Tracing the metabolic rift in Colombia's greengrocer: an environmental history of the Anaime Valley

Richard Doughman
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Richard Doughman: Universidad de Ibagué

Historia Agraria. Revista de Agricultura e Historia Rural, 2020, issue 80, 71-105

Abstract: This paper stems from research to reconstruct an environmental history of agriculture in the Anaime Canyon Valley and better understand the environmental consequences of having transformed the area into “Colombia's greengrocer”. We trace the origins and development of agro-food production and explore how commercial agriculture and dairy operations have transformed the landscape and local ecosystems in the Anaime valley, in light of Marx's concept of metabolic rift. Research is based on archival sources and a participatory reconstruction of the Anaime landscape from the historical memory of the campesinos, or rural inhabitants. The data shows how internal migration, rapid urban growth and improved transportation infrastructure in the valley during the mid-twentieth century hastened the turn toward intensive commercial agriculture. Increasing links to Colombia's urban markets have led to agricultural intensification and specialization in arracacha (Arracacia xanthorrhiza) production in the Anaime Canyon. As a result, soils and ecosystems have been depleted and agriculture depends increasingly on chemical inputs including fertilizers, indicating a growing metabolic rift.

Keywords: Cajamarca (Colombia); historia ambiental; brecha metabólica; arracacha (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N56 N96 O13 Q15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:seh:journl:y:2020:i:80:m:april:p:71-105

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