Food sovereignty evaluation about three types of agricultural production systems in Quito

Abstract

Food sovereignty is the peoples’ right to decide their own food and production regime, demanding that their nutrition not be reduced to a business. Food sovereignty arises as a desperate cry in the face of the food, economic, social and environmental chaos caused by conventional agriculture based on monoculture and agricultural exploitation at the expense of communities and nature. As food sovereignty is a strategic objective and an obligation of the State, its evaluation is a key point, however, the evaluations carried out in the country are not sufficient, and in the case of Quito, despite its food problems, these have been non-existent. For this reason, this research work aims to evaluate food sovereignty in three types of agricultural production systems in Yaruquí, one of the rural parishes of Quito; in addition to comparing the results with each other, identifying the contribution of each one to food sovereignty; and, to determine in a participatory manner the public policy alternatives that are suggested to improve these results. For the evaluation, Richard Intriago's methodology was used, which is based on interviews and observation carried out in nine APUs, to evaluate the results in sub-indicators and indicators of five dimensions (political, productive and technological, social and cultural, economic; and ecological). The results revealed that the diversified agroecological system is the best scored, with a General Food Sovereignty Index (GFSI) of 3.90 points; it is followed by the primary product monoculture system, with an GFSI of 3.13 points; and, in last place, the monoculture system for agro-industrial purposes, with 2.77 points. Therefore, it places agroecology as the best ally for the achievement of food sovereignty, and its promotion is essential in the public policies that are formulated in the country.