Young Peruvians Use Social Media to Promote Agro-Ecological Production
Aug 16 2012, Peru [PE], Agriculture, Economic Development
- Source:
- Bénédicte Marcilly [BMarcilly(at)iicd.org]
- Country:
- Peru [PE]
- Sector:
- Agriculture, Economic Development
A group of young people from the National Association of Ecological Producers in Peru (ANPE PERÚ), promote organic farming and an ecological approach towards agriculture, with the use of Information and Communication Technology tools such as social media.
The young Peruvians are participating in various radio spots, television and online social networks, disseminating and raising awareness about the benefits of consuming organic products that are healthy, chemical free and nutritious and focusing on the ecological impact of agricultural practices. They also invite people to buy products at ‘Fruits of the Earth’ Ecological Fairs (EcoFairs) in the areas of Cusco, Áncash and Cajamarca. These fairs function as a point of sale where local organic farmers can sell their products.
The young Peruvian organic ambassadors are also present at the fairs to provide the public with even more information about organic farming and ecologically sound agricultural practices. They are equipped with laptops, digital cameras and recorders, as well as printers, mobile phones and routers for wireless internet to make sure that they collect and disseminate information wherever they go.
Maylie Carrasco is one of the young people who participates in the project. In a Peruvian news show, she explains about agro-ecological products and invites consumers to visit the EcoFair Fruits of the Earth (in Spanish):
Increasing market access to over 500 ecological producers
The ambassadors all come from organic farmers families that are associated with the National Association of Ecological Producers in Peru. The underlying goal of this initiative is to improve the income and increase the access to the market for over 500 families of ecological producers by informing the public on the advantages of organic and ecologically sound agricultural products so that they buy products from the EcoFair. This project is supported by IICD and ICCO through the Connect4Change alliance.
Developing capacities through workshops
Before starting their campaign to draw the attention of the public to the benefits of organic farming and viewing agricultural areas as ecosystems, the young organic ambassadors participated in workshops that trained them on how to create blogs and use social media for promotional activities. These workshops also trained them in various speaking techniques, to optimise their presentations and be able to communicate to the public the advantages of organic production. They also learned to use the Internet as a tool for research in databases specialised in organic production.
