January 24 |  0 

 

 

Participatory 
characterization of 
cocoa and livestock agri-food 
systems in Caquetá: a 
community perspective. 

Diana Lucía Maya, Luz A. Rodríguez, Javier Eduardo Álvarez, Juliana 

Buitrago.  

Pontificia Universidad Javeriana  

January 2024 

  

 

Low-Emission Food Systems Technical Report 



January 24 | Participatory characterization of cocoa and livestock agri-food systems in Caquetá: a community 
perspective. 

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Contents 
Introduction..................................................................................................... 3 

Context............................................................................................................ 4 

Agri-food systems in Caquetá, Colombia ................................................................. 4 

Case studies ................................................................................................................. 7 

Methods: A participatory approach to food systems characterization ............. 9 

Productive profile ...................................................................................................... 10 

Historical chart ........................................................................................................... 10 

Seasonal calendar and production costs ................................................................ 10 

Vulnerability matrix.................................................................................................... 10 

Participatory mapping .............................................................................................. 10 

Matrix of individual and collective actions for resource management ................. 11 

Daily menu and “the pot” ......................................................................................... 11 

Results ........................................................................................................... 12 

Participants................................................................................................................. 12 

A participatory approach to history: the historical chart........................................ 13 

Farm systems composition and productive profile ................................................ 15 

Cocoa and livestock: Seasonal calendar and production costs ............................ 17 

Vulnerability: participatory mapping and matrix .................................................... 28 

Food security: Daily menu and “the pot” ................................................................ 31 

Collective action and sustainability practices ......................................................... 33 

Challenges for sustainable food systems ................................................................ 34 

Considerations for social inclusion: Women and youth ........................................ 36 

Discussion and conclusions ........................................................................... 39 

References ..................................................................................................... 42 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  



January 24 | Participatory characterization of cocoa and livestock agri-food systems in Caquetá: a community 
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Participatory characterization 
of cocoa and livestock agri-
food systems in Caquetá: a 
community perspective. 

Diana Lucía Maya, Luz A. Rodríguez, Javier Eduardo Álvarez, Juliana 
Buitrago  

January 2024 

The department of Caquetá, in the Colombian Amazon, is central in the efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) 

emissions from food systems as the great majority of the departmental emissions comes from land use change – 

from forests to pastures – and food systems’ production practices. Nevertheless, about 72% of the department is 

still covered by forests.  

Participatory research is exceptional in its possibilities to provide information in which the community perspective 

is privileged. Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) is a systematic and semi-structured activity that focuses on 

gathering information regarding rural livelihoods. We implemented the PRAs in two municipalities within the 

department of Caquetá – Montañita and Belén de los Andaquíes – with the purpose of characterizing, in a 

participatory manner, the local agrifood systems, with emphasis on cocoa and livestock. We included participatory 

tools such as the productive profile, social cartography, a seasonal calendar, a vulnerability matrix, and the daily 

menu, among others. We complemented this information with semi-structured interviews conducted in both 

municipalities, as well as secondary information and a literature review regarding cocoa and livestock sectors in 

Colombia and elsewhere. 

Our results suggest that despite the importance of livestock, there is still production of a wide variety of food crops 

for self-consumption and commercialization, such as fruits (pineapple, chontaduro, copoazú), corn, cassava, 

plantain, cacao, coffee, sacha-inchi, among others. Thus, production systems are diverse even though milk is the 

main commercial product in the department. Supporting these diversified systems with an emphasis on 

conservation and low-emission practices can strengthen the efforts to transition to sustainability, which can also 

contribute to food security. This requires also to consider improving market conditions, nor just incentivizing 

sustainable practices such as organic production (or agroecology) through price premiums, but also the 

possibilities of commercialization in a context characterized by the lack of roads and infrastructure that would 

make productive activities – different to cattle ranching – economically viable.  

Women’s and youth’s participation and decision-making in food systems need to be reinforced. Although 

women’s participation has increased in production activities and producers’ associations, key decision-making is 

still in men’s domain, and women face an inequitable load of work and responsibilities, particularly in the 

reproductive sphere. Youth interests are not considered in food systems, which, together with the threats 

associated with violence and illegal economies, force young people to migrate.  



January 24 | Participatory characterization of cocoa and livestock agri-food systems in Caquetá: a community 
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Introduction 
As part of the CGIAR Low-Emission Food Systems Initiative (Mitigate+), we developed a 
qualitative participatory study in two municipalities of the department of Caquetá in 
Colombia - Belén de los Andaquíes and Montañita - to understand the functioning of 
food systems in the department. Despite the importance of livestock, we observe that 
there is still a wide variety of food crops, such as fruits (pineapple, chontaduro, 
copoazú), corn, cassava, plantain, cacao, sacha-inchi, among others, that can be the 
foundation of sustainable low-emission food systems that can also support food 
security.  

Both in Belén and Montañita, spontaneous and state-directed colonization processes played a key role in human 

settlement and ecosystem transformation; however, in the southern municipalities, as in the case of Belén, 

colonization was also associated with missionary movements. In both cases, there is still a significant percentage of 

land without formal tenure ownership: 33% in the case of Belén and 44% for Montañita (UPRA, 2019). In addition, 

both Montañita and Belén are among the 170 municipalities prioritized by the Peace Agreement signed between 

the Colombian state and the FARC guerilla in 2016, which commits the state to support bottom-up construction 

and implementation of Development Programs with a Territorial Approach (PDET). Montañita is also home to one 

of the territorial training and reincorporation centers (ETCR) which are the places where the former FARC 

combatants are located for their process to (re)integration into society. 

We implemented participatory rural appraisal (PRA) workshops in both municipalities, in which we included 

different participatory tools (Geilfus, 1997) such as the productive profile, social cartography, a seasonal calendar, 

a vulnerability matrix, the daily menu, among others. The purpose was to understand the functioning of the food 

systems and their challenges and needs for sustainability transitions, from the perspective of the community. We 

complemented this information with semi-structured interviews conducted in both municipalities, as well as 

secondary information and a literature review regarding cocoa and livestock sectors in Colombia and elsewhere. 

We use the concepts of climate change and variability, mitigation, adaptation, and vulnerability as a frame of 

reference.  

The workshops took place on July 14 and 15, 2023, simultaneously in both municipalities. Using the participatory 

tools, we were able to reconstruct the perception of participants regarding the history of the municipalities and 

how it is related to the transformation of food systems, the availability and quality of natural resources as well as 

the role of the state and other key actors. We also studied the characteristics of the food systems such as their 

composition, relationship to markets, vulnerabilities to climate, and other threats such as pests, and price volatility. 

Finally, we explore aspects related to food security and the perceptions of participants regarding what is needed 

to achieve low-emission sustainable food systems, as well as the activities performed by participants – both 

individually and collectively – to support the sustainability of natural resources and ecosystems.   

The importance of participatory and qualitative approaches at a municipal level in Caquetá lies in the fact that 

there are not many analytical studies regarding food systems at this scale, despite there is abundant literature at a 

departmental scale (see Rodríguez et al, 2023 for a literature review). On the other hand, we consider that 

grasping the community’s perspective regarding the characterization of food systems, the identification of their 

needs and challenges, as well as the co-construction of solutions toward sustainability transitions is of key 

importance.  

This document is organized as follows. In the next section, we describe cocoa and livestock production systems in 

the department of Caquetá and the municipal contexts. Then, in section three we describe the different 

participatory tools implemented in the workshops. In section four, we explain the results of this participatory 

qualitative characterization of the agri-food systems from the perspective of the communities. Section five 

comprises the discussion and conclusion.  



January 24 | Participatory characterization of cocoa and livestock agri-food systems in Caquetá: a community 
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Context 
The department of Caquetá in the Colombian Amazon is central in reducing carbon 
emissions from food systems. According to the national and departmental inventory of 
greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) (IDEAM et al, 2016), the change from natural forest to 
pastures contributes 84% of the department's total emissions, while the agricultural 
sector contributes 11.56%. Caquetá is the third largest producer of CO2 in the country, 
after Antioquia and Meta, with 18.61 Mt of CO2eq of net emissions. However, 72% of 
the department is still covered in forests (FAO & ADR, 2021). 

Agri-food systems in Caquetá, Colombia 

Caquetá is located in southern Colombia, in the Amazon region. It comprises 16 municipalities (map 1) and 

occupies an area of 9,010,823 hectares, which corresponds to 7.8% of the national territory and 22% of the 

Colombian area within the great Amazon basin (FAO & ADR, 2021). The foothills, in the eastern slope of the 

Eastern Ranges – one of the three branches of the Colombian Andes -correspond to the Andean-Amazon 

transition of the Colombian Massif. 

Map 1. Caquetá department municipalities 

 

Source: https://www.corpoamazonia.gov.co/region/caqueta/cartografia/01_4000_cqt_gen.jpg 

https://www.corpoamazonia.gov.co/region/caqueta/cartografia/01_4000_cqt_gen.jpg


January 24 | Participatory characterization of cocoa and livestock agri-food systems in Caquetá: a community 
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Food systems are key to the economy of Caquetá as agriculture, livestock and fishing represent 15.2% of the 

departmental gross domestic product (GDP) – 60% of which comes from livestock alone –, a percentage that is well 

above the national average (7.4%) (DANE, 2021). According to the National Population and Housing Census, the 

population of the department is 359,602 people, 67.6% of them (243,242 inhabitants) concentrated in the urban 

area – mainly in the city of Florencia, the capital of the department – and the remaining 32.4% (116,360 people) in 

the rural area (DANE, 2018). 

During the last decades, a process of expansion of the agricultural frontier has taken place, causing the replacement 

of natural covers by pastures, mainly located in the northwestern sector of the Amazon. The roads and rivers that 

connect this region and the interior of the country have facilitated the transformation of the territory (Gobernación 

del Caquetá et al, 2020). Nowadays, pastures cover an area of about 2.4 million hectares, of which silvopastoral 

systems represent less than 0.1% (Enciso et al, 2018), even though according to its soil suitability only 15,795 

hectares are potentially usable for livestock (IGAC, 2014). This contrasts with the 12,672 hectares used for agriculture 

out of 148,685 hectares potentially usable for this activity (Gobernación del Caquetá, 2019). Nevertheless, not all 

pastures are use in livestock production but, as it has happened throughout Colombian regions, pastures are a way 

of land grabbing and concentration (Murillo-Sandoval, et al., 2023; Etter, McAlpine & Possingham, 2008).  

Livestock  

 

Picture 1. Livestock Farm. By: Juliana Buitrago. Belén de los Andaquíes, Caquetá, Colombia. July 2023.  

Caquetá has about 14,000 cattle-raising families, which carry out the activity in a traditional manner with mainly 

extensive and semi-extensive grazing systems (Enciso et al, 2018). According to FEDEGAN (2014, cited by Enciso 

et al, 2018), in Colombia, livestock activity is concentrated in small farms of peasant economy (81.4%), with a lower 

participation of medium (15.5%) and large (3.1%) producers; the latter, however, concentrate 45% of the livestock 

herd, while small farms have 15%, with an average of 15 heads per farm. In the case of Caquetá, 6,165 farms 

(43.3%) are of small cattle ranchers, 6,838 farms (48%) are medium producers, while the remaining 1,248 

producers - the large ones with more than 250 animals - represent 8.8% of producers (ICA, 2017). Forty-two 

percent of the farms have less than 50 animals and only 0.3% have more than 1,000 cattle (Torrijos, 2022). 

Producers in the department of Caquetá derive their livelihoods mainly from milk (52% of their income), followed 

by cattle sales (30%), cheese production (13%) and agricultural products (4%) (Pallares, 2014). 

This activity is mainly carried out extensively, with diets based on pastures with poor nutritional quality, lack of 

technical assistance and training, low technology and little or no management of productive and reproductive 

records (Earth Innovation Institute, Fondo Patrimonio Natural & Fondo Acción, 2015; Pallares, 2014). The carrying 

capacity is between 0.4 and 1 head of cattle per hectare given the low productivity of the livestock and the low 

quality of the forage (Enciso et al, 2018; Pallares, 2014). Despite being the main income generating activity, 

livestock production is not necessarily a profitable activity due to the high production costs – particularly if family 

labor costs are considered –, its extensive nature and the lack of technification (Gutiérrez et al, 2019). 



January 24 | Participatory characterization of cocoa and livestock agri-food systems in Caquetá: a community 
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According to Torrijos (2022), the herd size in the department is 2,213,096 individuals, 88% of which correspond to 

dual purpose, 9% for breeding, and 3% for dairy and specialized fattening. The municipality of Belén de los 

Andaquíes has low participation in the livestock inventory, with only 1.5% (33,893 cattle), surpassing only the 

municipalities of Curillo and San José del Fragua. Based on DANE’s Livestock Activity Characterization Geoportal, 

in 2021, there were 535 cattle farms in the municipality used by 517 cattle farmers. Of these, 55.8% were dual-

purpose livestock, 37.5% were meat producers, and 6.7% were dedicated exclusively to milk. The area covered by 

pasture in this municipality is 41,826 hectares (SINCHI, 2020). 

In the case of Montañita, data from the Comité Departamental de Ganaderos of Caquetá show that the cattle 

inventory had a peak in 2019 (89,177 cattle) and has decreased since 2021, reaching 85,261 cattle, concentrated 

in 1,211 farms (Torrijos, 2022). It is worth noting that Montañita was the fourth municipality in Caquetá with the 

highest percentage of cattle participation in 2022 – after San Vicente del Caguán, Cartagena del Chairá, and 

Puerto Rico – with 3.9% of the cattle inventory in the department (Torrijos, 2022). Pasture in Montañita corresponds 

to 72,081 hectares: 18,241 hectares of natural pasture; 53,700 hectares of improved pasture; 120 hectares of cut 

pasture and only 20 hectares to silvopastoral systems (Alcaldía Municipal de La Montañita, 2018). 

Regarding commercialization, Enciso et al (2018) find that there are four channels through which milk is sold until it 

reaches the final consumer: national industry (Nestlé de Colombia), regional industry (100 dairy companies), rural 

cheese processing, and informal buyers known locally as cruderos. The distribution of milk for 2021 was as follows: 

Nestlé 4%, processing industry 51%, rural cheese factories 44%, self-consumption 1% (Torrijos, 2022). Most of the 

milk is marketed as cheese in its variety of salty chopped cheese and quesillo either in the department of Caquetá 

or in Valle del Cauca and Cundinamarca (Enciso et al, 2018)1.  

Cocoa 

 

Picture 2. Cocoa tree. By: Juliana Buitrago. Belén de los Andaquíes, Caquetá, Colombia. July 2023.  

Colombia ranks tenth as a cocoa producer worldwide, with a share of 1.1%. However, unlike large exporters in the 

world (Ivory Coast, Ghana, Ecuador), where multinationals have a preponderant role, the main destination of 

production in Colombia is the domestic market (Charry et al, 2017). In Colombia, between 80% and 90% of cocoa 

production is purchased by two Colombian companies (Casa Luker and Nutresa), followed by small domestic 

chocolate manufacturers. Nevertheless, since 2012, Colombia shifted from a net importer to a net exporter of 

cocoa (Charry et al, 2019). 

 

1 Despite having the brand Caquetá cheese with the denomination of origin approved by the Superintendence of Industry and 

Commerce in 2010, all the cheese production is consumed locally or nationally, none of it is exported (Pallares, 2014).  



January 24 | Participatory characterization of cocoa and livestock agri-food systems in Caquetá: a community 
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Following Abbot et al (2018), both in Colombia and globally, the participation of specialized markets is very 

limited with a greater supply than demand, which leads not only to high price variability, but also that most of the 

production ends up being traded in conventional markets. In this sense, prices for premium cocoa do not 

necessarily compensate producers for the additional costs they incur in terms of the production practices 

necessary to achieve high quality standards which involve high additional labor costs. 

According to the Federación Nacional de Cacaoteros (FEDECACAO), the annual production of cocoa in Colombia 

is close to 63,000 tons, produced on 90,000 hectares, and distributed on 24,500 farms. Small and medium farms 

produce 95% of Colombia's cocoa, which is packaged, dried, and fermented at collection points. Cocoa is mainly 

produced in agroforestry arrangements, which allow producers to access different sources of income (Villamarino 

et al, 2023). Abbot et al (2018) identify four types of cocoa producers in Colombia: marginal, traditional, technical, 

and diversified. Following this classification, the production systems involved in this research correspond to 

diversified systems where cocoa is combined with sugarcane, cattle, plantain, citrus, and timber, among others.  

Following Charry et al. (2017), the department of Caquetá has about 1,200 cocoa-growing families, mainly within 

small plantations in agroforestry systems associated with species that provide them shade and income during non-

productive years. Most cocoa-growers belong to producer associations that are part of the second-level 

organization ACAMAFRUT, which is the legal representative of the producers in the Regional Committee of Cocoa 

Value-Chain2. It is estimated that cocoa crops cover about 1,700 hectares – of which 600 hectares are productive – 

with a production of 106 tones/year that contributes 0,16% to the agricultural GDP of the department.  

Regarding the municipal situation, FEDECACAO (2021) identified 41 cocoa-growers in Belén de los Andaquíes, 35 

men (85.37%) and 6 women (14.63%), 48.78% of them with ages over 60 years old and 51.22% between 27 and 59 

years old. In the case of Montañita, 43 producers were identified, 35 men (81.4%) and 8 women (18.6%), 62.79% of 

them within an age range between 27 and 59 years old and 37.21% over 60 years old. In terms of schooling level, 

65.85% of the farmers in Belén reached only primary school and 19.51% have not reached any schooling; in 

Montañita, 74.4% have only primary education. This shows that cocoa cropping is an activity mostly dominated by 

men with low education levels and that lacks active participation of young people. While women have been 

acquiring control over assets and participation, key leadership and decision-making remains in men’s domain.   

The average area of a cocoa farm in the case of Belén is 34.09 hectares of which cocoa is cultivated in 1.61 

hectares; in the case of Montañita, the area of the farm is 51.2 hectares of which 1.83 hectares are cocoa crops 

(FEDECACAO, 2021). The size of the average cocoa crop in Belén and Montañita is below the average area of 3 

hectares for Colombia (Villamarino et al., 2023). Production systems are generally composed of different crops, 

pastures, and forest conservation areas. According to FEDECACAO (2021), 86.84% of cocoa crops are 

accompanied by plantains, while other crops present in these production systems are sugarcane, bananas, coffee, 

and citrus fruits. The average yield of cacao is 355 kg/ha/year in the department of Caquetá, 330 kg/ha/year in 

Belén and 339.85 kg/ha/year in Montañita, which is below the average yield for the country: 453 kg/ha/year. 

Case studies 

Belén de los Andaquíes 

The municipality of Belén de los Andaquíes, located in the southern part of the department, has an area of 1,595 

km2and a population of 9,075 inhabitants – 63% in the urban center and 37% in the rural areas (DANE, 2018). 

Forty-six percent of the territory is devoted to agricultural activities, being the main crops rubber, fruits (pineapple, 

chontaduro, copoazú), corn, cassava, banana, oil palm, cane, and cocoa (Ministerio de Agricultura y Desarrollo 

Rural, 2019). About 40% of its area is under a protection status, including the National Park Alto Fragua Indi-Wasi, 

regional and municipal natural parks, and civil society protected areas. Due to these conservation efforts, in 2013, 

Belén de los Andaquíes was declared as the first “green municipality” of Colombia (IGAC, 2014).  

 

2 ACAMAFRUT is a second-level producers’ organization that plays different roles within the cocoa value chain in the 

department: it buys cocoa dry beans from producers and first level producers’ associations, provides technical assistance, and 

sells plant material and other inputs to producers, among other activities (Charry et al., 2017).  



January 24 | Participatory characterization of cocoa and livestock agri-food systems in Caquetá: a community 
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Belén was founded in 1917 by the Capuchin missionary Fray María de Quito and was established as a municipality 

in 1950 (Alcaldía Municipal de Belén de los Andaquíes, 2020). However, the history of the population of what 

today corresponds to Belén started much earlier with the presence of indigenous communities, mainly the Andakí 

indigenous group, a complex society formed as a result of the privileged location of the foothills as a node 

between the Amazon and the Andean zone of Colombia (Buenaventura, 2017).  

Like in almost all the Amazon biome, the first period of colonization occurred at the end of the 19th century with 

the rise of chinchona and rubber, followed by the movement of settlers attracted by cedar, lands, water and 

hunting (Buenaventura, 2017; Uribe, 1992). Then, at the beginning of the 20th century, the ecclesiastical 

colonization started (Buenaventura, 2017), followed by the colonization directed and supported by the state as an 

effort to solve the agrarian conflicts in the central regions of the country (Uribe, 1992). Belén de los Andaquíes had 

one of the “colonization fronts” established by the Colombian state, known as “El Portal-La Mono”, which was 

comprised of 129 parcels of 50 hectares each (Centro Nacional de Memoria Histórica, 2017). Nevertheless, the 

policy of colonization ended up being a failure as the lands allocated to colonos did not have the adequate quality 

to make them productive. For that reason, many settlers ended up with high debts, and some even abandoned 

their lands (Uribe, 1992).  

Livestock production is one of the main income sources, with at least half of the agricultural production units of the 

municipality involved in this sector (Alcaldía Municipal de Belén de los Andaquíes, 2020). Regarding cocoa, the 

area planted has had a significant growth since 2011, from 50 to 111 hectares, which corresponds to an increase 

of 122% (Ministerio de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural, 2019). This increase is related to the commercial agreement 

reached by the municipal mayors’ office with the city of Hannover in Germany in 2012, which involved the 

cultivation of native plants in cocoa agroforestry systems (Alcaldía de Belén de los Andaquíes, 2020). This process 

was strengthened by a capacity building initiative that was part of a GEF project that supported the work 

developed by the grassroots producers’ organization ASPROABELÉN that, today, has 35 associates and is focused 

on the production and export of organic cocoa to Germany (ASPROABELÉN & GESTANDO, 2017).   

Montañita 

The municipality of Montañita is in the northeast part of the department of Caquetá, has an area of 1,740.1 km2, an 

altitude that ranges from 250 to 3,400 meters above sea level, and a population of 15,503 inhabitants – 19.4% 

living in the urban area and 80.6% in the rural zone (DANE, 2018). Different from what has occurred in other places 

in Colombia, campesino livelihoods persist although in production systems centered on milk production where 

cattle ranching is commonly combined with other subsistence and commercial crops, including cocoa, amazon 

fruits, plantain, cane, coffee, and sacha-inchi (Alcaldía Municipal de La Montañita, 2018). Ironically, coca leaf is 

another crop that has helped to preserve the campesino livelihoods in the department (Ciro Rodríguez, 2020).      

Montañita was founded in 1955, but its population history dates to 3000-8000 years ago when the first indigenous 

groups arrived in the Amazon piedmont (Ariza, 1998). The main inhabitants of what today is Montañita were from 

the ethnic group Huitoto, who were decimated because of the extractive bonanzas of chinchona and rubber that 

started at the end of the 19th century (Alcaldía Municipal de la Montañita, 2018).  

As in other parts of the Amazon, the settlement process in Montañita followed the extractive, state-directed, and 

spontaneous colonization processes that paradoxically facilitated land concentration. Big landholders took 

advantage of colonos by buying the lands already transformed into production systems and making them move 

further into the agricultural frontier (Uribe, 1992). The hacienda “Larandia” in Montañita is a paradigmatic example 

of this dynamic, as by 1965, it was able to concentrate 35,000 hectares (Arcila et al., 2000; Uribe, 1992).  

Regarding environmental protection, today, 38,000 hectares of the municipality are still part of the Forest Reserve 

of the Amazon, declared in the Law 2nd of 1959. Even though this protection figure, about 10,000 hectares have 

already been intervened for productive purposes (Alcaldía Municipal de La Montañita, 2018), which mainly has to 

do with the unresolved issues of land transformation and subsequent land grabbing, its concentration in the hands 

of big landholders and the further expansion of the agricultural frontier.  

Cattle inventory has increased in Montañita over recent years, reaching a peak in 2019 with 89,177 cattle (Torrijos, 

2022). Montañita is the fourth largest municipality in terms of herd participation, with an area of 72,081 hectares of 

pastures and a daily production of 53,000 liters of milk, which are bought by Nestlé and other smaller local and 

regional companies (Alcaldía Municipal de la Montañita, 2018).  



January 24 | Participatory characterization of cocoa and livestock agri-food systems in Caquetá: a community 
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Methods: A participatory approach to 

food systems characterization 
Participatory research is exceptional in its possibilities to provide information in which 
the community perspective is privileged. The pedagogic and theoretical foundation of 
participatory rural appraisal (PRA) comes from participatory action research and has as 
one of its main purposes to make the perceptions, knowledge, and practices of local 
people visible, with the ultimate goal of transforming unequal and unfair realities (Fals 
Borda, 1981). We implemented PRAs in the municipalities of Montañita and Belén de 
los Andaquíes, in the department of Caquetá, to characterize, in a participatory manner, 
local agrifood systems, with emphasis on cocoa and livestock.  

 

Picture 3. PRAs workshop Belén de los Andaquíes, July 14-15, 2023. 

Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) is defined as a “systematic, semi-structured activity, carried out in the field by a 

multidisciplinary team and focused on the rapid and efficient collection of new information and hypothesis about 

resources and life in rural areas” (Schönhuth, 1994). The method that preceded PRA was the rapid rural diagnosis 

(RRD) that emerged at the end of the 70s and beginning of the 80s with the objective of making a diagnosis of the 

situation of rural areas and to analyze them outside the community. RRD evolved into PRA, which emphasizes the 

direct participation of the community in both the diagnosis and the definition of strategies to improve the living 

conditions of the rural population (Chambers, 1992).    

Different participatory tools were used to comprehensively diagnose agrifood systems, their relationship with 

climate change mitigation and vulnerability, and households’ food security. Those tools were implemented in 

workshops, which were understood as “collaborative spaces, in which the joint construction of knowledge is 

intended; these are learning spaces and, for that reason they must be designed in such a way that meet their 

objectives” (Maya, 2022).  

The PRA workshops took place on June 14-15, 2023, simultaneously in the municipalities of Montañita and Belén 

de los Andaquíes, and the semi-structured interviews were implemented the week after to deepen some of the 



January 24 | Participatory characterization of cocoa and livestock agri-food systems in Caquetá: a community 
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10 

 

topics explored in the workshops. Thirty-six people participated in the PRAs – 17 in Belén and 19 in Montañita – 

and 16 producers (7 male and 10 female) were interviewed, which helped us to get a more comprehensive idea of 

the food production systems in these two municipalities, with a focus on cocoa and livestock. The different 

participatory tools implemented during the workshops are explained in the following paragraphs3.  

Productive profile 

This instrument makes it possible to identify the main economic activities of the community, its dependence on 

natural resources for developing those activities, as well as those most profitable activities. The guiding questions 

of this activity are: What are the main economic activities in the municipality? What of those activities are the most 

important for providing you and your family with monetary income?  

People draw in visualizing cards those activities and put them on the board; then, using colored stickers, the main 

income generating activities are identified by the participants. Results are discussed with the participants. 

Historical chart  

Historical charts aim to analyze communities’ perceptions on what has happened during the last decades based 

on pre-defined variables such as population, forest, water, climate, production systems, roads, public services, and 

the presence of institutions and entities, as well as the relationships that exist among those variables. Participants 

define the starting point (e.g., decade) and collectively evaluate the different variables and their relationships per 

decade. Due to its complexity, this activity is generally developed in small groups, so results are later discussed in 

plenary with all participants and new ideas are added to the original historical chart represented by the group.  

Seasonal calendar and production costs 

Seasonal calendars are useful for understanding local livelihood systems and help identifying the months of 

greatest difficulty and vulnerability. The construction of these diagrams helps to identify the management and 

behavior of certain variables throughout the year, such as rainy and drought periods, the flow of production and 

other activities; the availability of labor, credit needs, migration; the availability of products for self-consumption; 

and the distribution of male, female, and youth labor. The guiding questions for the seasonal calendar were: 

Which are the rainy and dry months? What are the activities implemented for the production? How are those 

activities distributed throughout the year? How are those activities affected by climate during rainy and dry 

months? Results regarding the most challenging months and activities throughout the year are discussed with 

participants.  

Based on the seasonal calendar, in which people provided details on the activities developed in each stage of the 

production cycle, a matrix was built that included the cost of inputs, and work, among other things. The purpose 

was to identify the main production costs per activity, as well as the important variations of such production costs 

throughout the year and their relationship with climate variability.  

Vulnerability matrix 

This matrix makes it possible to identify, from the perspective of the participants, the main threats that climate 

change imposes on them and its impacts on the main local economic activities. The guiding questions for this tool 

were: Which are the main threats to production? What are the resources (natural, economic, social) affected by 

those threats? The facilitator lists the threats in the rows of a matrix and the resources affected in the columns. 

Then, participants identify those resources most affected by each threat and the reasons for such impacts.  

Participatory mapping  

It is a territory mapping that seeks to identify production and conservation zones as well as vulnerable zones to 

climate events, such as floods, landslides, and temperature rise. The group was divided according to the climatic 

threats, and each group identified in a map of the municipality the zones most affected by the specific threat as 

well as the actions developed by community members to mitigate such climatic threats. Then, each group’s results 

 

3 See Geilfus (1997) for a comprehensive synthesis of participatory tools and Maya (2022) for details on the methodology and 

implementation of the PRAs in this research.  



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were discussed in the plenary, and information was complemented if new information arose from the plenary 

discussion.  

Matrix of individual and collective actions for resource management 

This matrix allowed us to identify the type of actions that people carry out to properly manage natural resources 

(forests, water, soil), specifying whether those actions are carried out at the individual level within their property 

(private) or if there are community actions developed in areas of common use (collective). In the plenary session, 

participants identify the actions performed either collectively or individually to manage natural resources. The 

facilitator lists all the activities in a matrix; then, using colored stickers, participants indicate which of those activities 

are performed by each of them, individually or collectively. The results regarding the most and less commonly 

performed activities are discussed with the participants.  

Daily menu and “the pot”  

The “daily menu” helps to delve deeper into food security issues. Based on the daily food consumed, people 

identify those are produce within the farm and those that are bought off-farm. The guiding questions were: Which 

are the meals that people take throughout the day? How are those meals composed?  

The “pot” complements the information of the “daily menu” by identifying the sources of the food consumed by 

the households and explores men’s and women’s participation in food security, as well as establishing the different 

strategies that the households develop to fill the “pot”. The guiding questions for this tool were: Which foods 

consumed by the household are produced on the farm? Which are bought in the market? Which other strategies 

do the household have to “fill the pot”? (e.g., exchange, in-kind subsidies, or donation, etc.).  

Brainstorming 

The purpose of this participatory tool is the collective construction of knowledge based on guiding questions 

about sustainable food systems and mitigation actions. The idea is to gather people’s ideas and perceptions on 

matters that affect their lives. For that reason, all the ideas are visualized in cards that are organized on the board 

according to topics by the facilitator. In this case, the guiding questions were: What do we need to have 

sustainable agri-food systems? What difficulties do we face in achieving it? 

 

 

Picture 4. Diversified farm. By: Thomas Gómez. Montañita, Caquetá, Colombia. July 2023.  



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Results 
Participants 

 

Picture 5. PRAs workshops participants July 14-15, 2023. 

Thirty-six people participated in the workshops: 17 in Belén de los Andaquíes and 19 in Montañita. As shown in 

Table 1, participants in Belén were mostly male with an average age of ~51 years old, while in Montañita the 

participation of younger women was predominant: 13 women out of 20 participants, with an average age of 34.7 

years old. Cocoa had the highest participation among the two sectors addressed (cocoa and livestock) in Belén, 

with 13 participants from this sector. In Montañita, 8 cocoa producers (6 women and 2 men) and 12 cattle farmers 

(7 women and 5 men) participated. In addition, the local official in charge of agricultural coordination also 

participated in the workshop in Belén and Montañita, and some representatives of the Community Action Boards 

(Juntas de Acción Comunal) participated. 

Table 1. PRAs participants’ characteristics 

 # of 

participants 

# of 

women 

# of men Women 

age 

Men age Livestock Cocoa # of 

organizations 

Montañita 20 13 7 34.7 38.1 12 8 11 

Belén  17 3 14 37 50.6 4 13 3 

Total 37 15 21 35.3 46.5 16 21 14 

Source: Authors based on the participation in workshops sessions  

In the case of Belén, these 17 participants represented three (3) organizations:  

o AGROSOLIDARIA 

o Asociación de Productores Alternativos de Belén (ASPROABELÉN) 

o Comité Municipal de Ganaderos (Municipal Board of Cattle Ranchers) 

In the case of Montañita, participants represented 11 organizations, 5 of them led by women:  

o AGROSOLIDARIA 

o Asociación de apicultores de la Montanita Caquetá (ASOPIM) 

o Asociación de Mujeres emprendedoras de Mateguadua 

o Asociación agropecuaria Emprendedores del Triunfo (ASOGROEMPT) 

o Comité de Ganaderos de Montañita (COMOGAN) 



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o Asociación de Mujeres Emprendedoras Generadoras de Oportunidades (ASMEGO) 

o Comité de productores de cacao en sistemas agroforestales de la Unión Peneya (COPROPENEYA) 

o Mujeres emprendedoras de San Isidro (ASMUJSAN) 

o Comité de cultivadores de cacao en sistema agroforestales de la Montañita (COMOCAN) 

o Asociación Las Triunfadoras 

o Asociación de Mujeres Fénix de la Cordillera (ASMOFEN) 

Interviews were conducted during the week after the PRAs workshops with the purpose to deepen in some of the 

topics explored in the workshops (e.g., composition of the production systems, production practices, social 

organization). For livestock, 11 producers were interviewed: 4 in Belén and 7 in Montañita; 8 women and 3 men. 

For cocoa, 6 producers were interviewed: 4 in Belén and 2 in La Montañita; 2 women and 4 men. It is worth 

mentioning that most cocoa producers also have livestock production systems, which makes this “sectorial” 

division a bit artificial in the field. Nevertheless, it is not necessarily true the other way around: livestock producers 

are not cocoa producers in most cases.  

A participatory approach to history: the historical chart 

 

Picture 6. Elaboration of the historical graph Belén de los Andaquíes, July 14, 2023. 

Belén de los Andaquíes  

Participants defined the starting decade in the 1950s – when spontaneous and state-directed colonization began – 

and worked through decades up to the present day. Participants emphasized the importance of recognizing that 

the territory currently occupied by this municipality was previously inhabited by the Andaquí (Andakí) indigenous 

people, which means "guardians of nature" therefore, the municipality carries this legacy.  

In terms of population, the historical chart shows how the settlement of the municipality began in the 1950s 

because of the bipartisan violence in the country's central zone. Colonization intensified in the 1960s and 1970s 

because of the agrarian reform promoted by the Colombian government4. In the 1980s and 1990s, the population 

continued increasing due to the expansion of coca leaf cultivation, which brought people from across the country 

both as growers and harvesters; services and commerce also increased. The 2000s were marked by violence and 

the presence of different armed groups (guerillas and paramilitaries), leading to significant forced displacements. 

In the 2010s, there is evidence of the return of previously displaced populations, while since 2020, there has been 

a process of emigration of young people out of the municipality.  

 

4 It corresponds to the Law of Agrarian Reform (Law 135 of 1961) which was mainly implemented through the allocation of land 

in frontier zones to peasants without land instead of redistributing productive land in the central areas of the country,  



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Regarding natural resources such as forests and water, colonization and agrarian reform periods are characterized 

by considerable impacts on nature that later intensified with the arrival of coca leaf cultivation. Since the 1990s, the 

municipality has made a considerable effort to become a green municipality. They highlighted the work of Tierra 

Viva Foundation as manager of municipal parks and other conservation areas, as well as the environmental 

education efforts of Radio Andakí. Currently, pressure over conservation areas has increased due to the expansion 

of agricultural frontiers and illegal land occupation. Concerning the climate, participants indicate that since the 

1990s, there has been increased climatic variability, resulting in stronger and more prolonged rainy and dry 

seasons. They note a significant temperature increase and occurrences of frost, which were uncommon in previous 

decades.  

Pastures and livestock expanded across the territory as part of the colonization processes. The coca economy 

further expanded livestock areas in the region as coca profits were invested in livestock, the only economically 

viable sector in the region. The primary purpose of livestock in the municipality has been the production of milk 

and its derivatives. In the 1990s, livestock farming became more technician, pastures were improved, and from the 

2000s, some producers started implementing silvopastoral arrangements. Since the 2000s, they started identifying 

that livestock farming in the hills was causing damages to regional ecosystems.  

Concerning crops, from the 1950s to the 1970s, subsistence crops (plantain, rice, cassava, sugarcane, and fruit 

trees) were planted. Most of these were for self-consumption due to the deficient connectivity of the parcels to 

markets. From the late 1980s to the early 1990s, subsistence crops significantly decreased and were substituted by 

coca leaf crops. Plantain is the only crop that has endured over time and is a source of income for many families in 

the area. In the 2000s, there was a rise in Amazonian fruit crops, but crops like maize and rice disappeared while 

palm oil and rubber crops decreased. Rubber, like cocoa, was promoted as a strategy for the substitution of crops 

of illicit uses in the region. From 2010 to the present, some subsistence crops have been gaining importance, as 

well as commercial crops such as Amazonian fruits, coffee, cocoa, sacha inchi, and pineapple, among others.  

Participants mentioned that roads and routes have been crucial for the region's economic development by 

connecting the municipality to different markets. Until the 1970s, connectivity was through trails, mules, and rivers. 

Although the Marginal Jungle Highroad (National Route 65) is recognized as one of the most important routes, 

tertiary roads, the roads that connect farms with commerce nodes, are insufficient.  

La Montañita  

In the case of Montañita, the starting date was set in the 1970s. Regarding population, despite its persistent 

increase over time, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it decreased due to displacements caused by armed conflict. 

However, it has been increasing again after the signing of peace agreements. Currently, there is unease in the area 

due to the presence of armed groups, leading to intermittent movement of some inhabitants who, depending on 

security conditions, leave and return to the territory. There is also a latent concern about the safety of young 

people and leaders in remote villages due to forced recruitment and social leaders’ assassination and threats.  

Regarding the climate, participants agree that between the 1970s and 1990s, climatic variations were low, and 

summer and winter seasons were clearly defined in time. However, since the 2000s, there has been evidence of 

increased climatic variability, identified as extreme climate variations, as well as droughts and stronger and 

prolonged rainy seasons. An increase in temperature throughout the region is also evident.  

Concerning forests, deforestation has occurred due to land occupation dynamics, initially promoted by the 

agrarian reform of the 1960s and other colonization initiatives. Subsequently, deforestation is related to the 

cultivation of crops for illicit uses, mainly coca leaf, and the expansion of livestock and agricultural frontiers. More 

recently, although it is recognized that reforestation and restoration strategies have been implemented, 

deforestation has been increasing in the region after the peace agreements.  

Regarding the cocoa production system, in the 1970s and 1980s, they had traditional Amazonian cocoa (forastero, 

calabacillo, or criollo types), but from the 1990s, with the support of FEDECACAO, hybrid cocoa and new clones 

have been planted. Currently, different types of cocoa are combined. On the other hand, livestock, has been 

closely linked to the colonization processes in the region and, during the 1990s, coca leaf and livestock became 

the main sources of income. Currently, livestock is dedicated to dairy and its derivatives, a production affected by 

climatic variability. As observed, the processes of forest reduction are linked to the historical expansion of 

agricultural frontiers, which includes crops for illicit uses and extensive livestock farming.  



January 24 | Participatory characterization of cocoa and livestock agri-food systems in Caquetá: a community 
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Farm systems composition and productive profile 

 
Picture 7. Production profiles. Belén de los Andaquíes and Montañita, July 14, 2023. 

 

In both municipalities, participants reported a diversity of products on their farms, such as sacha inchi, sugarcane, 

pineapple, cocoa, plantain, cassava, coffee, orchard, fruit trees, livestock, and beekeeping. Families also do fishing 

and breeding of minor species, mainly chickens and hens. As expected, given the profile of the participants, the 

activities that generate the highest monetary income are cocoa, livestock, and sacha inchi5. The others are 

products destined for self-consumption or local markets on a smaller scale.  

ASPROABELEN is the association that brings together producers of organic cocoa in Belén and sells this product 

directly to the German company Dengel, which specializes in fine chocolate6. ASPROABELÉN has the organic 

certification and provides technical assistance to associated producers to ensure that the quality conditions 

required to send the product to Germany are met. Producers associated with ASPROABELÉN are organized into 

categories according to the extent to which they stick to organic production. In contrast, the cocoa that is 

produced in a conventional way, i.e., not organic production, is sold in the national market.  

In Montañita, local producer associations are responsible for buying dried beans (e.g., COPROPENEYA) and 

processing or selling them. Another important organization that buys cocoa in Monañita is COMCAP (Comité de 

Cacaoteros del Municipio del Paujil y El Doncello)7 ,which, according to cocoa producers, pays better prices than 

those paid by intermediaries. Through AGROSOLIDARIA, producers commercialize transformed products such as 

table chocolate.   

 

5 Sacha-inchi (Pukenetia volubilis) is a native plant of tropical South America whose seed has several cosmetic and nutritional 

uses. See: https://sinchi.org.co/sacha-inchi-la-semilla-estrella-que-transforma-la-amazonia  

6 To accept the beans for exporting, ASPROABELÉN requires and measures some parameters like humidity and ensures that 

cocoa beans have been grown in organic production systems.  

7 COMCAP is a local organization that is part of the initiative “Cacao, bosques y paz”, which is a public-private initiative to 

promote cocoa productive systems with zero deforestation in Colombia. See: https://cacaobp.org/   

https://sinchi.org.co/sacha-inchi-la-semilla-estrella-que-transforma-la-amazonia
https://cacaobp.org/


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“ So, in the association we have 56 members, 

organized in three categories: A, those of us 

who are organic; B, those halfway; and C, 

those who are just starting the transition to 

organic. There are various purchase prices 

and here we process it and send it to 

Cartagena, and from there to Germany.     
Interview cocoa grower, Belén de los Andaquíes, July 16, 2023 

 

Livestock is primarily dedicated to the production of milk and dairy products. Nestlé and local cheese companies 

are the main buyers of milk. However, some producers process milk themselves into cheese due to the 

transportation difficulties - caused by distance and lack of adequate roads - which is particularly true for farms 

located in mountainous areas. Cheese is then sold to local bakeries or other shops in the urban centers of the 

municipalities. Nestlé and local cheese companies define the routes for milk collection, so producers take milk to 

the places where refrigeration tanks are located. There is also the case of medium production units that have the 

possibility to transform milk into specialized cheese themselves, such as the dairy company La Arboleda, which is 

part of the Cheese Route of Caquetá and has a designation of origin Cheese of Caquetá. This company sells 

cheese to other municipalities, both in the department of Caquetá (e.g., Florencia) and in other departments (e.g., 

Bogotá, Ibagué).   

It is important to note that livestock is not just the main source of households’ income but the economic activity 

that has allowed them to save money that was later used to buy land and invest in other economic activities within 

the farms such as cocoa and sacha-inchi. In both municipalities, sacha-inchi is promoted by AGROSOLIDARIA, 

which commercializes processed products such as oil, flour, and snacks. The marketing of most products 

(excluding organic cocoa in Belén) takes place at the local and departmental levels, with Florencia being one of 

the main markets. 

“ That was 23 years ago. That is one of the 

things that my father had done to save 

money. He always worked with cattle, and 

with that, he paid for the farm. 
Interview livestock producer, Montañita, July 17, 2023 

 

 

 

 



January 24 | Participatory characterization of cocoa and livestock agri-food systems in Caquetá: a community 
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Cocoa and livestock: Seasonal calendar and production costs 

Cocoa  

 

Picture 8. Cocoa crop and dried beans. By: Juliana Buitrago. Belén de los Andaquíes, Caquetá, Colombia. July 2023.  

Cocoa is produced in agroforestry arrangements, giving producers different income sources (Villamarino et al., 

2023). Cocoa agroforestry systems (CAFs) are defined as “complex multispecies cropping systems where cocoa 

trees are associated with other temporary and permanent crops and timber multispecies” (Morales-Muñoz et al., 

2023: 4). Farm productive systems, which include the CAFs, are quite diversified: they include livestock; crops for 

self-consumption – e.g., banana, cassava –; the orchard; as well as other commercial products such as coffee, 

plantain, cane, sacha-inchi, and Amazonian fruits (e.g., chestnut, copoazú, açaí). They also have fish farming and 

small species such as chickens and hens. Cocoa CAFs include rubber, timber, and citrus.  

“ Because of the distance, productive 

activities are mainly for family food, and we 

have a diversity of products. This is why the 

day at the workshop they told me: "Ah, you 

are the one that has everything!". We have 

tried to ensure that the farm is diverse and 

productive. 
Interview cocoa grower, Belén de los Andaquíes, July 18, 2023 

 

Most of these products generate modest income but have high value for domestic consumption, which 

contributes to family savings and food security. This result coincides with previous research regarding CAFs where 

it has been found that the contribution of the bundle of products of those diversified systems to family net income 

– which includes both monetary income and the value of domestic consumption – can be as important as cocoa 

(see, for instance, Cerda et al., 2014)8. The characterization carried out by FEDECACAO (2021) also identified very 

 

8 Cerda et al (2014), for a sample of 179 agroforestry systems in five Central American countries, found that highly diverse and 

dense CAFs achieve greater productivity, net income, cash flow and benefits to the family, and have greater synergy 

relationships with biodiversity conservation than extensive CAFs or highly diverse but low-density systems. While productivity in 

highly diverse and dense CAFs is 458 kg/ha/year, it is 160 kg/ha/year in highly diverse but low-density systems.  



January 24 | Participatory characterization of cocoa and livestock agri-food systems in Caquetá: a community 
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diversified systems. According to that study, the average area of a farm in Belén is 34.09 hectares, with the 

following land uses: cocoa (1.61 ha), livestock (11.26 ha), other crops (10.75 ha), stubble (4.57 ha), and forest (5.89 

ha). In the case of Montañita, the average area of a cocoa farm is 51.2 hectares, distributed in cocoa (1.83 ha), 

livestock (20.03 ha), other crops (19.85 ha), stubble (8.10 ha), and forest (4.64 ha). 

Different cocoa varieties are part of CAFs in Caquetá, including Amazonian, Criollo, and hybrids, as well as clones 

(San Vicente, ICS1, ICS60, ICS95, CCN51, TCH565 and FEAR5 were those mentioned by participants)9. Amazonian 

and Criollo varieties were predominant until 1990, but afterward, FEDECACAO played a key role in promoting 

hybrids and clones. Varieties are commonly mixed in cocoa production systems – in cropping, harvesting and 

post-harvesting - and access to new varieties is still limited (Abbot et al., 2018). According to FEDECACAO (2021), 

the average area of cocoa crops in Belén is 1.61 hectares, distributed in hybrid (0.32 ha) and clones (1.22 ha); in 

Montañita, the average area is 1.83 hectares, distributed in hybrid (0.29 ha) and clones (1.54 ha).  

 

 

Picture 9. Cocoa varieties, FEDECACAO. By: Luz A. Rodríguez. CHOCOSHOW, Bogotá, Colombia. November 2023.  

 

Nevertheless, participants expressed that they prefer Criollo or hybrid varieties. However, they acknowledge that 

the clones developed by FEDECACAO are more productive and resistant, and that having access to those 

varieties, as well as crop renewal, is a necessity in terms of technological improvement. Despite the possibilities 

that native cocoa varieties may offer – e.g., denomination of origin - there is a lack of research and knowledge 

regarding Amazonian cocoa varieties and the composition of the CAFs in terms of the combination of such 

varieties (Charry et al., 2017).   

 

9 Cocoa varieties include: 1) Criollo: originated in Central and South America, with fine, sweet and exquisite flavor, mainly 

demanded in specialized markets, however, highly susceptible to pests and diseases and with low productivity; 2) Forastero: 

main variety cropped in Africa, Asia and Ecuador, corresponds to 80% of cocoa commercialized in international markets, highly 

resistant to pests and diseases, bitter taste; 3) Hybrid (or Trinitario): resulting from the crossing of different varieties, particularly 

Forastero and Criollo; 4) Clones: varieties developed in research centers, mainly FEDECACAO in the case of Colombia. There 

is a trade-off between flavor and quality and resistance to pests and diseases in cocoa varieties. See: Abbot et al. (2018); Gayi & 

Tsowou (2016), and https://www.finagro.com.co/sites/default/files/node/basic-page/files/ficha_cacao_version_ii.pdf  

https://www.finagro.com.co/sites/default/files/node/basic-page/files/ficha_cacao_version_ii.pdf


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“ The graft has the nice capacity that one can 

harvest 5, 10, 15 pounds per harvest. But we 

should not graft, we should work with the 

"natural" (…) I prefer the hybrid because it 

has a big pod, it has a big seed, and if you 

suck one of those seeds, they have an 

excellent, sweet, and tasty flavor. 
Interview cocoa grower, Belén de los Andaquíes, July 16, 2023 

 

The activities for cocoa growing – cocoa planting, cultivation, and harvesting– were identified using the seasonal 

calendar (picture 10). These activities include 1) selection of the planting site; 2) preparation of the soil; 3) 

selection of clones and seedlings; 4) planting (which includes digging holes and fertilizing); 5) crop maintenance 

(pest control, weed control, and fertilization); 6) pruning; 7) harvesting and post-harvest activities (fermentation, 

drying, and sale); and 8) replanting and management cycle of grafts.  

 

Picture 10. Cocoa seasonal calendar. Belén de los Andaquíes, July 14, 2023.  

It is important to note that it takes 2-3 years from the establishment of the crop to the first harvest. Once 

production starts, it is expected that grain maturation takes six months; then two harvests take place each year. 

Maintenance activities for the crop are carried out throughout the year.  

A key activity for cocoa planting is soil study and preparation. FEDECACAO (2021) indicates that soil study has 

not being performed by producers in Belén, while in Montañita, 55.81% of producers have a soil study. In the 

workshops of both municipalities reported to have done soil studies. Reviewing cadmium, acidity, and moisture 



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levels is vital for determining cocoa survival and production10. In addition, to sell it for export to European markets, 

cocoa must be free of cadmium. However, one of the shortcomings that producers identified in doing soil analyses 

is that the information they get from the study does not say much about the actions they need to implement to 

correct soil deficiencies.  

“ The soil analysis that one sends to the 

laboratory needs that the laboratory 

explains it to us, tells us what the soil needs. 

Because they say: "zinc, copper and 

magnesium deficiency", and that’s it. But it 

doesn’t tell you what to do to face that.  
Interview cocoa grower, Belén de los Andaquíes, July 16, 2023 

 

Ensuring shade for the crop also counts as land preparation. This depends on the type of land: 1) if it is stubble, 

some trees are cut and those that provide shade are left; 2) if it is grass, it is necessary to scythe the grass and to 

plant trees – plantain, timber, fruit trees – so that when planting cocoa, they have reached at least one meter high 

of shade. Soil analysis is followed by fertilization, which is part of soil preparation; in the case of organic producers, 

fertilizers are prepared by themselves. Producers also make the layout and open the holes that later will hold the 

trees (ahoyado) and put lime in them in the cases in which analysis indicates that the soil is too acid.    

Once the soil is ready, they start planting. Producers emphasize the importance of the type of material used for 

planting as the survival and future production of cocoa trees depend on whether they are grafted or hybrid. The 

main source of information and provision of clones is the Departmental Association of Producers of Cocoa and 

Timber Species in Caquetá (ACAMAFRUT for its initials in Spanish). Some producers buy the trees, while others 

establish their own plant nurseries. The recommended distance between trees in the region is 3.5 meters, which 

implies a planting density of about 700 trees per hectare.  

Once land preparation and tree planting are completed, it follows the maintenance phase (from year 1 to 3), 

which includes fertilization, manuring, weed and pest control and pruning. The main diseases that affect cocoa 

crops are monilia (Moniliophtora roreri), phytopthora (Phytopthora palmivora), and “witch’s broom” (Moniliophtora 

perniciosa), which are controlled manually. The most important recommendations to control these diseases are to 

eliminate the infected pods and harvest the healthy ones as soon as possible (Cerda et al., 2014). Some pests such 

as the cabbage looper (Trichoplusia ni), the southern green stink bug (Nezara viridula) and the leafcutter ant, 

threaten cocoa trees.  

Harvesting is done manually when pods are mature. Cocoa trees generally flower and produce pods in two cycles 

of six months (Gayi & Tsowou, 2016). With harvesting underway, the production phase (from year 3 up to ~year 

20-30)11, also includes storage, seed extraction, fermentation, compaction, drying, processing, packaging, and 

 

10 Agricultural productivity in the department of Caquetá is very low because of the features of the soil. Soils in the Amazon are 

characterized by high acidity and aluminum concentration, as well as low concentrations of magnesium, calcium, potassium, 

and phosphors, all of which make soil fertility very low (Peña-Vanegas & Vanegas-Cardona, 2010). In addition, cattle ranching 

has further deteriorated soils due to compaction and acidification (Alcaldía Municipal de Montañita, 2018). 

11 Cocoa trees generally begin to flourish and bear pods about the fifth year of their life, but some varieties bear fruit in the 

third year. Trees can live up to 100 years but are most productive about 25 to 30 years (Gayi & Tsowou, 2016).  



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sale. According to FEDECACAO (2021), 75.61% of producers in Belén, and 58.14% in Montañita do not have 

cocoa milling facilities. In Belén, 60.98% of cocoa growers sell dry grains and 39.02% sell it in pulp (unfermented); 

in Montañita, 93.02% sell it dry. The fermentation process, which may last 3-7 days, is an essential step to flavor 

cocoa beans; then beans are dried in the sun for 5-10 days, which stops the fermentation process and enhances 

storability (Gayi & Tsowou, 2016). Afterward, beans are sold and transported to roasting and gridding plants; 

sometimes, producers do some processing themselves and sell chocolate in local or regional markets.  

“ When the cob is ready to harvest, it turns 

yellow, others look reddish, because there 

are different varieties. You pile them up, 

then break them and put them in a drawer 

called "fermenter" for 5-6 days, constantly 

moving so it compacts and heats evenly. 

From it, you take it to the drying room for 5-

6 days, and you also keep turning it around. 

Then, if you’re going to transform, it goes to 

the mill.       
Interview cocoa producer, Montañita, July 16, 2023 

 

Production costs for growing cocoa were calculated using the seasonal calendar as a reference. First, the cost of 

soil studies before establishing the crop is $32. In addition, there is the cost of germination which includes seeds 

(US$7.5/kg) that are put in germinators; the cost of a 1mx1m germinator – that holds 1kg of seeds - is US$75, 

which includes sand and other materials.  

Once the seedlings are ready to be transplanted, they are bagged. One hundred plastic bags cost about US$10, 

and a germinator produces 2.000-2.500 seedlings, thus 20-25 bags are needed (US$175-250). Bagging the 

seedlings requires external labor (5-6 days of work), which costs US$12.5/day. Thus, the approximate cost of 

germinating is US$407.5. Another cost for cocoa growers is grafting which occurs right after germination and it is 

about US$0.5 per plant; if the planting density is 700 trees/hectare, then grafting costs US$350/hectare.  

Planting requires land preparation: clearing (US$40/ha), layout according to the required distance of 3.5 meters 

(US$37.5/ha), digging (US$187.5/ha), manuring (US$375/ha for conventional cocoa and US$75/ha for organic), 

and planting (US$250/ha). Thus, establishing a cocoa crop may cost US$610/ha for organic cocoa, while it costs 

US$910/ha for conventional cocoa.  

As we mentioned above, it takes about 2-3 years from the establishment of the crop to the first harvest. 

Maintenance costs during that period include weed control (US$225/ha/year), fertilization (US$252.5/ha/year for 

conventional cocoa and US$150/ha/year for organic), and pest control (US$25/ha/year). Thus, total maintenance 

costs are $512.5/ha/year for conventional cocoa and US$400/ha for organic cocoa. Finally, once production starts, 

the crop requires pruning ($187.5/ha/year), fertilization ($350/ha/year for conventional and $175/ha/year for 



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organic), harvesting ($300 ha/year), and phytosanitary control ($187.5/ha/year). During the productive phase of 

the crop, the total cost of conventional cocoa production is US$1,025/ha/year, while organic production cost is 

US$850/ha/year. In this regard, Charry et al (2017) estimated a cost of ~US$921/ha/year.  

It is interesting to note that the difference in cost between organic and traditional cocoa has to do with the cost of 

agrochemicals. Nevertheless, organic cocoa needs more labor for different activities (e.g., fertilizer preparation, 

cultural pruning), which is not counted as a monetary cost as most of the labor is family labor, of both women and 

men. Labor is only hired to perform specific activities such as cleaning or plowing the plots or fixing the fences; 

labor is also hired for harvesting, which takes place twice a year and lasts a week (6 days), costingUS$75/harvest. 

Abbot et al. (2018) indicate that family members undertake permanent activities such as fertilization and 

phytosanitary control; external labor is hired for harvesting, weed control, and pruning12.  

“ We do all that as a family. We spend the 

whole day on the farm doing different jobs. 

Let's say, for cocoa, we leave one day a 

week to gather the cocoa pods or to remove 

the damaged ones. We spent time over the 

week sowing, cleaning, and doing whatever 

needs to be done.   
Interview cocoa grower, Belén de los Andaquíes, July 18, 2023. 

 

Although family labor is not accounted for as a (monetary) cost, Charry et al. (2017) estimate that labor represents 

the larger production cost in cocoa growing (45% of total cost), being harvest and phytosanitary control and 

cleaning the activities with the greatest demand for labor. In this regard, one of the key constraints of cocoa 

production systems expressed by our participants was the high cost and low availability of external labor. High 

production costs – labor and production inputs – are also one of the key limitations to implement better 

management practices.  

Better roads and connection to markets were permanently referred to as a need by producers during the 

workshops and interviews, as transport cost might represent a determinant factor in cocoa profitability. According 

to Charry et al. (2017), it represents ~1.3% of the total cost, but it can range from US$0.0075 to US$0.085/kg, 

depending on the location of the farm, the state of the roads, and the means of transportation. Producers take the 

cocoa from the farm to the collection points defined by the associations (e.g., ASPROABELÉN, COPROPENEYA, 

COMCAP), and the associations pay the cost to take the dry cocoa beans to the final markets. Different from other 

cocoa producing countries, in Colombia, the presence of intermediate “itinerant” buyers that buy cocoa from 

producers on the farms is not common, so associations play a key role in commercialization (Abbot et al., 2018).  

Regarding the price of cocoa, producers stated that organic cocoa is currently paid at ~US$4/kg while 

conventional cocoa is paid at ~US$3/kg. Using the departmental productivity of 355 kg/ha/year, income from 

 

12 In addition to cropping practices (fertilization, phytosanitary control, etc.), post harvesting practices (drying, fermentation and 

storage) are of key importance in accessing specialized markets. Reaching the quality standards required by these markets also 

implies additional labor to meet right drying and fermentation. Currently price premiums are not high enough to cover such 

additional production costs (Abbot et al, 2018). 



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cocoa is approximately US$1,420/ha/year in the case of organic cocoa and US$1,065/ha/year in the case of 

conventional cocoa. Therefore, according to the information reported by our participants, a hectare of organic 

cocoa during the productive phase can reach a profitability of US$570/year or US$47.5/month, while conventional 

cocoa is not profitable. Charry et al. (2017) found that the monthly profitability of a hectare of cocoa is ~US$37, 

using a productivity of 1,200 kg/ha/year - which is the estimated yield for systems that implement good 

management practices 13– and a price of ~US$1.7/kg. Following Charry et al. (2017), reaching a family income 

from cocoa equivalent to the Colombian minimum wage requires a minimum crop size of 3 hectares14. 

Nevertheless, if we add the complementary income from timber and food crops of these diverse production 

systems, their contribution to family monetary income and food security becomes more significant.   

According to Villamarino et al (2023), while production and commercialization of cocoa start about 3 years after 

planting, this crop requires up to 14 years, to become profitable. Premium prices for certified organic cocoa that 

meets standards range between 10% and 20% above national prices, while achieving certification as EU organic 

cocoa can cost up to US$3,000. Low productivity is one of the limitations of the cocoa value chain as well as the 

lack of enough volume with sufficient quality for international markets of special chocolate segments (Charry et al., 

2019; Charry et al, 2017). Low productivity is mainly due to planting in inadequate soil as well as poor crop 

management. Thus, to increase market opportunities, it is necessary to increase productivity using better clones, 

renewing old plantations, and promoting and implementing the best available technologies (Charry et al, 2019).  

The main challenges identified by cocoa growers in the workshops and interviews have to do with standardization 

of processes and practices to meet the quality and volume conditions required in international markets, as well as 

the impacts of increasing climate variability and climatic events, access to credit and to labor. Previous literature 

has identified that the main bottlenecks of cocoa value chains are low productivity and profitability, the lack of 

formal land titling, low implementation of good production practices, low access to technical assistance, and 

deficient roads that make difficult access to markets (Abbott, et al., 2018; Charry et al., 2017).  

Livestock 

 

Picture 11. Livestock farm. By: Juliana Buitrago. Belén de los Andaquíes, Caquetá, Colombia. July 2023.  

 

13 Good management practices include fertilization (four times per year), pruning to keep the plants at the right height and an 

open dossel for flowers production and fruits fixation, as well as weed and phytosanitary control (Abbot et al., 2018).  

14 Low revenues received by cocoa farmers within the cocoa value chain is a characteristic of this sector. Farmers receive only 

6.6% of total value to 1 metric ton of cocoa beans, while the net earnings of typical cocoa farmers with 2 hectares of land in 

Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana are about US$2.07 and US$2.69 per day respectively which, for a five people household, is way below 

the global poverty line (see Gayi & Tsowou, 2016).   



January 24 | Participatory characterization of cocoa and livestock agri-food systems in Caquetá: a community 
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Livestock production systems in the department of Caquetá are predominantly extensive and semi-extensive 

(Enciso et al., 2018) but some of the workshop participants indicated that they are implementing agroforestry 

systems. Milk and dairy products are the main sources of income – milk sales represent about 52% on average in 

the department (Pallares, 2014) - but meat – the standing animals – play a complementary role, as these are dual-

purpose systems. Milk is a product with high demand, thanks to its processing and transformation opportunities 

and the possibility of its derivatives to be transported to other regions. Therefore, it is a market in which demand is 

not easily saturated, unlike other agricultural products.  

Main milk buyers are the national company Nestlé and local dairy companies (Lácteos del Fragua, Lácteos San 

Francisco, País Emprendedor, Lácteos Estelar, Lácteos de Occidente, among others). These companies define a 

route for daily milk gathering so producers bring the milk to collection points where it is stored in cooling tanks. 

The price of milk ranges from US$0.35/liter to US$0.5/liter, so this market is perceived by producers as highly 

volatile. However, milk commercialization is different in hilly and remote areas where collection points are difficult 

to access. Hence producers curdle milk and sell it directly to bakeries or other buyers in towns nearby. According 

to Enciso et al. (2018), 55% of daily milk production in the department goes to rural producers of cheese located in 

remote areas with low access to roadways or connection to the electrical grid, so a cold network may not be 

guaranteed, which makes them sell their products to informal buyers at lower prices.  

Selling live cattle is mainly of animals that are not needed for milk production (e.g., calves, cows older than 

productive age); therefore, it is an occasional activity. Having living animals that can be sold is seen by producers 

as savings, as an asset that can easily become money. The frequency of sales of living animals depends on the size 

of the cattle and can occur every 4-6 months in systems of 60 cattle and up to every two years in systems with less 

than 10 cattle. Living animals are commercialized through intermediaries that buy them directly on the farm or  in 

the legal departmental slaughterhouse COFEMA. The price is US$2.1/kg for a calf of 400-500 kg and US$1.6/kg 

for cows older than productive age.  

“ It's like savings that you have, right? The 

cows are there for (permanent) expenses 

while the calves, to pay the debts with the 

bank or other debts that you have.  
Interview cattle rancher Belén de los Andaquíes, July 19, 2023. 

 

Establishing and managing livestock farming involves three important components: 1) pasture preparation, 2) 

production, and 3) prevention and care. In each component, specific activities are carried out at different times of 

the year. Pasture preparation includes soil preparation, pasture planting, and pasture division. Cattle breeds 

mainly include “Seven colors” (the local breed), Girolando, and Holstein; grass types, on the other hand, are B. 

Humidicola, B. Dictyoneura, Brachiaria, B. Brizantha, Braquipara, Toledo. Sweet grass and cutting grass for small 

calves or sick animals include Cuba 22, Cuba Morado, Corn Grass, and King Grass. The pasture size reported by 

interviewed producers ranges from 5 to 44 hectares, which, on average, corresponds to half of the farm size. The 

size of the herd goes from 5 to 125 cows, so these producers are small or medium cattle ranchers15.  

Production comprises mating and insemination, gestation (approximately 280 days), calving16; and pasture 

maintenance, which includes fertilization and cleaning. Half of the interviewed producers report doing pasture 

 

15 Small cattle ranchers are those with less than 50 cattle, medium cattle ranchers are those with 50-250 cattle, while big cattle 

ranchers have more than 250 cattle (Enciso et al., 2018).  

16 Cows have 60 open days in the year, and they take 9 months to breed. After those 9 months, after 60-90 days, she become 

pregnant again, so that she raises a calf per year. Source: PRAs workshops participants. According to Enciso et al. (2018), 

 



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management and renewal as it is necessary due to environmental conditions and soil acidity. This is particularly 

important during the rainy season (April-June) as pastures deteriorate and milk production decreases. Some 

producers mentioned having trees within the pastures, including fruit trees (e.g., guava, lime) and timber, which 

provide shade and an additional food source for animals.  

“ On the farm I have trees and bushes. I have 

native trees and timber trees such as yoco 

(Paullinia yoco), abarco (Cariniana 

pyriformis), melina (Gmelina arborea). Cattle 

eat both, leaves and fruits, of some trees.  
Interview cattle rancher Montañita, July 17, 2023. 

 

Enciso et al. (2018) reported that although many farmers carry out pasture management, the process does not 

include all the necessary steps: tillage, fertilization, technical sowing, sowing evaluation, forage planning and 

productivity assessment. In general, the grazing system does not involve special management techniques, as 

producers mainly use alternating or rotational grazing. Furthermore, producers also lack systems for accounting or 

technical analysis that could give them the necessary information for better decision-making (Pallares, 2014).  

Prevention and care include providing vitamins and nutritional supplements, deworming, weaning, fattening, and 

pregnancy. Nutritional supplements are a need as the nutritious quality of pastures is low. Food requirements are 

also complemented using some of the species of the silvopastoral systems as well as mixed fodder banks17. 

Regarding diseases, producers report that those that greatly affect cattle and, therefore, their economic income, 

are mastitis, blackleg, a hemiparasite transmitted by ticks and gastrointestinal parasites due to the consumption of 

contaminated water. However, they highlight the diseases do not frequently occur because there is permanent 

control, vaccination, and deworming.  

According to Enciso (2018), less than 0.1% of pastures in Caquetá are established as silvopastoral systems (SPS). 

SPS combine fodder plants like grasses and leguminous herbs, with shrubs and trees on the same unit of land, for 

mainly animal nutrition and comfort (Jose & Dollinger, 2019). Examples of SPS include scattered trees in 

pasturelands, living fences, mixed fodder banks, and intensive silvopastoral systems (Calle et al., 2013). Rodríguez 

et al (2022) identified that key hindering factors for scaling up SPS are farmers’ financial needs, difficulties 

accessing required external inputs, and the need for regular training to implement SPS. Regarding fostering 

factors and advantages, they identified that SPS can be implemented in small plots where benefits can be easily 

observed and SPS fit existing production systems and may increase their long-term efficiency. A clear limitation for 

scaling up SPS is that market prices for milk and meat produced in AFS are not advantageous compared to 

conventionally produced.  

Livestock production is an economic activity based on family labor of both women and men who perform tasks 

such as milking and managing animals, as well as administrative and management duties and commercialization. 

Women, in particular, play an important role in processing, while some activities like pasture preparation and 

cleaning are developed mainly by men. Milking begins around 4:00 AM, and then it is necessary to clean the 

 

calving intervals in the department of Caquetá is less than 400 days for high technology farms, 500-600 days for medium 

technology farms and 600-700 for low technology farms, which implies that low technology producers may not receive income 

from cows for over a period of two years.  

17 Mixed fodder banks are composed by different energetic and proteinic species (grasses, shrubs, forage trees) planted and 

managed at high density with the purpose to obtain foliage for animal feeding. Source: 

https://infopastosyforrajes.com/bancos-de-forraje/bancos-mixtos-de-forraje/   

https://infopastosyforrajes.com/bancos-de-forraje/bancos-mixtos-de-forraje/


January 24 | Participatory characterization of cocoa and livestock agri-food systems in Caquetá: a community 
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stables, move animals across the pasture, clean and maintain the pastures, and develop other activities such as 

fixing fences. Between 2 and 3 people (adults) perform activities for livestock management, which takes between 4 

and 12 hours per day, depending on the size of the production system. It is important to note that as a family 

production system, family labor does not necessarily have a monetary remuneration. Labor is hired for specific 

activities such as pastures cleaning or fixing fences and is paid per day (US$12.5/day). Nevertheless, in large 

production systems, it is necessary to hire permanent labor – a steward – that has a cost of US$375 per month.   

According to Enciso et al. (2018) production costs in the milk value chain depend on a diversity of factors such as 

the location of the farm, the type of cattle, the type of milking, the size of the production unit, the level of 

technification and the price of inputs. Weather and the state of roads may also affect livestock production costs. 

Our participants calculated the cost of establishing 10 hectares of pastures for dual-purpose livestock, with a 

density of one head of cattle per hectare (picture 12). Pasture preparation has an initial cost of US$6,750, then 

production activities cost US$17,400/year, while prevention and care have a cost of US$1,250/year. The estimated 

cost of a liter of milk in the department of Caquetá for 2014 was US$0.17-$0.27 (Enciso et.al, 2018). However, as 

most of these systems are family agriculture, it is possible that the estimated costs do not cover family labor.  

Enciso et al. (2018) calculated the production costs of a 100 hectares production system, with a herd of 50 cattle, 

25 of which are milking cows with a production of 4.3 liters/cow/day and found that production cost per liter of 

milk is US$0.31, being the labor the cost with larger participation (68%). So, they emphasize that in family-type 

production units (less than 25 milking cattle and a production of 100-200 liters of milk) producers might be 

receiving a monthly income below the minimum wage.  

 

Picture 12. Livestock production costs, Belén de los Andaquíes, July 14, 2023.   

Technical assistance has been provided by national and local state institutions (e.g., Servicio Nacional de 

Aprendizaje – SENA, Unidades Municipales de Asistencia Técnica Agropecuaria - UMATA), universities like 

Universidad de la Amazonía, NGOs like CIPAV18 through international cooperation projects funded by 

organizations like USAID, producers’ organizations, and the private sector (e.g., Nestlé, input distributors and 

stores). Topics include artificial insemination, genetic improvement, pasture grading, sustainable division of 

pastures, good livestock practices, water management and sustainability. However, access to technical assistance 

is very limited for small producers in hilly and distant areas, where assistance has focused on other issues rather 

than livestock, which has to do with the fact that some farms located in the hilly distant zones are part of the 

national forest reserve (Law 2 of 1959) so the land in those zones cannot be formally allocated to producers and, 

therefore, productive intensive activities are not permitted. 

 

18 Center for Research in Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems  https://cipav.org.co/  

https://cipav.org.co/


January 24 | Participatory characterization of cocoa and livestock agri-food systems in Caquetá: a community 
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Enciso et al. (2018) also reported that technical assistance services in the sector are insufficient and deficient, 

which in part is explained by the weakening of the public model of rural technical assistance based on municipal 

units called UMATAs and the transfer of these activities to private actors. Producers also emphasize that much of 

the changes and adaptations made in livestock productive systems are carried out by experimentation or 

imitation, but with limited access to expert knowledge, which they consider could be important to implement 

better practices. Likewise, there is a need for equipment to transform products and get added value.  

“ If we had the possibility for an agronomist 

to tell us: "Look, the suitable pastures for 

your land are these" or "you should divide 

the pastures in this way". What we do, we 

do it out of conviction, because you pass by 

a farm and see: "my neighbor did that, I can 

do it". In the past, it was the immensity; 

later, we learned to divide, to plant trees, to 

give water to the animals, to improve their 

conditions. But one needs more knowledge 

and economic resources.  
Interview cattle rancher Montañita, July 21, 2023. 

 

Among the new necessary topics for technical assistance, they mentioned: 1) software used for livestock record 

and inventory and administrative issues; 2) organization of livestock aqueducts19; and 3) composting systems for 

livestock manure. Likewise, as cocoa growers, they emphasize the need for technical assistance to come along 

with credit to make the implementation of technical improvements possible.  

In addition to insufficient technical assistance, livestock producers face important challenges related to markets, 

climate, transportation costs and infrastructure, and the cost of credit. Regarding markets, they highlighted the 

increase in the price of inputs, the volatility of milk prices – due to shocks in the supply -, and the cost and 

availability of labor.  

 

19 A livestock aqueduct is a built water system that allows offering permanent and clean water to cattle. In conventional livestock 

farming, cattle get water directly from natural sources such as rivers and lagoons, which sometimes imply important efforts to 

animals and causes loss of riparian forests as well as water pollution. The installation of livestock aqueducts is an alternative that 

allows to conserve the protective strips of water sources and connectivity among forest patches (Amazon Conservation Team & 

The Nature Conservancy, 2020).  



January 24 | Participatory characterization of cocoa and livestock agri-food systems in Caquetá: a community 
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Vulnerability: participatory mapping and matrix  

Vulnerability zones for landslides, floods and temperature increase were identified using participatory mapping. 

Starting by identifying the location of their own farms, participants were asked to signal vulnerable places for each 

of the threats as well as the location of conservation actions implemented in the municipality (picture 13). They 

reported that risks faced differ according to the location of participants as those in the plain areas of the 

municipalities are most likely exposed to floods, heat, and water scarcity, while those in the hills are more exposed 

to mass removal.  

 

Picture 13. Vulnerability map for mass removal. Belén de los Andaquíes and Montañita, July 15, 2023.  

Participants mentioned that the frequency of floods has increased, with the major occurrences in April-July, 

November, and early December. Dry seasons have also intensified, mainly affecting those in the plains as high 

temperatures reduce river flows, causing drought and resulting in crop loss. January, February, and March are the 

driest and show the most significant temperature changes. Producers highlight climatic vulnerability as 

temperature changes become more intense, with longer and more extreme periods of rain and drought. They face 

significant risks from climatic events that affect their production and livelihoods.  

Participants claimed that there are no actions for risk prevention promoted by local authorities; there are no 

strategies either to prevent or to cope with losses, despite the existence of civil defense, firefighters, and others, 

but with insufficient state funding. Participants adapt to such changes using strategies like monitoring the amount 

of rainfall, and when they perceive that a lot of water is falling in the mountains and that rivers start to swell, they 

move the livestock from the meadows to higher paddocks. However, this does not necessarily avoid losses.  

Using the vulnerability matrix (pictures 14 and 15), participants identified the key resources needed for production 

and the risks they face to access those resources. Cocoa growers in Belén identified land, labor, seeds, inputs, 

tools, water, economic resources, trees, transportation, and wood as the main production resources. The threats 

that may affect those resources are climatic variability (understood by participants as extreme climate changes), 

soil erosion and deterioration, storms, increased input costs, emigration of farmers combined with a lack of 

generational turnover, higher incidence of pests and diseases in crops, insufficient technical assistance, falling and 

unstable prices of agricultural products, poor soil quality, forest fires, and a lack of irrigation systems.   

For Belén's producers, the major threats to their assets and economic wellbeing have to do with the deterioration 

in soil quality related to the damage caused by coca leaf crops, mainly due to the aerial spraying implemented by 

the Colombian government to eradicate those crops. Climatic variability negatively affects most assets: land, labor, 

scarcity of seeds, and water and forest resources. Producers also mentioned that they have recently faced a 

significant labor shortage linked to the migration of young people out of the municipality and the high daily wage 

costs, which they interpret as a legacy of the coca economy.   



January 24 | Participatory characterization of cocoa and livestock agri-food systems in Caquetá: a community 
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  Picture 14.  Vulnerability matrix cocoa growers. Belén de los Andaquíes, July 14, 2023.  

Additionally, they mention that insufficient technical assistance makes them vulnerable to various impacts on their 

assets, such as soil deterioration due to the lack of knowledge on good production practices for crop 

management and adaptation to climate change. Technical assistance for cocoa mainly comes from 

ASPROABELEN, meaning that cocoa producers who are not members have not received any technical assistance. 

Regarding livestock, assistance mainly comes from SENA (Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje), focusing on livestock 

management in both production and disease control, but they perceive that these training sessions are not 

sufficient as not all producers can access them, and some topics are not tackled. Another problem that they raised 

is that many cocoa growers are in the transition phase from conventional to organic, so those who do not stick with 

the organic production practices and quality requirements cannot sell their product to ASPROABELÉN for the 

international market.  

These threats have negatively affected their incomes, which have been decreasing throughout the region. They 

mention that the price of cocoa is currently stable because they have a commercial relationship with Germany, but 

they highlight that this dependence also makes them vulnerable. The negative impact on income causes problems 

such as food insecurity, poverty, and migration. Income is highly vulnerable to climatic variability, as crop and 

harvest losses increase due to long periods of drought or heavy rains. Additionally, the current situation is even 

harder for them due to the presence of different armed groups and the decisions these groups are imposing on 

the territory.  

 

Picture 15.  Vulnerability matrix livestock producers. Belén de los Andaquíes, July 14, 2023.  



January 24 | Participatory characterization of cocoa and livestock agri-food systems in Caquetá: a community 
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In Montañita, the resources identified were land, water, seeds, human resources (labor), fertilizers, money, and 

inputs (agrochemicals). The threats include pests and diseases, climate change, improper land use (e.g., 

deforestation, machinery use, crops for illicit uses), water scarcity, lack of technical assistance, high cost of inputs, 

and deficient access to roads and markets. According to the group's assessment, the major risks are pests and 

diseases (particularly strong for organic producers), climate change, improper land use, and water scarcity. 

Producers face significant financial risks because of climatic events. 

“ … and we planted 2,000 trees but, back 

then, like in 2008, there was a winter wave, 

and we lost 1,000. We made a loan in the 

bank, and we almost couldn’t pay it back...   
Interview cocoa grower, Montañita, July 16, 2023. 

 

Livestock producers, on the other hand, identified land, water, seeds, mixed fodder banks, direct breeding, and 

economic resources as their most important resources. The threats highlighted are pests in pastures, soil quality 

(which has been affected by coca leaf crops and aerial spraying for eradication), extensive livestock farming, high 

cost of inputs, competition in markets, and climatic variability. Climatic variability, pests, and soil quality are the 

main threats that participants perceive. In rainy seasons, participants face important challenges as production and 

productivity decrease, pasture growth slows down, and commercialization becomes more difficult, especially for 

producers living in mountainous areas, as roads become muddy and difficult to pass through. Pests also have a 

greater incidence during rainy months. It is interesting to note the importance that participants attribute to 

environmental and climatic factors and risks on their production systems and livelihoods.  

“ There is a difficulty here, and it is the 

weather because in winter, production 

decreases a lot. In winter pastures do not 

grow, cows do not eat on time due to rain. 

Much rain hinders pasture growth, and it 

also reduces production because the cattle 

do not feed well. I don’t know why pastures 

do not yield in those seasons.  
Interview livestock producer, Montañita, Julio 16, 2023. 

 



January 24 | Participatory characterization