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CIASPE Improves Food Security in Mexico

Food Security in MexicoIn 2018, almost 42% of the Mexican population lived in poverty. Furthermore, in the same year, it was estimated that more than 10.4 million people in Mexico experienced severe food insecurity. This figure has risen since 2016, with 10 million severely food insecure individuals registered. CIASPE is an NGO that believes that sustainable living is vital to improving food sovereignty and food security in Mexico.

CIASPE Mexico

CIASPE is working toward food security and sustainability by empowering families and communities through education. CIASPE is located in the central Mexican city of Querétaro, and its food system designs continue to spread through Latin America. Additionally, CIASPE offers training and consultation services that range from the fundamentals of agriculture to the latest innovations in sustainability. CIASPE was founded in 2011 by agronomist and agricultural engineer Gabriela Lucas Deeke. Deeke strives to equate food sovereignty with food security. Furthermore, she works to give communities the tools and know-how to provide for themselves.

Gabriela Lucas Deeke

Deeke has a master’s degree in integrated watershed management from the Autonomous University of Querétaro and another master’s degree in rural tourism from the University of Argentina. In addition, Deeke served 10 years in public service with the Ministry of Agriculture. Furthermore, she took courses in bio-intensive agriculture, which studies how to achieve the biggest crops out of the smallest plots of land.

Deeke’s dream is to give rise to conscious farmers and ensure families can live off what they produce. Additionally, Deeke and CIASPE strive to teach people about the importance of giving back and creating sustainable systems. The organization’s courses reflect this holistic yet practical approach to agriculture.

Agricultural Education

CIASPE offers courses on the fundamentals of farming, advanced practices in sustainability and much more. It opens with basics such as raising poultry, sheep and rabbits. Additionally, it offers a kitchen workshop that focuses on basic nutritional education. The organization preaches respect and care for the land through courses such as agroecology farming, which focuses on making the best use of nature without doing damage to the resource or land. Lastly, it seeks to complete the circle of life with a workshop on composting.

This philosophy runs counter to many of the farming practices deployed today. For example, pesticides and over-farming detract from the nutrients of the crops on an industrial scale. This renders the land useless in the long term. In addition, local impoverished farmers often resort to shortcuts that are ultimately detrimental to their yield and their health. CIASPE looks to combat these harmful practices from the ground up through its educational offerings and focus on the family unit.

Food Sovereignty

CIASPE’s team believes that food security in Querétaro, Mexico, Latin America and beyond can be achieved family by family, community by community. The organization collaborates with other NGOs, schools and entrepreneurs to plant community gardens. Additionally, it employs women who work in handicrafts to help facilitate the sales of surplus produce. CIASPE’s family projects provide a blueprint on how families can live sustainably.

CIASPE works extremely hard to equip communities with everything that they need to be self-sufficient today, tomorrow and in all years to come.

– Greg Fortier
Photo: Flickr

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The Basics of Agroecological Farming


There is no doubt that flaws exist within our global food and agriculture systems. However, there are several innovative options for how to improve these systems. Many farmers and communities worldwide have discovered a possible solution through a technique known as agroecological farming.

The idea behind agroecological farming is to link ecology, culture, economics and society to foster a healthy environment for food production. It focuses on food production that maximizes the use of goods and services without harming these resources in return.

Studies show that agroecological farming programs are more efficient than conventional methods. Improving upon efficiency also increases cost efficiency. By using fewer inputs, expenses are reduced, soil fertility is maintained, pests are managed and higher incomes for farmers are possible.

The Muscatine Island LTAR is a long-term agroecological farming site as well as a soil fertility research field where research has shown the benefits of agroecological farming. In a study comparing the yield of fruit quantity of conventional versus organic peppers, no significant difference in yield was found, but organic peppers fetched prices 70 percent higher at market value. Analyzing this study economically, the organic plants cost more to produce, but being able to sell them for more, they far exceeded the conventional plants in profits made. The benefits of the organic method reach beyond profit. In this study, soil fertility in organic plots actually improved over time. The Muscatine Island LTAR allows for long-term cropping systems experiments that have land tenure and advanced management.

Organizations around the globe are investing in agroecological farming practices to improve them and, along with farmers, develop ways to create more efficiency within these programs.

Agroecological farming allows farmers to participate in innovative processes where creativity and skills are encouraged to jump-start agriculture and food production, which forms the basis for life as well as the economy. Agriculture, especially agroecological farming, and food production are centers for addressing challenges like hunger and poverty.

The U.N. confirms that agroecological farming could double global food production within ten years, reduce the effects of climate change and help alleviate poverty. This farming style also conserves biodiversity and improves nutrition by creating a more well-balanced diet. Since production happens locally, it brings families and communities closer together.

– Katelynn Kenworthy

Photo: Flickr