Ecuador: Development of Agro-forestry Methods

The project area is situated in the Morona Santiago Province in the Southern Amazon region of Ecuador. It is characterised by a steadily growing population, inappropriate agricultural production methods, an unsustainable exploitation of the tropical forests, poor market access, a lack of coordinated planning, and poor political and administrative structures.

The objective of the project is to improve the socioeconomic living conditions of the poor rural population in the area, giving special attention to gender and ethno-cultural aspects of the indigenous groups in order to avoid conflicts with intruding settlers from the Andes. The executing agency INIAP (Instituto Nacional Autónomo de Investigaciones Agropecuarias) will be supported in the research and experimentation of adopted agricultural production methods and the sustainable use of forestry products in order to create better market opportunities and access to small credits and at the same time reduce the destruction of natural resources.