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Juanita Esguerra Rezk, doctor in peace and development research, has studied the impact of the avocado boom for the people of the small town of Cajamarca in the Colombian Andes. Here, avocado is cultivated by both smallholder peasants on their farms and by landless peasant workers in large plantations. 

From ‘rags to riches’ or less than a day’s pay

The smallholder peasants who started growing and exporting avocados approximately 10 years ago have significantly improved their living conditions.

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“They narrate stories of a transformation ‘from rags to riches’ where they have been able to pay their debts, buy more land, get new transportation vehicles and pay for their kids' education in urban areas,” says Juanita Esguerra Rezk. 

But for the vast majority of landless peasants, the avocado boom has not brough any positive transformation. They can only access land for shorter periods of time, and cannot grow their own avocados, as these plants take up to four years to give their first harvest. The landless peasants therefore work for big avocado plantations that have been established in the area. 

The workers get tasked with heavy manual labour and are subjected to exploitation, especially during the build-up of the plantations, when they are hired by third party companies to dig the holes to plant the trees. 

“This is the most challenging job of the whole crop cycle, but the women I interviewed were earning less than the average of a day’s pay,” says Juanita Esguerra Rezk. 

She conducted eight months of fieldwork in Colombia, where she immersed herself in daily life, working alongside farmers and plantation workers. She also conducted interviews with peasant farmers, agricultural experts and industry representatives. 

Many of the female workers that she met at the emerging plantations were single mothers and heads of households. 

“As one of the women told me – ‘these companies know that we will take any job to feed our children, and they take advantage of that’,” says Juanita Esguerra Rezk. 

Because the peasant men tended to be more accustomed to heavy manual work, they were usually able to dig more holes and were hence paid a bit more than the women. 

However, the idea that the women are less able to perform heavy physical work, has led to some of the women being tasked with lighter and administrative work at the established plantations. And this has resulted in some landless female peasants taking on supervisory positions. These women make a higher income than most of the landless peasant men. 

“Although these women have new opportunities for economic mobility and independence, they still dream of owning their own land. They often view their jobs at the plantations as a way to achieve this dream,” says Juanita Esguerra Rezk.

Environmental impact of plantations threatens the future of the farmers

There are also large differences between the smallholder farms and the plantations when it comes to the impact on the land. 

“Because of the environmental consequences, many of the peasants portrayed avocado plantations as a threat to the possibility of doing agriculture in the future, and to their own existence as peasants,” says Juanita Esguerra Rezk.

The establishment of avocado plantations have encroached on the moorlands, deforested wax palm forests and used water sources illegally. 

“These issues are becoming more concerning as peasants face the fluctuations generated by climate change and feel increasingly worried about the future of small-scale agriculture in the municipality,” says Juanita Esguerra Rezk. 

As of March 2024, the environmental authority of the region, CORTOLIMA (Corporación Autónoma Regional del Tolima), issued sanctions against international avocado supplier Green Super Food (GSF), for such environmental violations.

Meanwhile, the smallholder peasants generally view the avocado as a ‘good crop’ with less environmental impact than other crops. 

“To be able to grow produce for export, they must get different certifications, such as the Global Good Agriculture Practices – Global G.A.P). And according to the smallholder peasants, this have led to less use of heavy pesticides, use of better protective equipment and inclusion of forest conservation and bee keeping into their agricultural practices,” says Juanita Esguerra Rezk. 

Text: Linda Genborg