UPR Mayagüez ends agroecology partnership that trained more than 500 farmers
By THE STAR STAFF
The interim chancellor of the University of Puerto Rico’s Mayagüez Campus (RUM by its acronym in Spanish) has canceled a decade-long collaborative agreement with the El Josco Bravo Agroecology School, ending a partnership that supporters say trained more than 500 new ecological farmers and helped strengthen sustainable agriculture initiatives across the island.
According to the agroecology school, Interim Chancellor Dr. Miguel Muñoz notified the organization on Oct. 4 that the agreement would be terminated. The arrangement had allowed the school to conduct training programs for aspiring farmers at RUM’s Alzamora Farm in Mayagüez and at the Agricultural Experiment Station in Gurabo.
The office of the chancellor did not answer requests for comment as of press time.
Representatives of the El Josco Bravo Agroecology School said the decision came as a surprise, noting that they had not held direct discussions with Muñoz since he assumed the position several months ago.
The organization said the university administration cited concerns regarding the large number of participants involved in the educational initiative, the use of campus classrooms and parking facilities, and visits by third parties to university grounds.
Originally signed in 2016 by Dr. Raúl Macchiavelli, then dean of RUM’s College of Agricultural Sciences, and renewed in 2024, the agreement allowed the agroecology school to operate on the Mayagüez campus for 10 years and at the Gurabo Agricultural Experiment Station for nine years. During that period, the program trained more than 500 ecological farmers, according to the organization.
The El Josco Bravo Agroecology School, a community-based initiative founded in 2014, offers agroecology courses in communities throughout Puerto Rico. The program currently operates in nine municipalities and serves more than 250 participants annually. Organizers said the Mayagüez-based course graduated hundreds of students, produced thousands of pounds of food grown without agrochemicals, and served as a foundation for academic research and theses conducted by universities in Puerto Rico and abroad.
“It is extremely frustrating that many agronomists graduating from UPR Mayagüez have to leave Puerto Rico due to a lack of opportunities in the agricultural sector, and that it is precisely an agriculture professor serving as chancellor who has chosen to terminate an agreement that opened doors to agriculture for hundreds of people,” said Ian Pagán Roig, director of the El Josco Bravo Agroecology School and a RUM graduate.
As part of the program, students worked alongside instructors to cultivate pesticide-free vegetable crops, producing hundreds of pounds of produce that were distributed among participants.
Alana Toro-Ramos, a professor and facilitator for the Mayagüez section of the school, said the organization invested considerable effort and resources into restoring the land used for the project.
“Practically the only activity that takes place annually in the organic section of Alzamora Farm is the planting carried out as part of the Agroecology School’s work,” Toro-Ramos said. “Over all these years we have dedicated significant effort and resources to restoring and improving the fertility of these lands. We brought life back to a parcel that we received in a highly degraded condition 10 years ago.”
Since its founding, the school says it has trained nearly 2,000 ecological farmers across Puerto Rico, contributing to the development of new commercial farms, community agricultural projects and home gardens. Under the agreement with RUM, agroecology instructors also provided technical guidance, participated in the production of organic seeds for the College of Agricultural Sciences and helped maintain the campus’ certified organic farming plots.
Despite the termination, the organization said it remains open to discussions with university officials.
“We reiterate our willingness to engage in dialogue with the interim chancellor to identify alternatives that would allow the agreement to be resumed,” Pagán Roig said. “We regret that what we believe are solvable issues have led to the cancellation of a collaboration that contributes so much to Puerto Rico’s agricultural development.”
The University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez had not publicly responded to the group’s allegations at the time the statement was released.
