Supporting the agroecological transition of pineapple industry clusters through participatory approaches

Course of action

For this training mission, we chose to use a participatory approach so that participants could become architects of their own knowledge and expertise, thereby increasing their chances of success and their autonomy in the cluster support mission.

Three stages were carried out:

• An initial phase of assessing the practices adopted by producers and processors in the pineapple sector identified the most problematic practices and those most in need of improvement. Facilitation methodologies were practiced with participants, drawing on existing tools that they can easily reuse independently.
• The second step was to determine an "overall vision" of the desirable future that cluster members would like to achieve in five years. This step allowed us to test various options for improving the sustainability of practices in order to help producers choose practices and set priorities.
• The third step was to work with participants to determine the steps needed to move from the initial state to the desired state. The goal was to collaboratively develop an "action plan" for the cluster to become more sustainable, outlining the steps for progress and the mobilization of essential resources.

Beyond these stages, the training program also included more theoretical content, particularly on the following topics:

• Agroecology and levels of change towards sustainable food systems/One Health
• Introduction to social marketing for behavioral change
• The entry points for accompanying change
• Diagnosis of agroecosystems
• The establishment of Champs Ecoles Paysans (Farmer Training Centers)
• Development and implementation of experimental protocols
• …

The training alternated between theoretical phases, real-life experiences, practical phases, and group work.