The Working Group on Sustainable Livestock Agroecosystems of the State of Campeche (AGS-CAM), in Mexico, joined the National Network for the Promotion of the Social and Solidarity Economy (NODESS), an initiative promoted by the National Institute of Social Economy (INAES), in order to link sustainable livestock with the social economy and thus support livestock producers in the area.

The AGS-CAM is an inter-institutional group made up of the Biodiversity and Sustainable Agrosilvopastoralist Livestock Landscapes, known as BioPaSOS and implemented by CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center), together with representatives of livestock producers, the Rural Development Ministry of the Executive Branch of the State of Campeche (SDR), the Ministry for the Environment, Biodiversity and Climate Change of the Executive Branch of the State of Campeche (SEMABICC), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the College of the Southern Border (ECOSUR) Campeche Unit, the Postgraduate College (COLPOS) Campeche Campus, the China Technological Institute (IT China), the National Institute for Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock Research (INIFAP), PRONATURA PY, the National Forestry Commission (CONAFOR) and the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP).

“By being part of NODESS we seek to promote and drive productive and organizational initiatives that foster a social and solidarity economy,” stated Edwin Pérez, local coordinator of the BioPaSOS project in Campeche.

Thus, a six-month work plan was developed to carry out actions that contemplate the strengthening of capacities in productive, administrative, and organizational matters in 10 communities of the municipalities of Escárcega, Champotón and Calakmul. “This period is part of a process that must be carried out to later be able to join the National System of Training and Specialized Technical Assistance (SINCA) of INAES”, explained Pérez.

The BioPaSOS project appears in this process as the promoter of AGS-CAM, since one of its purposes is to promote and strengthen this type of cooperative platforms in alliance with local actors interested in promoting sustainable livestock.

BioPaSOS is being implemented with the support of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), in coordination with the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER), with funding from the International Climate Initiative (IKI).