Propuesta de proyecto hortícola agroecológico en predio manejado por jóvenes colonos en Canelones, Uruguay

“Germina” is a group of youngsters who carry out an agroecological project in Canelones on a farm owned by the National Institution of Colonization. The project combines agriculture, livestock and vegetable production. The objective of the work was to design an agroecological vegetable project, developing a productive plan for horticulture. The development of the project was carried out in three stages: characterization of resources, definition of objectives and plan development, and ultimately, productive, socioeconomic and environmental evaluation. During the characterization of resources, the soil was characterized through the analysis of secondary information (geological map and soil map of Uruguay), the survey of soil profiles and their chemical analysis. Based on this, different soil units were defined and the soil suitability map was created. The vegetation was characterized by the observation and recording of the general state of the field. Then different types of vegetation were identified and a vegetation map of the farm was drawn. Available water sources, available labor and infrastructure were identified. In the second stage, the objectives of the project were set: to design a suitable crop rotation with agroecological bases that enables marketing in nearby cities, adding up to the income of the members of the group. The crops, the rotation plan, the general management, and the associated costs were defined based on the available resources. A soil organic carbon balance was carried out to define the incorporation of compost. In the third and final stage the project was evaluated through nutrient balance (environmental evaluation), marketable crop yield and marketing moments (productive evaluation), gross product and margins, cost structure and total income and per hour of work and requirements of work throughout the year (socioeconomic evaluation). The outcome of the evaluation shows that it is possible to carry out an agroecological vegetable production project that will generate added income for the members of the group.