Palms in Indigenous and Settler Communities in Southeastern Ecuador: Farmers’ Perceptions and Cultivation Practices |
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| Authors: | Anja Byg Henrik Balslev |
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| Institution: | (1) Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Aarhus, Build. 540, Ny Munkegade, DK-8000 Aarhus C., Denmark |
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| Abstract: | Most palms used in agroforestry systems are exploited from wild stands or are only occasionally cultivated, while only a few
palms have been domesticated. In this study we investigated how socio-economic factors and people's perceptions of changes
in palm use and availability, influenced palm cultivation among indigenous Shuar and mestizo settlers in south-eastern Ecuador.
We also looked at how different uses of palms influenced which species they cultivated. Our results showed that perceptions
of declining palm availability in combination with heavy reliance on palm products was positively related to palm cultivation.
Hence, cultivation was more common in more remote villages where alternative products were hard to get. In addition, palm
cultivation was more common among wealthier people and among indigenous people than among recent settlers. This points to
a limiting role of assets such as land and to the importance of history and culture with regard to cultivation. It was not
possible to identify any single palm use as the primary reason for cultivating a species, but the more uses a species had,
the more likely it was to be cultivated. These findings have important implications for development projects that promote
cultivation of palms and other long-lived tree crops. They illustrate how market access and lack of necessary assets may undermine
cultivation of native species even though these are regarded as important resources. |
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| Keywords: | Arecaceae Cultivation adoption Multi-purpose species Small-scale farmers Socio-economic factors |
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