MONITOR A FARM

Build scientific knowledge on the impact of agroforestry on ecosystems

Monitoring farms allows us to build a portfolio of data on biodiversity, soil health, crop yields, and socio-economic benefits of the sustainable agricultural methods we promote. Such data is important as it will allow for the comparison of our promoted methods versus traditional methods. It is also essential as it will allow us to share proof of benefits of the methods to interested farmers. Our goal for the next two years is to have monitoring protocols set up on two agroforestry farms to measure the impacts for nature and people.

Collard Peccary (Pecari tajacu) photographed near an agroforestry farm. | Photo: Ya’axché

Our activities include:

  • Utilize 9 years of biodiversity monitoring expertise to design the protocols
  • Implement the latest technology such as camera traps, soil testing kits, and survey analysis software
  • Employ and train local community members to collect data and analyze results
  • Make decisions for conservation based on analysis
  • Share results with communities for increased understanding of sustainable agriculture benefits

FARMER PROFILES

Meet a few of our farmers:

Martin Coc

I occasionally see gibnuts on my farm which makes me excited but I wonder if they live on my farm.

Santiago Cus

I do agroforestry because I want to support wildlife. I have seen deer on my farm.

Hubert Cus

I often see the tracks of tapirs and other wildlife around my cacao farm. I would love to see photographic evidence of wildlife on my farm.