Agroforestry in the Shadow of a Green Monster: The Politics of Confronting Hunger in the Northern Cauca, Colombia

Abstract

When driving through the northern Cauca, a state in southwestern Colombia, it is difficult to see anything beyond the fields of green that extend far into the distance, which finally dissolve into the Cordillera Occidental and Cordillera Central mountain ranges that border the Cauca River valley. This sea of green, often known as the monstruo verde (green monster), is composed of vast expanses of sugarcane, a crop that the ingenios (sugarcane processors) own and harvest for national biofuel production. Sometimes, as you drive quickly along the gravel sideroads, a patch of oasis appears in the tall cane. Looking closer, you will notice fruit and plantain trees nestled in around the short brick houses. These little patches are remnants of the type of agriculture that used to characterize the valley – a sort of agroforestry called a finca tradicional (traditional farm), one that only exists today in small fragments.