Qualitative Approaches to the Analysis of the Agroecological Transition in Valle del Cauca (Colombia)

Peasants in the Valle del Cauca region of south-western Colombia have established agroecology as an alternative model to the agricultural modernization driven by the sugarcane agro-industry, drawing on long-standing agroecological peasant schools, model farms, and active participation in social movements defending the peasantry. This study aimed to understand the motivations behind agroecological transitions, the practices implemented, and the bottlenecks hindering their adoption, addressing a gap in the quantitative methodologies proposed for evaluating the performance of agroecological production units. We mapped agroecological experiences and conducted 19 semi-structured interviews with participants from 12 peasant organizations, complemented by direct measurements such as soil structure, and analyzed narratives using lexical analysis framed by the HLPE’s 13 agroecological principles. Results showed that 69% of narratives were organized around social aspects, highlighting peasant experimentation, the importance of model farms, knowledge exchanges, institutional support in disseminating input-substitution practices, and communities’ active participation in political processes defending the peasantry and the territory as key drivers of agroecological territorialization. The main obstacles to agroecological adoption were structural rather than technical: limited access to fair markets, certification schemes, and credit; land tenure insecurity and territorial conflicts; and continued dependence on commercial seeds and synthetic inputs. This qualitative, narrative-based approach offers a way to capture producers’ experiences and meanings complementing rather than replacing quantitative methodologies, recognizing producers’ knowledge and agency.