Enriching Crop Production Through the Use of Mountain Microorganism Bio-Inputs
A Community-Led Innovation Case Study from Guatemala
In Xesiguan, the innovation team “El Esfuerzo’’ (made up of 14 young people aged 18 to 21) worked on two identified needs. Firstly, drought, hurricanes, and the continued use of agrochemicals have led to weakened harvests, poor soil use, crop failure, and increased hunger and poverty. Secondly, young people in the community have very few employment opportunities and must migrate to other farms to sell their labour, or impoverish themselves by buying synthetic agro-inputs to try to improve their crops. The Association of Community Production Committees (ACPC), present in Xesiguan, brings together producers from 11 Mayan Achi’ communities, and promotes the strengthening of traditional and ancestral production without pollutants. In turn, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has supported the community with the construction of a bio-factory for the preparation of bio-inputs with mountain microorganisms, destined to enrich the soils of families in the community. Faced with difficult environmental, health, and unemployment situations, El Esfuerzo promoted an innovation to involve the young people of the community in the production and marketing of bio-inputs based on mountain microorganisms in greater quantities and with better quality. The solution involved the development of a technified process, as well as the packaging, storage, and marketing of four types of bio-inputs for fertilization, as well as pest and disease control for crops.
Unlike other innovations, this project focused on optimizing, testing, marketing, and scaling up a product that was already being developed on a small scale in the community and with the support of various organizations. The young people decided that the innovation had to be youth-led and youth-integrated, and aimed to make it a source of employment and income generation. The budgeted investment amount was made up of a Q 41,114 (USD $5,100) financial grant from ASECSA, and Q 21,500 (USD $2,700) of contributions from the innovation group. The innovation involved capacity-building of the young people in regard to the production of bio-inputs, validation of the inputs in four crops, and analysis of the products in a laboratory to assess their nutritional components. It also involved the equipping of the bio-factory, the collection of mountain microorganisms, and the elaboration of a manual with technical standards for the production of four types of biopreparations. Finally, the innovation included the production of these four biopreparations, their packaging and labelling, and the development of a marketing plan. Given the targeted producers’ pre-existing habit of purchasing packaged chemical products, the team wanted to create a product with appropriate labelling and packaging.
In the words of one innovator:
“When we started, we already had our logo, but the lab tests were missing; we had the idea of having packaging, labelling, and a final product […] Now we already have the lab results. It is already labelled with what came out in the lab, guaranteeing what our product does have.”
The impact of the production and commercialization of bio-inputs can be visualized in three ways. In one sense, the innovation has been effective in incorporating young people and giving them the impetus to work toward a common cause. In the beginning, 12 young people started, and today there are 14 young people who organize themselves in rotating shifts to produce the products, despite the fact that they are also studying and working. In another sense, the product is being used by local producers and is bringing the expected benefits, as one beneficiary indicates: “With the mountain microorganisms, which are organic, the preparation and fermentation work better for us; it is more useful, and the results have shown that it works. They already have inputs produced by nature itself.”
Finally, the people of the community recognize in this practice a way to return to ancestral knowledge, to local practices, and to nature, rather than using chemicals or pollutants. As one participant stated, “You know now that we are being bombarded by large industries; why don’t we go back to the ancestral knowledge? Because the old people don’t lie to us; they didn’t start with chemicals.” All in all, this contributes to the improvement of soils and crops, to healthy and sovereign food, to the growth of the local economy, and to the combination of ancestral practices with innovative aspects.
In terms of sustainability, after doing the lab tests, testing the products, and developing the packaging, the innovators are currently in the “transition process of convincing farmers in the area to try the products and agree that it works,” as one innovator put it. It is encouraging to note that some of the farmers who tried the products for free are already asking to buy them. In the words of one innovator: “In terms of objectives, we are already achieving one: We already have a market. Maybe not at 100%, but we are already marketing the product to potential farmers. Right now, the challenge we have is to produce and sell some 40 or 60 canisters of liquid fertilizer to tomato and green bean farmers, farmers in other communities, and outside the municipality.” The level of organization and support that these young people receive will be fundamental in allowing them to continue marketing and expanding their products.
The Community-Led Innovation Partnership is a joint initiative between Elrha, Start Network, Asia Disaster Reduction and Response Network, Asociación de Servicios Comunitarios de Salud in Guatemala, Center for Disaster Preparedness in the Philippines, and Yakkum Emergency Unit in Indonesia, which supports the emergence and development of locally-driven solutions to humanitarian problems. It is funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
This case study forms part of the CLIP Programme Evaluation 2020–2023, undertaken by Catalystas Consulting in March 2023.
Evaluators: Judith Vollebregt, Aviva Stein, Paula Kantor and Sofía Paredes.
Contributors: Arya Bagus, Alejandra Gonzalez and Jemiema Dagadas.
