of
communication with other producers and potential buyers of their
products.   

	The Electronic Network for Small Producers, or "AGRINET" 
(Red de Informacion Ejidal), seeks to create an information- 
exchange system designed to meet this need, accessible to 
small producers all over the country.  AGRINET will provide 
information services with instantaneous access by computer 
modem to interactive data bases in each state of the republic, 
giving small producers access to the information they need in 
order to compete effectively in domestic and export sales of 
their produce.   

	Once in operation AGRINET will be able to provide a 
multitude of information services beneficial to small 
producers all over Mexico, including: 

    *  current price information to aid in negotiation of 
        planned sales; 
    *  price information for needed purchases; 
    *  information on the application of appropriate 
        agricultural methods, including such things as 
        developing climate conditions, recommendations on 
        available plant strains, pest-affected areas and 
        information on how to deal with pests in ways that 
        are environmentally safe; 
    *  information and contacts to assist women in the 
       commercialization of their textiles and other hand- 
       crafted products; 
    *  information obtained from the latest research and 
        academic studies relating to agriculture; 
    *  on-line technical advice; 
    *  guidance on techniques for the developing and higher- 
        profit area of growing organic produce (coffee, in 
        particular), as well as assistance on how to get 
        certification of organically-grown crops. 

     Clearly, this project has enormous potential for providing 
assistance, directly and economically, to Mexico's small 
agricultural producers.  There will be many indirect benefits, 
as well, such as motivating computer literacy in rural areas, and
the democratizing experience of providing people who have often 
felt marginal with the opportunity of having more knowledge 
and control in the area most central to their existence: their 
work, their identity, and their economic survival. 

	The AGRINET project was initiated in 1992 with the support 
of a planning grant from the Ford Foundation.  It has received 
broad endorsement from national and local campesino 
organizations.  With its Mexico City base at the Universidad
Metropolitana Iztapalapa campus, AGRINET has set up a network of 
cooperating state universities which will provide key 
logistical support (through the universities' Internet-linked
computer network.  AGRINET has recently received
additional Ford Foundation support which will cover about half
the expenses of establishing the network's first phase, which
will be in the southern and southeastern regions of Mexico. 

	AGRINET is now seeking matching support from both 
foundations and the private sector in order to begin putting 
this network into operation, first in the southern and 
southeastern regions of Mexico, eventually to be expanded to 
all regions of the country.  Many kinds of support are 
currently needed, and foundations or businesses which would 
like to get involved in this ground-breaking project can 
participate by contributing in any of the following ways: 

    *  tax-deductible donations to the AGRINET Project at the 
       Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, Iztapalapa or to 
       individual groups participating in AGRINET; 
    *  in-kind donations of equipment and software (AGRINET 
       needs computers, modems, hard drives, monitors, and 
       just about any kind of computer parts and supplies, 
       including equipment which might currently be 
       considered out-of-date); 
    *  training for the young people who will be operating the 
       computer and modem technology at state and regional 
       AGRINET centers in each of the states. 
    *  concrete suggestions about how best to link producer
       organizations with border brokers, potential markets

Ed's. Note:  Dr. Robinson reports that demands for the network are 
growing faster than resources can be dispersed as seed money.  
For more information, contact him at the Anthropology Department, 
Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa, Mexico, D.F. Apdo. 
P. 55532 C.P. 09340; Tel. 724-47-63 or 687-60-30; Fax: 612-08-85; 
Email: [email-masked]