Food and Agriculture
Ecuadorian agriculture is deeply intertwined with the politics and cultures of the nation.
Historically, most pre-colonial Ecuadorian communities placed a strong focus on collective identity and sustained themselves through collective based farming practices. Northern Andean communities practiced interplanting strategies with beans and maize. The rapid increase of altitude in the Andes resulted in immense biodiversity in the mountains of Ecuador and mountain communities made vertical use of the land in order to maximize the unique resources of each climatic zone along the length of the mountains (Camacho). Exchange of crops with other communities from different climatic zones was also common. Throughout these communities, as well as in certain portions of the Amazon, the farming tradition of the minga was performed. The minga is a practice in which all able-bodied members of the community unite at various points throughout the world to perform acts which serve to maintain the community in one way or another. Often this includes the collective harvesting or planting of crops, digging and repairing of irrigation systems, or fertilization of community lands. Social life was and continues to be structured around the agricultural calendar (Camacho).
In the early 16th century, the northern highlands of Ecuador were invaded by the Incas, although Incan presence did not drastically alter Ecuadorian agriculture. Then, just forty years after Inca invasion, the Spanish arrived in Ecuador. The northern region of the nation had been weakened by Inca invasion and disease and as a result the Spanish were able to gain control of the region with relative ease. They reclaimed collective lands and allotted large plots of land and water to individual conquistadors to create large haciendas. The Spaniards appropriated the Inca tribute system and transformed it into the encomienda system, which demanded tribute of crops ad local goods from indigenous communities and required all able-bodied indigenous people to labor on Spanish haciendas. The Spanish closed off traditional trade routes and ended practices of polyculture and ecological complementarity. It was emphasized that haciendas should operate relatively independently from one another. Intercropping ceased, and non-native crops were increasingly cultivated.
In the 1880's, as agriculture and the world became more globalized and industrialized, there was a new found global demand for chocolate and cacao. Hacendias on Ecuador's coast began rapidly producing cacao for export. Cacao demand led to Ecuador became newly integrated in a global trade economy. By 1904, cacao made up about 70% of the nation's exports (Striffler). The cacao boom generated wealth that created a new middle class of citizens in Ecuador and government expansion. When World War I and agricultural disease wiped out much of the nation's cacao trees, the nation's economy was devastated- particularly among the upper classes of the nation. Ecuador's weakened economy left it vulnerable to foreign interference. In the 1930's, the American corporation United Fruit entered Ecuador and purchased large plots of plantation land from hacienda owners to establish banana plantations throughout the country. United Fruit housed their employees and controlled all aspects of their lives and the production of bananas. This system was highly lucrative for United Fruit and by the 1940’s Ecuador was the world’s top exporter of bananas. United Fruit was one of the most powerful agribusinesses in the world. In turn, Ecuador became a macroeconomically stable nation during United Fruit's period of success.
However, United Fruit's success was not stable. In the early 1950's and 1960's, the popular breed of bananas cultivated at the time, known as the Gros Michel banana, was devastated by an agricultural disease called the Panama Disease. This led to national economic and political unrest. Between 1964 and 1973, Ecuador experienced a series of grassroots, peasant-led revolutions calling for land reform and reclamation of formerly indigenous lands. Land reform bills were passed by the federal government which ended the hacienda economy and replaced it with wage labor-based "capitalist agrarian development" (Peña). Former United Fruit employees planned revolts against the company and attempted to reclaim plantation land (Striffler). Former hacienda lands were redistributed to indigenous communities but rather than being awarded in its original state of large, collective plots of land, farmers received the small pieces of land they had been living on during the hacienda system. Small and medium scale farmers account for 84.5% of all Ecuadorian farmers yet control only 20% of the nation's farmland (Peña). Moreover, the health and economic well-being of these communities are still far from being restored to their original condition (Camacho).
Historically, most pre-colonial Ecuadorian communities placed a strong focus on collective identity and sustained themselves through collective based farming practices. Northern Andean communities practiced interplanting strategies with beans and maize. The rapid increase of altitude in the Andes resulted in immense biodiversity in the mountains of Ecuador and mountain communities made vertical use of the land in order to maximize the unique resources of each climatic zone along the length of the mountains (Camacho). Exchange of crops with other communities from different climatic zones was also common. Throughout these communities, as well as in certain portions of the Amazon, the farming tradition of the minga was performed. The minga is a practice in which all able-bodied members of the community unite at various points throughout the world to perform acts which serve to maintain the community in one way or another. Often this includes the collective harvesting or planting of crops, digging and repairing of irrigation systems, or fertilization of community lands. Social life was and continues to be structured around the agricultural calendar (Camacho).
In the early 16th century, the northern highlands of Ecuador were invaded by the Incas, although Incan presence did not drastically alter Ecuadorian agriculture. Then, just forty years after Inca invasion, the Spanish arrived in Ecuador. The northern region of the nation had been weakened by Inca invasion and disease and as a result the Spanish were able to gain control of the region with relative ease. They reclaimed collective lands and allotted large plots of land and water to individual conquistadors to create large haciendas. The Spaniards appropriated the Inca tribute system and transformed it into the encomienda system, which demanded tribute of crops ad local goods from indigenous communities and required all able-bodied indigenous people to labor on Spanish haciendas. The Spanish closed off traditional trade routes and ended practices of polyculture and ecological complementarity. It was emphasized that haciendas should operate relatively independently from one another. Intercropping ceased, and non-native crops were increasingly cultivated.
In the 1880's, as agriculture and the world became more globalized and industrialized, there was a new found global demand for chocolate and cacao. Hacendias on Ecuador's coast began rapidly producing cacao for export. Cacao demand led to Ecuador became newly integrated in a global trade economy. By 1904, cacao made up about 70% of the nation's exports (Striffler). The cacao boom generated wealth that created a new middle class of citizens in Ecuador and government expansion. When World War I and agricultural disease wiped out much of the nation's cacao trees, the nation's economy was devastated- particularly among the upper classes of the nation. Ecuador's weakened economy left it vulnerable to foreign interference. In the 1930's, the American corporation United Fruit entered Ecuador and purchased large plots of plantation land from hacienda owners to establish banana plantations throughout the country. United Fruit housed their employees and controlled all aspects of their lives and the production of bananas. This system was highly lucrative for United Fruit and by the 1940’s Ecuador was the world’s top exporter of bananas. United Fruit was one of the most powerful agribusinesses in the world. In turn, Ecuador became a macroeconomically stable nation during United Fruit's period of success.
However, United Fruit's success was not stable. In the early 1950's and 1960's, the popular breed of bananas cultivated at the time, known as the Gros Michel banana, was devastated by an agricultural disease called the Panama Disease. This led to national economic and political unrest. Between 1964 and 1973, Ecuador experienced a series of grassroots, peasant-led revolutions calling for land reform and reclamation of formerly indigenous lands. Land reform bills were passed by the federal government which ended the hacienda economy and replaced it with wage labor-based "capitalist agrarian development" (Peña). Former United Fruit employees planned revolts against the company and attempted to reclaim plantation land (Striffler). Former hacienda lands were redistributed to indigenous communities but rather than being awarded in its original state of large, collective plots of land, farmers received the small pieces of land they had been living on during the hacienda system. Small and medium scale farmers account for 84.5% of all Ecuadorian farmers yet control only 20% of the nation's farmland (Peña). Moreover, the health and economic well-being of these communities are still far from being restored to their original condition (Camacho).
Food sovereignty in Ecuador is the response and potential remedy to hundreds of years of colonization and foreign interference. Exploited communities will not have equal opportunities until they are able to have access to sufficient, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food.
Works Cited
· Camacho, Juana. 2006. “Good to Eat, Good to Think: Food Culture and Biodiversity in Cotacachi” in Robert Rhoades (ed) Development with Identity: community, Culture and Sustainability in the Andes. Cambridge, MA: CABI Publishing. 156-172.
· Peña, Karla. 2017. “Will Lenin Moreno Champion Food Sovereignty in Ecuador in Ways Rafael Correa Didn’t?” Upside Down World, September 20. Url: http://upsidedownworld.org/archives/ecuador/will-lenin-moreno-champion-food-sovereignty-ecuador-ways-rafael-correa-didnt/
· Striffler, Steve. 2008. “The United Fruit Company’s Legacy in Ecuador” in Carlos de la Torre and Steve Striffler (eds) The Ecuador Reader: History, Culture, Politics. Durham, Duke University Press. 238-249.
· Lyons, Barry, with Angel Aranda and Dina Guevara. 2008. “Simple People” in Carlos de la Torre and Steve Striffler (eds) The Ecuador Reader: History, Culture, Politics. Durham, Duke University Press. 403-414.
Excellent summary of Ecuador's agrarian history!
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