Collective concern over the cancellation of the emblematic PROHUERTA program of the government of the Argentine Republic
Dismayed and concerned by the recent information that the Ministry of Human Development of the Argentine Republic, headed by Minister Sandra Viviana Pettovello, will not continue funding and will therefore allow the literal closure of the PROHUERTA program—with a 34-year history and a social impact of national and international relevance—we subscribe to this MANIFESTO in order to disseminate the consequences of this action, the importance of said program, and its negative effects on the food sovereignty of millions of Argentinians (most of them in situations of high food vulnerability in the poorest sectors of Argentina).
Why are we concerned? PROHUERTA was the world's leading national program for the production, distribution, and development of food self-sufficiency systems. A remarkably successful example, it has been steadily growing over the past three decades. During this time, PROHUERTA facilitated the annual distribution of up to 1 million seed kits to more than 600.000 family, school, and community gardens. This enabled the establishment of 15.000 agroecological farms. More than 200.000 poultry were also distributed to families for their sustenance. In addition, PROHUERTA trained 170.000 people through the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA). Furthermore, its success has been driven by the altruism and collaborative, volunteer work of thousands of PROMOTERS. More than 10.000 promoters have driven the program, training millions of gardeners with the support of a very small number of technicians and meager financial resources. Sixty-seven percent of these promoters are women. PROHUERTA has thus reached approximately four million people, considering that the produce from these families is exchanged through 800 agroecological fairs coordinated by clubs, markets, networks, and institutions. This has resulted in food self-sufficiency, social support, and a social economy. Until just a few days ago, these initiatives received native seeds, selected through a cooperative system that allowed them to reach even the most remote corners of a country as vast as Argentina.
The enormous efficiency and productivity in the use of agrobiodiversity and in the allocation of monetary resources positions PROHUERTA as one of the most relevant food self-sufficiency promotion programs worldwide. PROHUERTA's achievements have been so remarkable that their impact clearly extends beyond its borders. The work of its technicians over more than three decades has been recognized and used as an example by national programs in other countries (Armenia, Haiti, Panama, Canada, Colombia, Bolivia, Guatemala, and several African countries), as well as by international organizations (UNEP, FAO, ECLAC, JICA). PROHUERTA represents a successful case study worldwide.
With its commendable system and social network, this program has provided training, seeds, and basic tools to low-income families, empowering them to work and produce food, and restoring dignity to the most vulnerable: impoverished families, women with dependents, the elderly, children, and adolescents. It has clearly been the best investment in social action, generating a return on investment and translating into improved well-being.
PROHUERTA has integrated existing knowledge, recovered new knowledge, and promoted bioculture and local networks for production, consumption, and exchange. It has fostered self-sufficiency, freedom, and independence for gardeners. It has clearly contributed to social peace. Furthermore, it has been a pioneer in incorporating the perspectives of food sovereignty, organic agriculture, and agroecology at the institutional level. Therefore, knowing the enormous real and potential contribution that PROHUERTA has made to the fight against hunger, we can only express our dismay at seeing the dismantling of a policy that has done so much for the most vulnerable population of our sister nation, Argentina. That is why today, with great concern, we learned that this program—despite the already meager funding it received—is being discontinued by the current Ministry of Human Development of the Argentine Republic.
For all the above reasons, we respectfully request that the Argentine government, and directly the Ministry of Human Capital, headed by Lic. Sandra Pettovello, review the situation of the PROHUERTA Program, considering the importance of providing immediate continuity to its cooperative seed production system, guaranteeing the continuity of its current staff of technicians, maintaining the network of PROMOTERS and their connection with the GARDENERS, and strengthening, not weakening, the circulation and trade systems in fair and solidarity trade networks.
As scientists, researchers, and experts in agriculture and sustainable food systems from across Latin America, we must express to the authorities of the Republic of Argentina our concern, as well as our request for reconsideration and financial support, which would clearly translate into immediate improvements to the diets of the most vulnerable population in Argentina. Furthermore, we emphasize the need for current policies promoted by the Argentine government to be implemented in a way that fosters social well-being, food sovereignty, and the dignity of the Argentine people, especially those who have historically been the most vulnerable. This also applies to the imminent elimination of the National Directorate of Agroecology within the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries of Argentina (now downgraded to the Secretariat of Bioeconomy). To help prevent the marginalization of agroecological initiatives in our sister country, we oppose the agricultural policies being implemented by an ultraconservative government that undermine the dignity of the Argentine people.
April 22th 2024
CLACSO Working Group on Political Agroecology
Agroecology Research Group of the National University of Colombia
(UNAL) / Palmira Campus
National University of Colombia (UNAL) / Bogotá Campus
Alliance of Women in Agroecology (AMA-AWA)
Mexican Society of Agroecology (SOMEXA)
Socio-ecological Action Research Group (GIASE), Veracruzana University,
Mexico
Network of Sustainable Agricultural Alternatives (RASA), Jalisco, Mexico
Bachelor's Degree in Agroecology and Food Sovereignty (LASA) Xalapa, University
Veracruzana Intercultural, Veracruz, Mexico
Laboratory of the History of Agroecosystems, Pablo de Olavide University,
Sevilla, Spain
Institute of Social and Economic Studies (IESE), Universidad Mayor de San
Simón (UMSS), Cochabamba, Bolivia
Latin American Agroecological Movement, MAELA Continental
Latin American Agroecological Movement, MAELA Colombia
Nicaraguan Meliponiculture Network
Latin American Agroecological Institute Ixim Ulew of Nicaragua
Laboratory for Research and Reflection in Agroecology (LIRA), University
National University of La Plata (UNLP), Buenos Aires, Argentina
Argentine Society of Agroecology (SAAE)
ALIMENTTA Think Tank for the Food Transition, Spain
Committee for the Promotion of the Colombian Agroecological Movement (CIMAC)
Agroecology Group of the Department of Environmental Systems of the Faculty
Department of Agronomy, University of the Republic, Uruguay
Agroecological Markets Network of the Cauca Valley (REDMAC), Colombia
Rural Sociology Group of the University Center of the South Coast, University
from Guadalajara, Mexico
World Forum of Fishing Peoples (WFF) Alliance for the Americas
Free Seed Network of Colombia
Alliance for Agrobiodiversity in Colombia
Allin Mikuy Ayllu Collective – Good Food Community, Peru
National Network of Family Farming (RENAF), Colombia
Research Group in Agroecology for the Restoration of Systems
Agrarian Studies, National University of Asunción, Paraguay
Latin American Center for Agroecological Research (CELIA)
Committee for the Promotion of the Colombian Agroecological Movement (CIMAC)
Institute of Sociology and Peasant Studies (ISEC) of the University of
Cordoba, Spain
Argentine Network of Social Studies of Agroecology (RAESA)
The National Collective of Urban Agriculture gives the National Articulation of
Agroecology of Brazil
Center for Agroecological Thought – UNAL Palmira Campus, Colombia
AS-PTA – Family Agriculture and Agroecology, Brazil
National Agroecology Articulation (ANA), Brazil
Community Garden Network of Uruguay
Network of Educational and Community Gardens (RHEC) of Xalapa and Coatepec, Mexico
Corn Defense Front, Colima, Mexico
Sustainable Development AC, Xalapa, Mexico
Quetzalcalli Agroecology Module, Xalapa, Mexico
Brazilian Agroecology Association (ABA)
Agroecology Hub of Tangua, Nariño, Colombia
Alternative Market of Puebla, Mexico
Development and Learning AC, Puebla, Mexico
Ecological Economics Group, Ecology, Institute of the Conurbation, University
National University of General Sarmiento, Argentina
Landscape Ecology and Environment Group, GEPAMA, “Dr. Jorge H. Morello”, Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urbanism, University of Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina
Latin American Scientific Society of Agroecology (SOCLA)
Teaching Core Structure of the Higher Course in Agroecology Technology of the Federal Institute of Brasilia, Brazil
Minga Agroecológica al Sur, Association for Peasant Development, ADC. Colombia
This text expresses the position of CLACSO Working Group on Political Agroecology and the other signatory institutions and not necessarily those of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.
