COS 162-1 - Traditional agroecological knowledge supports agrobiodiversity and food sovereignty among migrant agricultural workers in Mexican coffee agroforests

Abstract: Coffee agroecosystems represent the economic base for thousands of small growers and plantation laborers, as well as a significant proportion of many regional economies in Latin America. Every year, the production of coffee in Latin America in small to large coffee holdings, attracts a great number of laborers and their families, particularly during the harvest season. Although there has been a significant number of studies documenting the contributions of agroforestry systems on peasant households, less is known about their contributions to plantation laborers– one of the most marginalized communities in the coffee production chain– who are often landless, and are subject to a number of challenges including food insecurity, legal insecurity, debt, low wages, forced labor, among many other difficulties. We carried out walking interviews, plant surveys and participant observation with a community of migrant laborers in the coffee producing region of Soconusco, Mexico. We found a great diversity of edible plants used by plantation laborers, and report on their associated knowledge, and practices for conservation. In this talk we examine the contributions of coffee agroforestry systems in the Soconusco region of Mexico to household foods; and the relationship between agrobiodiversity, local ecological knowledge, and food sovereignty in the context of plantation agriculture. We discuss how laborers practice their autonomy, resistance, and food sovereignty through plant foraging, hunting, seed saving, collective cooking, knowledge-sharing, and gardening. Finally, we put agrobiodiversity and food sovereignty in conversation with challenges associated to the increased use of herbicides in coffee plantations, and possible effects of climate change and generational knowledge gaps on plant diversity and availability. We argue that a) food and agrobiodiversity is an avenue to maintain identity, community, sovereignty, and a sense of belonging; and finally suggest that b) complex agroecological knowledge held by migrant communities promotes biodiversity in coffee landscapes.