Certification Program for Small Farmers in Chiapas, México

Funding Goal: $3,000 to provide support for farm visits, office supplies, laboratory analyses of soil and water, and hiring of a part-time staffer to coordinate and document the certification process.

This project is an innovative participatory certification program for small-scale farmers who sell their products at our local market for agroecologically-produced products.

Working hand-in-hand with farmers and consumers, CAN researchers have facilitated development of a set of product standards for agroecological production and a participatory process for helping farmers meet these standards. This process is based upon principles of participation, transparency, trust, food sovereignty, and the respectful interaction among people from distinct cultural backgrounds, helping consumers and producers identify common goals around the product, like social and environmental sustainability. 

The organization Comida Sana y Cercana (Healthy and Local Food Network) has formed a certification committee with representatives of all the sectors participating in the network, including producers and consumers of different products.  The committee’s goal is to certify the 14 farmers and collectives that sell their products at our local agroecological market and others who are on a waiting list to have a spot at the market.   The certification process involves multiple visits to each farm to verify practices, development of management plans, and agreements between farmers and the Comida Sana y Cerca Network, stipulating how farmers will work towards an agroecological ideal and how the network will support them in meeting their goals.

Participatory certification will provide farmers with intellectual and material resources information, training, and other resources to help them work in more ecologically and socially appropriate ways, assure that consumers have access to clean, healthy food, help foster a community within the network, and provide an example that others can learn from.

Since 2005, the Comida Sana y Cercana network has promoted solidarity and sustainability in our local food system through a farmers’ market, educational activities, and agroecological training.

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