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Complex innovations in agriculture, environment, and health – the perceptions of rice farmers in the Jequetepeque Valley, Peru

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18472/SustDeb.v12n3.2021.40323

Keywords:

Diffusion of innovations. Agriculture. Rice. Intermittent irrigation. Malaria. Sustainability.

Abstract

The increased use of water in irrigated rice monocultures in the Jequetepeque Valley, on the northern coast of Peru, has exacerbated environmental, socioeconomic and health problems. The Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) irrigation technique aims to increase water management efficiency in rice cultivation. The objective of the present article is to understand farmers’ perceptions about the benefits and risks of implementing AWD. Data from interviews with 319 farmers showed that they recognise nine interactions between AWD's economic, environmental and health aspects but prioritise economic factors when assessing its benefits. We also identified the main channels and spaces of communication and debate on issues related to agriculture and health that are likely to be effective in promoting the diffusion of AWD. The study demonstrated the relevance of integrated actions to encourage the adoption of agricultural innovations which consider the interactions between environmental sustainability, health issues, and producers' economic priorities.

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Author Biographies

Renata Távora, PhD in Sustainable Development, Researcher, INCT-ODISSEIA, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Brazil

Renata Távora is a postdoctoral researcher at the Centro de Desenvolvimento Sustentável at the Universidade de Brasília (CDS-UnB), under the project "INCT-ODISSEA/Observatory of Social and Environmental Dynamics". The author holds a M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Sustainable Development, with an emphasis on Sustainability Policy and Management (CDS-UnB) and B.Sc. in Biology from Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquista Filho (UNESP). She has experience in Social Network Analysis, working on the following themes: local and institutional governance, agriculture and sustainability, environmental sciences, climate change and ecosystem approaches to human health (Ecohealth). She has been working in several international research projects, including the project “Irrigation with intermittent irrigation in rice cultivation for vector control of malaria and healthier and more sustainable agriculture: scaling up in the Jequetepeque Valley”, funded by the International Development Research Center  (IDRC), Canada, and which provided the academic context for carrying out the research present in this article. Author and co-author of 10 articles published and accepted in scientific journals and 6 published and accepted books/chapters books.

José Augusto Drummond, PhD in Land Resources, Professor, Centro de Desenvolvimento Sustentável, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Brazil

José Augusto Drummond has been a Full Professor at the

Centro de Desenvolvimento Sustentável, at the Universidade de Brasília (CDS-UnB)

, since 2004. He is dedicated to the following themes: environmental policies, alternative uses of natural resources; sustainable development; conservation units; environmental history, uses and conflicts around natural resources in the Amazon and Cerrado Biomes. Author or co-author of 80 articles published or accepted in scientific journals, 29 books and 48 book chapters published as author, co-author, organizer, or co-organizer. Additionally, the author has more than 200 publications and unpublished texts of his authorship, available in full and free of charge on the Academia.edu platform (http://brasilia.academia.edu/JoseDrummond). He has supervised or co-supervised 5 post-docs (1 in progress), 17 Ph.D. thesis (2 in progress), 27 M.Sc. dissertations (1 in progress), 5 specialists and 15 undergraduate monographs.

Alain Santandreu, M.Sc. in Social Policy, Executive Director, Consorcio por la Salud, Ambiente y Desarrollo (Ecosad), Lima, Peru

Alain Santandreu holds a M.Sc. in Social Policy from the Universidad Nacional de San Marcos (Peru) and a degree in Sociology from the Universidad de la Republica del Uruguay. He conducts research in the following areas: ecosystem approaches to human health (Ecohealth), food systems, with emphasis on public policies for the eradication of hunger, Knowledge Management with a focus on Change Paths. Author and co-author of 42 books and book chapters and 33 scientific and popular articles on his topics of interest. Since 2016, he has been Executive President of the Consorcio para la Salud, Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo (ECOSAD), Perú, and a research member of the Urban Agriculture and Food Systems Foundation (RUAF), in the Netherlands, coordinating several research projects, including: 1. “Quito Systemic Food System Vulnerability Assessment project (2018-2019)”; and 2. “Understanding the City-Region agri-food system (CRFS): Planning for a more resilient and food-safe city (2017-2018)”, both developed through the Consortium RUAF/CONQUITO/Metropolitan Municipality of Quito, Ecuador. He is a member of the CLACSO Working Group on Participatory Processes and Methodologies, where he is part of the Technical Team of the "Red de Ollas Comunes", in metropolitan Lima. He was coordinator of the project “Irrigation with intermittent irrigation in rice cultivation for vector control of malaria and healthier and more sustainable agriculture: scaling up in the Jequetepeque Valley”, and since 2020 he has been a member of Rikolto International (Latin America), where he leads the project “Healthy food hubs: building sustainable and resilient agri-food systems in Lima and Quito”, the latter two funded by the International Development Research Center (IDRC), Canada.

Anita Luján, Graduate in Nursing, Professor, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru

Anita Luján is a member of the Riesgos y Determinantes de la Salud (RIDESA) research group at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM). She holds a Master's Degree in Health Economics from UNMSM, with experience in Public Health, Occupational Health and Ecosystem Approaches to Human Health (Ecohealth). He participated in several international research projects, including the project “Irrigation with intermittent irrigation in rice cultivation for vector control of malaria and healthier and more sustainable agriculture: scaling up in the Jequetepeque Valley”, funded by the International Development Research Center (IDRC), Canada. She co-authored 5 articles published in scientific journals and 2 chapters books.

Ernesto Ráez-Luna, Master in Latin American Studies, Executive Director, Instituto del Bien Común, Lima, Peru

Ernesto Ráez-Luna is a biologist, graduated from the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Peru, with a Master's in Latin American Studies from the University of Florida. He conducts transdisciplinary research in Political Ecology, Development Narratives, Public Sciences, Tropical Conservation, Agroecology, Indigenous Peoples, and ecosystem approaches to human health (Ecohealth / James Kay sensu). In 2008, he received the Nature Conservation Award from The Whitley Fund for Nature and WWF. He was Director of Ciencia y Desarrollo del Centro para la Sostenibilidad Ambiental at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia and founding professor of Escuela Profesional de Economía y Gestión Ambiental at Universidad Antonio Ruiz de Montoya, in Peru. He is currently Executive Director of Instituto del Bien Común, Peru, where he coordinates the project “One Amazon: A One Health Assessment of Emerging Epidemic Threats and Resilience among Amazonian Indigenous Peoples, in the Light of Responses to the COVID-19 pandemic”, funded by the International Development Research Center (IDRC), Canada.

Ester Montalvan, Bachelor of Social Sciences, Social Facilitator, Inerco, Piura, Ayabaca, Peru

Ester Montalvan is a social worker, graduated from the Faculty of Social Sciences at the National University of Trujillo. She has experience as a social researcher in research and development projects in the areas of health, agriculture, environment, telecommunications, working on knowledge management topics for learning and change. She is currently working as a social facilitator on a PRONATEL broadband project in rural areas in the regions of La Libertad and Piura, Peru.

Elena Ogusuko, Bachelor in Biology, Dirección General de Salud Ambiental e Inocuidad Alimentaria, Ministerio de Salud, Lima, Peru

Elena Ogusuku, Biologist graduated from Ricardo Palma University (Peru), specialist in Medical Entomology and Vector Control from the National University of Trujillo (Peru), research training in Tropical Medicine from the Institute of Tropical Medicine of the University of Nagasaki (Japan). She works at the General Directorate of Environmental Health and Food Safety of the Ministry of Health of Peru, with more than 15 years of experience in the field of vector surveillance and control, developing research on malaria vector control. She has been the leader of project "Impact of the rice intermittent irrigation technique, for the malaria vector control and sustainable development of the local ecosystem, in the district of Pítipo, Lambayeque Region, Peru" (IDRC 2008-2010, Grant Nº 103696-007) winner of the Grand Prize for Business Creativity and Prize for the Best Product in the Health and Hygiene category in 2012, awarded by the University of Applied Sciences.  She was the principal investigator of the project "Irrigation with intermittent irrigation in rice cultivation for vector control of malaria and healthier and more sustainable agriculture: scaling up in the Jequetepeque Valley" (IDRC 2014-2016, Grant No. 106559-001). She is the author and co-author of 30 scientific publications.

Frédéric Mertens, PhD in Environmental Sciences, Professor, Centro de Desenvolvimento Sustentável, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil

Frédéric Mertens is a Full Professor at the Centro de Desenvolvimento Sustentável, at the Universidade de Brasília (CDS-UnB). He holds a Ph.D. in Science from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, a Ph.D. in Environmental Science from the Université du Québec à Montreal (UQAM) and a post-doctorate in Parasitology from the Universidade de São Paulo (USP). He conducts research in the following areas: environmental sciences, agriculture and sustainability, ecosystem approaches to human health (Ecohealth), governance of socio-ecological systems and social network analysis. The author has been working on several international research projects, including the project “Irrigation with intermittent irrigation in rice cultivation for vector control of malaria and healthier and more sustainable agriculture: scaling up in the Jequetepeque Valley”, funded by the International Development Research Center (IDRC), Canada, and which provided the academic context for carrying out the research present in this article.

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2021-12-28

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How to Cite

Távora, R., Drummond, J. A., Santandreu, A., Luján, A., Ráez-Luna, E., Montalvan, E., … Mertens, F. (2021). Complex innovations in agriculture, environment, and health – the perceptions of rice farmers in the Jequetepeque Valley, Peru. Sustainability in Debate, 12(3), 101–136. https://doi.org/10.18472/SustDeb.v12n3.2021.40323

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 3 (2021): Sustainability in Debate / Sustentabilidade em Debate

Section

Articles - Varia

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