This project, started in 2017, has been developed through the approximation to an agricultural and human territory that, although small, has enormous complexity and heterogeneity.
The agricultural perimeter of Tchon d’Holanda is a government of Cape Verde project, with funding from Dutch Cooperation.
The major innovation of this initiative is the use of treated wastewater to irrigate the fruit and vegetable plots. The introduction of this technology was intended to address the very adverse environmental conditions of Cape Verde, particularly regarding the availability of rainwater. However, the under-dimensioning of the infrastructure, the lack of resources and lack of investment, monitoring and follow-up in the medium to long term has generated a situation of abandonment, isolation and deterioration of crops. This has impacted on approximately ninety farmers who live off the land in a very precarious manner.
The farmers are hostage to the seeds that are commercially available in Cape Verde, imported from various European countries and poorly adapted to the local climate, with serious consequences for the impoverishment of the local and national genetic and cultural heritage.
This small oasis, in addition to suffering from the usual difficulties of subsistence agriculture implemented in Cape Verde, is an example of the typical contradictions of international cooperation.
At stake is the abandonment and marginalisation of enormous human capital and a collection of accumulated knowledge and experiences.
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