Summary
This qualitative study challenges the negative framing of livestock farming in Colombian páramo conservation by arguing that small-scale agropastoralism, underpinned by mobile production strategies and strong social networks, constitutes a viable pathway for re-peasantisation and agrobiodiversity. Drawing on 53 interviews and field observation, the authors demonstrate that agropastoral mobility facilitates both ecological sustainability (through dynamic pasture management preventing overgrazing) and socio-economic resilience (through interconnected communities and the solidarity economy). The paper contributes conceptually to understanding autonomy in re-peasantisation and methodologically by applying spatial analysis to reveal how movement across landscapes enables both production flexibility and conservation outcomes.
UK applicability
The findings are primarily contextual to high-altitude tropical agroecosystems and may have limited direct applicability to UK lowland farming systems. However, the conceptual arguments regarding mobile pastoral systems, social network resilience, and alternative approaches to land-sparing conservation may inform UK policy discussions around upland farming support and agrobiodiversity in marginal areas.
Key measures
Socio-economic networks, mobility patterns, land access dynamics, pasture management practices, agrobiodiversity outcomes, re-peasantisation indicators
Outcomes reported
The study examined how small-scale agropastoralism and mobile production strategies contribute to re-peasantisation and agrobiodiversity conservation in the páramos of Boyacá. Data were collected through 53 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders and small-scale agropastoralists, supplemented by field observation.
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