RUIZ O, DIANA MARCELA; MARTINEZ I, JUAN PABLO    FIGUEROA C, APOLINAR. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE IN HIGH MOUNTAIN ECOSYSTEMS. []. , 13, 1, pp.129-138. ISSN 1692-3561.

The agriculture as the main activity of rural economic development in Colombia has been implemented with different strategies since pre-Columbian times. The high mountain ecosystems have not been immune to this reality, particularly in the areas of Paramo in the department of Cauca, the attempt to promote an highly productive model with intensive use of soil has led to the detriment of socio-ecological diversity, the rapid expansion of the agricultural frontier in strategic areas, the loss of traditional knowledge on the use of land and low crop yields has resulted in increased incorporation of fertilizer to the ground, threatening these vulnerable systems of the high mountains. However, it is common to find in different locations of Paramo in Cauca indigenous and peasant communities that recognize the need to change production systems that have been employed due to the declining of soil fertility and the limitations on the marketing of their products, in this sense, the institutional support in this process is vital to promote the implementation of sustainable processes using integral strategies.

: Land use; Crops; Paramo; Socio-ecological diversity.

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