A Summer of Opportunity for a Sustainable Future

As a Puerto Rican born and raised in a coastal municipality of the island, the Harvard Summer Institute 2022 was an experience that connected me personally to the land. Although my family has deep roots in agriculture, the program gave me a better perspective on the agricultural reality of Puerto Rico,reaffirming my interest in Puerto Rico’s agroecological projects and the conditions of farmers.  

Reflecting on different perspectives of the human relationship with land, I have started to see land not only as a resource that supports human life and its development but as a living entity that affects every aspect of life and stores ancient knowledge. These were some of the main takeaways from this experience. Now, a few months after summer, this experience continues to inspire me to build a better and healthierrelationship with our land moving forward.

Puerto Rico’s agricultural history is deeply related to previous governments’ economic development strategies. In the name of progress, Puerto Ricans started to believe that agriculture was something of the past and had no societal value. Most Puerto Ricans somewhere in the back of their mine have an outdated image of a poor agricultural Puerto Rico, an attitude that affects societal decisions. As proof, the latest Agricultural Census of 2018 says that only 21.6% of lands are agricultural lands. 

However, since the Hurricane María aftermath, younger generations are seeing the value of agriculture and a sustainable future in agricultural projects. I believe that increased information and ongoing climate, economic and political crises on the island, lived by an entire generation, have motivated Puerto Ricans to explore ancient knowledge and new ways of living to find solutions to today’s problems. Acceptance of our history and the intentional adoption of foundations based on sustainability, appreciation of our roots and the pursuit ofcommon good as fundamental conditions for our relationship with the land are crucial to Puerto Rico’s development. We saw that spark during the summer in projects with similar values: collective action, sustainability and rescuing ancient knowledge.

It Must Be a Collective Movement

Group discussion. Photo courtesy of Pedro Reina Pérez

​The human relationship with the land has many dimensions. During the summer program, we visited Plenitud, Hacienda Jeanmarie Chocolat and ColectivoAgroecológico Güaikía, all with different approaches to land management for food security and sovereignty, as a business and as a food source. Although each project had a different core purpose and methodology, they shared the value of collective organization as the best way to develop agriculture on the island. For example, Jeanmarie Chocolat proposes creating cooperation systems island-wide to develop the cacao industry by developing a quality export crop. Plenitud uses a different approach by including the community of Las Marias, creating different programs to benefit the area. 

From community development approaches to business approaches, these projects demonstrate that to develop agriculture, collective organization is a must. This was confirmed recently with Hurricane Fiona’s aftermath, during which farmers with active networks saved some of their income by selling their crops to organizations such as PRoduce. This organization’s mission is to connect farmers and other local producers with consumers and chefs around Puerto Rico to reduce the 85% of food imports on the island.

Since the summer—and especially in light of recent events— I’ve been reflecting on systems and their importance for societal development. Society effectiveness lies in systems that work together effectively. The same applies to agriculture; sound public policies that address the challenges of farmers, capacity-building mechanisms, networks, and distribution systems, among other factors to achieve the goals of food security and sovereignty, are necessary.

It Must Be Sustainable

Site visit at Plenitud. Photo courtesy of Sybelle Eunice Rodríguez Del Valle

Our institute discussions constantly were looking at the issue of sustainability. The projects we visited were developed through permaculture, polyculture and agroecological practices quite distinct from the monocrop and industrialized agriculture of the Puerto Rican past. However, all these projects confront the need for great capital investments. Some of the projects addressed this challenge through donor development and grant-writing practices. Even though this way of supporting a project is effective, it needs an organizational structure to manage it and specific knowledge which is not the reality of most Puerto Rican farmers.

Other projects showed farmers how to use their crops in many different forms. For example, Jeanmarie Chocolat diversified the uses of cacao crops by producing wine and chocolate and sharing cacao seeds with other farmers. In addition, with the support of the University of Puerto Rico, it continuously researches new methods to improve crop efficiency. This endeavor has created knowledge of cacao on the island and in turn has reduced research costs for the farmer’s project. The development of sustainable systems for agriculture is key to making local production achieve food security and sovereignty along with allowing farmers to sustain their life solely on their agricultural project. The results of the 2018 Agricultural Census indicate that 54% had sales under US $5,000. Farmers in particular—and Puerto Ricans in general—felt the impact during the aftermath of hurricanes Irma and Maria and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Roots Must Be Valued

Cacao Plant at Hacienda Jean Marie Chocolat. Photo courtesy of Sybelle Eunice Rodríguez Del Valle.

Colonialism severely damaged Puerto Ricans’ relationship with the land because it rejected native knowledge and experience—in some cases, that attitude still continues. The institute experience was an attempt to rescue our roots, ancient knowledge and spirituality by exploring ancestral beliefs as valid and significant. For example, during the Institute we learned about the grandfathers’ and grandmothers’ medicinal knowledge that has been displaced by modern medicine. Also, we learned about ancient building methods with soil and adobe that architects are trying to bring back as a building alternative to climate change and seismic activity. I believe our relationship with the land is one of the most disrupted by the colonial process that discarded this spiritual knowledge and demonized it. Inspired by the Institute experience, I have continued to explore how colonialism and society’s influence have affected me and my relationship with the land.

I have continued to study agricultural topics exploring the question of who owns the land. The discussion of private property, the commons and formality versus informality of land tenure in Puerto Rico inspired me to continue to understand who owns or possesses agricultural lands on the island and understand the challenges that the farmers face. I have continued to pursue this topic as part of my research at the law school which in turn has allowed me to see the law as living and changeable— able to support agricultural development. Examples of legal solutions to land tenure are  Community Land Trusts (CLTs) such as Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Caño Martín Peña, a CLT to protect housing rights and protect the Caño communities from gentrification and Fideicomiso de Tierras Comunitarias para la Agricultura Sostenible, a CLT to support land tenure of farmers.

Reflecting on this experience and moving forward in my academic, professional and personal life, I find it necessary to change how we as a society and individuals see our relationship with the land. Land is not only a resource there to serve human development but a necessity to sustain all life. We must contextualize and evaluate our individual and collective relationship with land to start thinking and proposing sustainable futures that fit our specific situation. Complex issues such as sustainable agriculture and food sovereignty require interdisciplinary approaches and solutions that recognize the intrinsic value of the land. Experiences like this, which foster academic and professional curiosity while playing to one’s strengths, are experiences that serve as tools to build better and healthier relationships with land moving forward.