CULTIVATING HOPE:
How AGROS’s Climate Smart Principles
Secure Farmers’ Livelihoods

The resourceful farmers’ knowledge of the earth is harmonious with the responsibility to be good stewards of this wonderful gift from God: our planet. As a Native American proverb states: “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”

In 2018, Agros intiated a procees for appliying Climate Smart Agriculture principles as a cross-cutting methodology across all its programs in Central America, in line with its committement to creating sustainable and resilient agricultural communities and its mission to transform the livelihoods of farming families and build for them a brighter future.

PRODUCTIVITY

Ensuring farmer’s livelihood are not threatened by mitigation and adaptation efforts: practices must benefit farming families

ADAPTATION

Increasing farmer’s resilience and adaptive capacity

MITIGATION

Reducing agriculture’s carbon footprint and making agriculture part of the solution

Here’s how Agros is making a difference

Adapting the
Production System

In response to the global challenges posed by climate change, the organization has focused on enhancing the resilience of the production systems. A way to achieve the adaptation of Agros’ farming program, the farmers developed a strategic crop rotation of vegetable breaking the cycles of pests and diseases. When farmers have knowledge of practices that build healthy ecosystems, their ability to adapt becomes greater, and their communities and supply chains benefit.

For instance, in the coffee plantations located in Nicaragua we promote the cultivation of grafted coffee plants where the roots are Robusta, a drought-resistant variety, and the floral graft is a high-quality Arabica variety. This innovative approach helps farmers better withstand water scarcity and ensures a consistent and high-quality coffee yield.

Mitigating the
Carbon Footprint

Agros is dedicated to reducing the environmental impact of agricultural activities. Its initiatives include the creation of terraces and planting of forests that help negate soil erosion, protect vital water sources, and the installation and implementation of biofactories for producing agroecological bio-inputs in regular manner, therefor minimizing the use of fossil fertilizers.

These actions help offset carbon emissions and contribute to a healthier planet, while also enhancing the sustainability of farming practices.

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Focusing on Productivity
and Well-being

Every effort Agros makes to adapt agricultural systems and mitigate their environmental impact is centered on improving the productivity and well-being of farming families and their communities.

By increasing resilience to climate change and reducing the carbon footprint, we are not only promoting sustainable practices but also ensuring that farmers can thrive and support their families for generations to come.

Climate Smart Curricula,
Practices, and Training

To integrate these three climate-smart principles, Agros embarked on a comprehensive learning journey. Initially, to trained the staff in Best Agricultural Practices (BAP), enabling them to develop a robust training curriculum for beneficiary producers and their families. This ongoing process evolves continuously within each area of impact of Agros programs in Central America.

producing families trained.
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CLIMATE SMART AGRIBUSINESS MODULES

1. Installation of Protected Agricultural Areas:

2. Plant Nursery: Agroforestry & Watershed Protection:

3. Biofertilizers, Biopesticides, and Microbiological Agents Modules:

In conjunction with the continuous training in BAP, the organization made strategic investments to sustainably adapt the production system from social, economic, and environmental perspectives. This effort led to the development of Climate Smart Agribusiness Modules, encompassing:

These areas enable year-round crop production, beyond seasonal limitations. They provide better pest and disease control and facilitate the responsible use of water resources. Currently, Agros count with have:

    • 8 acres of protected agriculture
    • 44 acres under drip irrigation

 

By introducing economically valuable species, such as fruit trees, the producers are self-encouraged to protect them. These trees capture carbon, and release oxygen, acting as regulator of the temperature. The nursery, producing reforestation species, also safeguards water sources by enclosing areas with recharge zones. Initial achievements include:
    • Over 700,000 plants produced
    • 59,000 trees planted
    • 6/7 watersheds protected
 
The installed biofactories develop fertilizers from local resources to create biopesticides and utilize microbiological agents. Annually, Agros biofactories produces:
  • 220 tons of biofertilizers
The biofactory process involves harvesting from mountainous areas that have remained uncultivated for at least 10 years, or never cultivated at all. We collect the top 10 cm of decomposing leaves, which are placed in fabric bags along with molasses, semolina, and flours to multiply microorganisms. Depending on the ingredients, microorganisms reproduce aerobically or anaerobically, altering the fermentation level and transforming the mixture into liquid fertilizers or nematicides.




Climate Smart
Climate Smart
1. Installation of Protected Agricultural Areas:
1. Installation of Protected Agricultural Areas:
2. Plant Nursery: Agroforestry & Watershed Protection:
2. Plant Nursery: Agroforestry & Watershed Protection:
3. Biofertilizers, Biopesticides, and Microbiological Agents Modules:
3. Biofertilizers, Biopesticides, and Microbiological Agents Modules:
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Climate Smart Villages

Agros mission is to transform lives through the development of prosperous agro-villages.

Therefore, investment in training modules, Agroshouses, and biofactories transcends the concept of climate-smart agriculture, into building climate-smart villages where residents adopt the following processes:

Use of Eco-Stoves in 100% of households in the villages, supported by energy banks from the planting of high-growth forest species Acacia Magium, providing the raw material for controlled food cooking.

Before: require large amounts of firewood, poor ventilation exposing households to highly toxic, dense smoke.

After: The fire’s isolation n combination with better air flow, makes the stove more efficient, requiring a smaller fire and less wood to thoroughly cook food.

Recycling and solid waste management: Through the installation of Eco-Sanitation Latrines in all communities, an environment friendly sustainable sanitation system which regards human waste as resource for agricultural purposes and food security, villagers reduce their health risks related to contaminated water and waste. The systema prevent groundwater pollution and surface water pollution; and allows the reuse of nutrients or energy contained within wastes.

Before: during the rainy season, common pits would turned into flood flows that contaminated the community and increased the risk of unsanitary conditions.

After: By promoting hygienic practices, diseases are avoided. This effort is accompanied by awareness-raising efforts to ensure rational water use by resident families.

Fully organic production is not viable for achieving productivity alongside climate management principles. Aware of this, a recycling process was installed, consisting of storing and collecting chemical residues for disposal treatment to ensure that these inputs do not reach rivers and other water sources to prevent them from becoming pollutants.

Before: Community members used containers contaminated with chemical residues as household utensils or for agricultural production.

After: In every alley and street of the Agros Aldeas, a disposal bin has been established for proper chemical waste disposal.

The Agros Aldeas counts with garbage bins in common areas to provide the community with a waste disposal system. This effort is accompanied by a continuous awareness process for proper household waste management.

Before: Villagers would burn the garbage in open fields, exposing people to pollutant particles that endanger their health and affect the environment of the community.

Now: Families properly dispose of their waste in bins, which the municipal cleaning system transports to landfill areas.

Management of drinking water through community-based organizations to ensure potable water provision to all communities.

Before: water wastage with adverse effects on child malnutrition and food security

After: communities with access to water and sanitation trainedand organized to use it rationally.

MEASURING RESULTS

By using Cool Farm Tool (CFT), the most recognized methodology for measuring emissions and carbon capture, Agros is evaluating its production systems to determine their capacity as a carbon emitter or net captor on regular basis.

Preliminary results precisely define the carbon emission of each village and how their crops contribute to capturing emissions, identifying and replicating climate-smart productive systems.

Reduction in the use of chemicals

Reduction in fossil fertilizers use:
40%
Reduction in cost of fertilizer application:
51%
Reduction in pesticides use:
44%

Increase in profitability

Increase in crop yields:
18-32%
(depending on the crop)

Farmers Certifications

  • Rain Forest Alliance
  • Starbucks CAFÉ Practices
  • Best Agricultural and
  • Manufacturing Practice

The application of the 3 CLIMATE SMART PRINCIPLES is not carried out in a controlled lab plot or pilot project but is implemented in a scalable model with all program producers.

Water management

  • 8 reforested and protected watersheds.
  • 146 acres of drip irrigation systems installed.
  • 80,882,000 liters of water saved (equivalent to 32.35 Olympic-size swimming pools).
  • 19,992,000 liters of water treated and filtered back into the ground and ecosystem.

Waste management

  • 3 tons per year collected from Climate Smart Village
  • Plastic waste management
  • No garbage burning

Energy Efficiency:

A unique and replicable model in Nicaragua
  • 70% of fuel wood needs from renewable sources
  • 90% of kitchen smoke emissions
  • 4,000 kg per family of wood saved per year
  • 588 trees per year saved from burning

Examples of the correlation of
the 3 principles with the AGROS model:

Hydroponic

Technology, productivity, and proper water resource management.

  • Hydroponic modules save 2.5 million liters of water per year compared to traditional irrigation systems.
  • Our 3 hydroponic facilities in Nicaragua produce 150,000 heads of lettuce per year in 1,000 square meters.
  • Traditional outdoor farming would require 45,000 square meters (12 acres) to grow the same amount.
  • Product quality generates higher income for producers.

Biofactories

Cost reduction, self-sufficiency, and regeneration of natural resources in productive inputs.

  • Emission reduction through the use of organic fertilizers.
  • System less vulnerable to shortages and/or price increases of raw material inputs for fertilizers and pesticides.
  • Increased productivity by reducing the cost of producing fertilizers.

RESILIENCY TO RESOURCEFULNESS

Through these Climate Smart Agriculture principles, Agros is building a foundation for enduring prosperity and environmental stewardship in rural areas.

We see resourcefulness as the ability to problem solve and devise ways to develop security, the Climate Smart Villages have proven additive to this skill.

AGROS’s climate-smart model not only mitigates the impact of agricultural activity on the environment but also generates a system of well-being and intergenerational anti-poverty.
We are part of the solution!
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Having established a track record of exceptional impact, Agros is now ready to go broader and deeper. We are transforming entire regions by fully integrating our farmers into high-value markets, and by implementing productive modern infrastructure, successful social programs, and climate smart farming practices.

When you invest in AGROS, you are investing in an agricultural system that not only reduces its carbon footprint but also has a holistic impact on families:

  • 97% of families in AGROS surpass poverty.
  • They generate a patrimony of USD 25,000.
  • With more than 8000 acres of land transferred to farmers, 85% of Agros families have repaid loans, obtained titles, and become land owners. The rest are progressing towards this goal.
  • 20,000 individuals have a dignified housing, access to healthcare, sanitation, and education.


Join us in our mission to create a sustainable and prosperous future for all.
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HERE IS HOW: Invest to Transform Lives Help transform families living in extreme poverty by making your most generous donation at agros.org/donate

Travel with Agros Experience life in rural Latin America. Meet the farming families you serve through Agros. Broaden your perspective. Deepen your commitment. For schedule and details, visit agros.org/do/travel

For more information, visit www.agros.org