Farming in the Anaime canyon: an environmental history of central Colombia’s agricultural pantry

Abstract

This paper seeks to reconstruct an environmental history of agriculture in the Anaime canyon to understand the environmental consequences of its transformation into Colombia's agricultural pantry. It tracks agri-food production in the canyon since its origins and explores how commercial agriculture and dairy production have transformed the landscape and local ecosystems. This research is based on data from archive sources and a participatory reconstruction of the Anaime territory by its peasant inhabitants. Internal migration, rapid urban growth, and improvements in transportation infrastructure during the mid-20th century hastened the intensification of agriculture in the canyon. Decades of agriculture oriented toward satisfying increasingly remote markets have resulted in the deterioration of local soils and agroecosystems, but the collective exploration of Anaime’s environmental history opens up the dialogue on more sustainable ways to farm in the canyon.