No land for food : prevalence of food insecurity in ethnic communities enclosed by sugarcane monocrop in Colombia
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
No land for food: prevalence of food insecurity in ethnic communities enclosed by sugarcane monocrop in Colombia Leidy Johanna Hurtado-Bermu´dez1 • Irene Ve´lez-Torres2 • Fabia´n Me´ndez1 Received: 28 January 2020 / Revised: 6 June 2020 / Accepted: 25 June 2020 Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+) 2020
Abstract Objectives To evaluate how the food systems in areas close to sugarcane monocrops influence the prevalence of food insecurity (FI) among three ethnic communities in the upper Cauca River basin of Colombia. Methods We developed a mixed methodology study at three rural zones located in the departments of Cauca and Valle del Cauca, Colombia, using a household survey to establish the level of FI, and semi-structured interviews with key community actors. Results These three ethnic communities have a high prevalence of FI ([ 70%) that was found to be associated with economic income, social security, gender, the presence of minors in the home, refrigerator in operation and ownership of the land. Loss of food sovereignty was associated with the sale and rental of land. Conclusions The sugarcane monocrop has contributed to environmental crises, spatial confinement and sociocultural disruption in ethnic territories; by renting, selling or leasing their land to the industrial production of sugarcane, traditional practices of food production and self-consumption have been profoundly transformed. Ethnic cultures are endangered, while food security and sovereignty of indigenous and black communities have been negatively affected. Keywords Food security Food system Food patterns Agro-industry Sugarcane monocrop
Introduction According to the last national census in Colombia, only 23% of the population lives in rural areas, which reflects an accelerated urbanization process. In particular, in recent decades, the mestizo farmer population, indigenous communities and Afro-descendant residents have been displaced from their lands, one reason among others for a
This article is part of the special issue ‘‘Market-driven forces and Public Health’’. & Fabia´n Me´ndez [email protected] Leidy Johanna Hurtado-Bermu´dez [email protected] Irene Ve´lez-Torres [email protected] 1
Escuela de Salud Pu´blica, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
2
Escuela de Ingenierı´a de los Recursos Naturales y del Ambiente, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
transition to industrial agriculture (Friedemann 1976); this is the emblematic case of rural communities displaced by oil palm monocrops in Magdalena Medio (Arias Vanegas and Caicedo Ferna´ndez 2017; Ojeda 2017) and sugarcane in the flat valley of upper Cauca (Ve´lez et al. 2012; Perafan Cabrera 2005). The appropriation of territories and land grabbing by cattle ranchers, paramilitaries, guerrillas, and national and foreign private investors have also served as expulsion factors towards cities. The hoarding of water for the benefit of large economic sectors (mining, agro-indus
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