Colombia 
How to Restore the Páramo of
Guerrero Using Organic
Farming: the Case of the
Potato 
 

 
 

Though they may not know it, some people of Bogotá have a daily relationship with the
Páramo de Guerrero: They consume water that comes from there.

The water from the Río Frío, which begins in the páramo, collects in a reservoir at the
Tibitó water treatment plant, which supplies Bogotá and nearby municipalities.

But the Páramo de Guerrero is ​one of the most damaged páramos in the country​. It is
believed that 70% of the land has deteriorated because of harmful agricultural practices,
intensive grazing, and indiscriminate mining.

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Protecting this páramo (and the other 35 in the country) ​is a priority of the Colombian
government​.

The Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development issued ​Resolution №1769

in 2016, which defines the boundaries of the Páramo of Guerrero and gives instructions
on how to carry out agricultural activities in the area.

At that time, a group of eleven small farmers of the páramo decided to implement these
guidelines in their farming practices.

Members of the Association of Agroecological Producers of Pantano de Arce

(ASOARCE) planted potatoes and vegetables ​and used organic practices to restore
the soil​. The produce has been of excellent flavor and texture, ​despite the adverse
conditions of the páramo’s climate and altitude​.

This article describes (1) how farmers control pests and diseases in potato crops without
the use of chemicals and (2) how they perform their traceability.

Conversion of traditional agriculture to organic farming

The páramos are natural ecosystems whose main function is ​to regulate the flow and
the quality of the water that they generate ​— as long as they are well preserved.

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If they are not, as in the case of the Páramo of Guerrero, strategies are designed to fulfill
that function.

Resolution №1769​ recommends strategies that seek t​o protect this páramo’s primary
environmental services​: ​supplying fresh water ​and​ capturing carbon dioxide​.
Farmers of ASOARCE are applying these strategies in the production of vegetables,
especially organic potatoes.

Growing potatoes and vegetables in the Páramo of Guerrero is part of an agroforestry

system that integrates the production of organic food with the planting of native trees and
the conservation of drinking water sources.

Organic potato cultivation

In the Páramo of Guerrero, more than 150 hectares of potatoes are grown; most of the
acreage produces seed potatoes, and the rest is dedicated to producing tubers for
self-consumption.

ASOARCE farmers grow potatoes for their food but want to enter the market for organic
products. To do so, ​they are evaluating fourteen potato varieties, including
commercial and native varieties​. Those of higher production and resistance to
pests and diseases will be grown commercially.

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The commercial varieties are ​Única, Suprema, Superior, ​and​ Sabanera​. The native
varieties are ​Pepina, Manzana, Roja Neusa, Corneta, Tornillo, Criolla amarilla, Criolla
morada, Corazón de fuego, Corazón rojo, ​and​ Cacho de cabra​.

The evaluations are carried out in plots of 200 square meters for the native varieties and
600 square meters for the commercial varieties. The potatoes are harvested four months
(native) and seven months (commercial) after sowing.

Although the evaluation process has not finished, three varieties already stand out:
Única, Criolla amarilla, ​and​ Cacho de cabra​.

Control of pests and diseases

To increase yields, ASOARCE farmers select the best plants from their crops (​positive
selection​) and harvest the seed potatoes. They successfully carry out this activity
because ​they know how to identify healthy plants and recognize the
symptoms of primary pests and diseases​.

To reduce the occurrence of physiological defects, farmers enhance the soil with the
nutrients it needs. According to a physicochemical analysis, soil in the Pantano de Arce
district lacks potassium, calcium, and magnesium. To correct the deficiencies, the
farmers fertilize the soil with phosphate rock, dolomite lime, and Patentkali.

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The seed potatoes are treated with a biopesticide called ​Baculovirus​ that protects it from
the Guatemalan potato moth (​Tecia solanivora​).

Before planting, farmers disinfect the seed potatoes with extracts of garlic and chili and
citrus. After the planting, they saturate the soil with a solution of hydrogen peroxide.
Both applications serve to ward off pests and diseases and stimulate root development.
For the same reason, one day after planting, farmers soak the soil with a biological
solution of ​trichoderma, bacillus subtilis, ​phosphorus-solubilizing bacteria​, beauveria
bassiana, lecanicillium lecanii, metarhizium,​ and ​paecilomyces lilacinus​. They use
mycorrhizae​ as a biofertilizer and diatomaceous earth as a biological insecticide.

After the plant germinates, farmers apply weekly bordelés broth, copper oxychloride, or
grapefruit extract, to control late blight (​Phytophthora infestans​).

The protection is completed with the planting ​allelopathic plants​, such as onion var.
Junca or radish.

Allelopathy​ refers to the beneficial or harmful effects of one​ plant​ on another ​plant​, both
crop and weed species, from the release of biochemicals, known as allelochemicals, from
plant​ parts by leaching, root exudation, volatilization, residue decomposition, and other
processes in both natural and agricultural systems.

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Traceability and records

Traceability is a set of actions and methods that tracks a product ​from their origin to
their final destination​.

Traceability provides relevant information for ​food security​, such as the inputs used
during the production process. But it is also a fundamental tool for farmers because by
registering, evaluating, and verifying their activities, they can detect and correct their
errors, recognize their successes, and continue to implement practices that lead to
positive outcomes.

Farmers of ASOARCE use a system that takes into account:

● field records
● identification of the parcels, the sacks of harvested potatoes, and the buyer
● transportation of the bags
● delivery date

To identify the plots, farmers

● detail species, variety, origin, number of plants, and date of sowing.

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● establish the activities to be carried out in each plot; that is, date, type of
activity, products and quantities used, and the amount of the product
harvested and sold.
● deliver the information to a person at ASOARCE, who enters it into the
database.

Traceability has allowed ASOARCE farmers to sell potatoes in new markets and be more
competitive. In this way, they meet one of the requirements of the buyers and
consumers market: ​food quality and safety​.

To learn more about organic potato production, contact ​José Hernandez​ (+57 320
8559188, jhernandez563@hotmail.com). José is an agronomist, lives in the village of
Pantano de Arce, and is part of the association. He has been supporting ASOARCE for
three years.

Completing the boundaries of the páramos is a pending task of the Colombian

government. This critical information dictates the ​handling and restrictions of
land use.​ However, the challenge remains ​to involve the rural populations in the
new production systems.​ These systems must be compatible with their needs and
ways of life, as well as with the maintenance of environmental services.

ASOARCE is a clear example of how a producer community is committed to the region

where it lives. In compliance with the regulations recommended by the environmental
authority, its members have developed a potato production system that generates
economic and environmental benefits.

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One of them, ​the restoration of soil in Pantano de Arce​, has already begun. An
analysis conducted this year by the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University showed the absence
of residues of 27 of the most commonly used chemicals in potato cultivation. The soil
sample was taken from a plot where organic potatoes have been grown during the last
three years. 

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