Meet Gumercindo: A sugarcane smallholder takes on a big challenge

^{Gumercindo Vásquez stands amidst his sugarcane on his farm.}

Gumercindo Vásquez learned how to grow sugarcane from his father, and his father learned from his grandfather. But times have changed and with the increasing impact of climate change the farm had seen an annual decrease in productivity. Today, Gumercindo has taken up the challenge-together with Solidaridad. He has updated his farming practices with an emphasis on sustainability.

Living in the Veracruz municipality of Panuco, Gumercindo enjoys his coffee in the mornings and spends time with his brothers, his wife, and their two young children. He makes his living by selling his sugarcane to the Panuco sugar mill. He is also a sugarcane planter, which brings in additional income as he helps other smallholders prepare their land for cultivation.

"Growing sugarcane offers many benefits to smallholders. First, it is an annual-cycle crop that requires less intensive care compared to short-cycle crops. In addition, the crop is very profitable, especially in Mexico. It also can resist various periods of water stress and extreme temperatures. As a result, its greatest benefit is the way it adapts and how it develops," reports Henry Avendaño the project officer for PanameriCaña.

MAS-CAÑA programme supports smallholders to become more sustainable

In 2022, Gumercindo began working with Solidaridad. Through the MAS-CAÑA programme he worked to improve the agricultural practices on his farm, while studying for a diploma in efficient and sustainable sugarcane production.

As part of the PanameriCaña project, MAS-CAÑA was carried out in a strategic alliance with Grupo Pantaleon, BAYER, and Mexican smallholder associations. The project aimed to train smallholders and provide them with technical advice on their plots in an effort to reduce farmers' costs and increase their productivity. At the end of the training, smallholders shared the results from their demonstration plots with their communities to encourage uptake of good practices.

"At Solidaridad, we seek to develop the competencies of smallholders through training programs with the learning-by-doing methodology and technical advice on good agricultural, environmental, and occupational health and safety practices," says Henry Avendaño, the project officer at PanameriCaña. "Demonstration plots also help motivate them to adopt good practices to increase their efficiency, productivity, and resilience."

Facing up to the challenges

Prior to his work with MAS-CAÑA, Gumercindo wasn't prepared to carry out fundamental tasks for his cane crop. For example, due to a lack of an irrigation system, he was unable to optimize fertilizer application.

By installing a 'fertigation' system where fertilizer is applied optimally through an irrigation system, he was able to deliver water and nutrients to a plant's root zone resulting in reduced environmental impact and improved crop quality.

This system was one of many improvements Gumercindo made to his farm. His success with MAS-CAÑA inspired other farmers dealing with the impacts of climate change and reduced rainfall to invest in irrigation systems.

Solidaridad supported smallholders in the MAS-CAÑA programme with training to:

• Improve irrigation management for sugarcane crops.
• Use incorporated (buried) fertilizers to mitigate the environmental impact due to the fertilizer's volatilization effect.
• Use pre-emergent herbicides to reduce the number of applications on the soil.
• Plant in double furrows to increase crop productivity in less space.

"For the double furrow, instead of placing the two canes together (double chain), two canes are placed strategically (one separated from the other by an intermediate row) so that the cane can germinate free of competition and have more space," Avendaño says about this cultivation technique.

"Most of the smallholders are hesitant to change, considering that the traditional management of sugarcane is something passed down from generation to generation; however, when we show them the good results obtained by applying good agricultural practices, they experiment and accept the change."

Gumercindo remarks, "It really does make sense. We see the increase in the amount of cane we deliver to the sugar mill, and we achieve that in the field, with a greater stalk population, and that is where production increases in tonnes of cane per hectare."

Leveling up to the challenge

As a smallholder sugarcane farmer, Gumercindo was ready to make positive changes to his agricultural practices in order to ensure the success of his farm.

At first lacking machinery, he used help from the programme to bring mechanical improvements to his farm.

"He was the first smallholder who made modifications to his production system, so at the beginning, he did not have the necessary implements. Thanks to Solidaridad's experience, he was able to modify his equipment." Avendaño tells us.

At first, his workers were resistant to newer agricultural techniques. For example, they were not used to planting double furrows, but through the programme's training they grew to accept the new practices.

"The first day, we suspended planting because the workers were resistant to the change. The next day, through negotiations, we increased their daily wages and managed to implement this new technique," Gumercindo says.

Gumercindo has also planted more than a thousand trees of different species throughout his farmland. While many of his neighboring smallholders were cutting down trees to allow more sunlight to reach their growing crops, he has preserved many of the mahogany, rose and cedar trees that surround his plots. As the amount of rainfall has decreased due to climate change, Gumercindo has realized that fighting deforestation is one way to preserve water resources in the soil.

Reaching goals!

The change in cultivation techniques yielded immediate results. "Before, I had a yield of between 50 and 80 tons of cane per hectare. This year, I produced 160 tons per hectare. I am very happy with the results of my plot," Gumercindo says.

He goes on to say that, "Now that I have learned the new techniques and I see that my production has improved, I would like to buy a new tractor and invest more in my plots. Recently, I bought another plot, and I want to plant with these new techniques. I want to improve my family's life."

While Gumercindo looks to the future with hope, Solidaridad's Henry Avendaño is motivated to continue to work with the sugarcane farmers. He says, "For us, the most important thing is to encourage the smallholders to change the culture of conventional sugarcane crop management. To work with them hand in hand and to migrate to timely management of tillage that increases profitability in their plots to be self-sustainable and improve the family's standard of living."

This article was originally published in Spanish in September 2023. The MAS-CAÑA pilot project highlighted in this piece has now concluded. Companies in Central America and Mexico seeking to replicate our successful methodologies and enhance their supply chain base through increased yields, improved product quality, and reduced costs are encouraged to collaborate with us. We are dedicated to fostering sustainable agricultural practices and empowering smallholder farmers.

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