The FONTAGRO Project "Sustainable control of the HLB vector in FA in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia" held a virtual seminar on the methodology and application of mapping key actors in citrus farming in the department of Monte Caseros in Cor
The aforementioned Project proposes to adapt and disseminate integrated pest management technology (IPM) in order to control HLB vector in family agriculture (FA), through an innovative collective management approach. Demonstration (LD) and conventional (LC) lots are participatively selected and located in family farming establishments.
A series of activities to validate practices are carried out in the demonstration lots, pest and disease alerts, training, communication, raising social awareness, sustainability and quality monitoring aswell as economic analysis.
The Project platform is integrated by INTA / Fundación ArgenINTA (Argentina) as main Executors; INIA (Uruguay), the National University of Itapúa / Itapúa University Foundation (Paraguay) and the Autonomous Municipal Government of Bermejo (Bolivia) as Co-executors. SENASA and FEDERCITRUS from Argentina and UPEFRUY from Uruguay also take part in the Project.
The webinar was held on October 8, 2020 and within the framework of Component 4, which tends to collective innovation management, and is transversal to the rest of the components. It proposes active participation of the strategic actors located in the territories where the project is developed. 64 technicians atended the webinar.
The activity began with an introduction by Silvana Giancola, researcher at INTA CIEP and Project Leader. Afterwards, Gonzalo Bravo, researcher at INTAs Experimental Station located in Salta INTA EEA Salta , addressed the methodological aspects regarding Mapping Key Actors (MAC) and presented a case study implemented at Monte Caseros, Corrientes province, Argentina, together with Edgardo Lombardo, extensionist at INTAs Rural Extension Agency in Monte Caseros INTA AER Monte Caseros.
Both speakers agreed that Mapping Key Actors is a useful methodology to represent social reality in the territory unit in which it is desired to intervene, understand it in its complexity and design intervention strategies from an integrated management perspective. In addition, it allows better knowledge of existing alliances, conflicts and authorized spokespersons in each case.
Likewise, they highlighted that this methodology is currently used in participatory research projects. Its purpose is to graphically represent social relations between a set of actors, aiming to transform realities from a collective action perspective.
Towards the end of the webinar, there was an interesting exchange and consultations with attendees who highlighted the usefulness of the methodology and its applicability.
Download: Presentación Mapeo de Actores Claves
Authors: Andrea Goldberg and Mariano Matías
