Enelda Velásquez, a farmer allied with conservation

Enelda Velásquez Córdova is the embodiment of enthusiasm. She lives in Alto Carrizal, in the district of Jepelacio, province of Moyobamba (San Martín), and along with her husband Abilio Sayago, they have decided not only to improve their coffee harvests sustainably but also to reforest the forest. At just over 30 years old, “Nelly,” as she is called by those close to her, dreams of turning her farm, located next to a waterfall, into a tourist area to generate better income, all after learning about the great benefits of agroforestry through the AgroFor project.

In the beginning, Enelda and her husband had to overcome difficult moments. After leaving their native Piura and betting on agriculture in San Martín, a rust plague destroyed their production. However, their enthusiasm did not fade, and after overcoming this setback, she began to train in agroforestry techniques. The results came with improvements in the production of oranges, passion fruits, mandarins, guabas, avocados, cedar, small cedar, laurel, moena, saltpeter, pine, tucumán, pine chuncho, bolaina, capirona, and more.

From her farm, this mother of two young children is contributing to halting deforestation caused by family farming in the country. Nelly understands the importance of taking care of the forest that welcomed her and is determined to continue training to improve her coffee harvests and restore the forest landscape, where the presence of añujes, majaz, monkeys, squirrels, and various birds can already be seen. To achieve this goal of recovery and conservation, Enelda has the support of specialists from CIFOR-ICRAF, experts in agroforestry and good resource management practices.

Enelda is also dedicated to livestock, animal husbandry, working in her own garden, and leading her community. These incredible qualities have made the AgroFor project consider her a focal point in the area. However, this woman’s projections have no limits, and her new goal is to gain access to a CUSAF (Use Transfer Agreement for Agroforestry Systems) that would allow her to commercially sell wood in a formal way and obtain benefits from the state.

Without a doubt, Nelly’s story represents a new opportunity for the sustainable use of Amazonian territory, one that can be replicated in thousands of families engaged in family farming. This is one of the objectives of AgroFor, a project promoted by the Peruvian Society for Environmental Law (SPDA), the Regional Government of San Martín, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), the International Center for Agroforestry Research (ICRAF), with the support of Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI).