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October 2023
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mYo Hosts 5th Annual Hispanic Farmers and Agricultural Professionals Symposium from Puerto Rico

Panel Highlights Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry

In celebration of National Hispanic American Heritage Month, mano-Y-ola (mYo) hosted its 5th Annual Hispanic Farmers and Agricultural Professionals Symposium on October 12 and 13, 2023. This year’s Symposium was titled “Sustaining the Future: Ecology, Innovation, and Partnership in Hispanic Agriculture and Forestry.” mYo had the privilege of hosting it from the town of Aguada, located on Puerto Rico’s beautiful northwest coast.

The Symposium featured remarks from Gloria Montaño Greene of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Louis Aspey of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS), among others. Louis provided information on NRCS’s priorities, such as working to ensure equity in the agency’s programs and services. He also emphasized the agency’s available resources to assist farmers in broadening their market reach and improving conservation initiatives. Gloria presented valuable insights on USDA programs, mainly focusing on disaster relief assistance for our producers.

 

Our keynote speaker, Dr. Ariel Lugo, delivered an ecological and scientific evaluation of our current energy and natural resources challenges. He also discussed how Puerto Rico’s forests have recovered and are adapting to changing environmental conditions, noting that today about sixty-three percent of the island is forested.

 

“Puerto Rico today is greener than it has ever been in 100 years,” Dr. Lugo said. 

 

During the Symposium panel titled “Land and Legacy: Charting the Path of Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry,” panelists Katherine Favor, Andrés Rúa, and Carlos Luis Díaz Palmer presented. They shared their expertise in agroforestry practices, sustainable forestry in Puerto Rico, and sustainable agriculture at Hacienda Rita in San Germán, Puerto Rico.

Land and Legacy: Charting the Path of Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry,” panelists Katherine Favor, Andrés Rúa, and Carlos Luis Díaz Palmer.

Agroforestry

Katherine, who is an ORISE Agroforestry and Climate Hubs Fellow at the USDA National Agroforestry Center (NAC), focused her presentation on how some of the most common agroforestry practices, such as riparian buffers, windbreaks, and silvopasture, can contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation.

 

Adaptation can help us “better survive climate change,” while mitigation “can slow down and reduce the severity of climate change,” Katherine said. “By combining forestry and farming into an integrated system in the form of agroforestry, we can generate so many co-benefits that can increase resilience in the face of climate change.”

 

For example, Katherine explained the benefits of silvopasture. This practice involves “trees, forage, and livestock production all on the same land,” she said.

 

This practice can mitigate climate change by sequestering carbon. In terms of climate change adaptation, the trees used in silvopasture systems help to shield animals from extreme temperatures, she added.

 

Katherine ended on an inspirational note, saying that agroforestry “provides a ray of hope in dark times.”

Sustainable Forestry

Next, Andrés told the story of his silviculture journey, which began in 2005. Andrés is now the Principal CEO of Puerto Rico Hardwoods, which he established to “demonstrate that silviculture can be done in Puerto Rico in a responsible way.”

 

“We started with trees that were cut in the urban areas, where these trees were deposited into landfills and collection centers. Most of them were never processed,” Andrés said. “We’re talking about big mahogany, 70, 80-year-old mahogany, cut into small chunks and then thrown into a machine to grind it. We saw that happening, and we saw an opportunity.”

 

He is hopeful about the future of forestry in Puerto Rico.

 

“There are enough people capable of doing things here, and we just need guidance to see how we are going to use this,” Andrés said. “Forestry, I see it in the future of Puerto Rico as an option.”

Sustainable Agriculture

Carlos, who is also known as Carli, concluded the panel with a presentation about the practices he uses in his work as a Farmer and Tree Grafting Specialist at his family’s farm, Hacienda Rita, located in San Germán, Puerto Rico, and established in 1998.

 

“Hacienda Rita was a legacy from my father,” Carli said.

 

Carli specializes in using grafting to propagate citrus trees as well as avocado trees.

 

“We have selected some varieties that have had a faster recovery and are more resistant, especially the avocados, against the hurricanes,” he said.

 

A little over ten years ago, he transitioned the farm to organic agricultural practices. Hacienda Rita uses allelopathy, in which some plants attract beneficial insects and others repel harmful ones, Carli explained.

 

“On the farm, we’re now free of all chemicals,” Carli said.

To read more about this year’s Symposium, check out our booklet!

 
Let's go!

Coming soon!

On the second day of the Symposium, mYo hosted an in-person farm demonstration at Hacienda Jeanmarie Chocolat, which will be featured in an upcoming newsletter.

Be on the lookout for an upcoming Symposium highlight video and complete recordings of the Symposium in English and Spanish to be published soon on our YouTube channel.

 
Go to Youtube!

This newsletter was written by Courtney Columbus, reviewed by Adrian Parrott, Nolo Martínez, and Jessica Roqueburg, and produced by Patricia Morales.

About our company — mano-Y-ola (formerly known as Nolo Consulting, LLC) is a minority- and female-owned consulting firm specializing in work with minority and immigrant farmer communities, early childhood education programs, and leadership development.  The company’s mission is to help each individual professional love what they do.

What We Do

mano-Y-ola is currently conducting a survey of Hispanic forest landowners across the U.S. as part of the Hispanic Forest Landowners Outreach Program. The survey is available in Spanish and English. To learn more about mano-Y-ola’s survey and to participate, visit:

 

mano-Y-ola está llevando a cabo una encuesta de dueños de bosque hispanos en los Estados Unidos como parte del Programa de Alcance para Hispanos Propietarios de Bosques. La encuesta está disponible en español y en inglés. Para aprender más sobre la encuesta de mano-Y-ola y para participar, visite:

Website
Survey

Contact

For more information, please contact Adrian Parrott, Program Manager and Outreach Specialist: adrian.parrott@mano-y-ola.com.

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