Agriculture contributes more than 3 times to the country than metallic mining. According to figures from the Central Bank of Ecuador, agricultural activity helped the country's economy with 8,177 billion dollars; while mining contributed 2,176 billion dollars.
Currently, according to the financial entity, the Gross Domestic Product of Ecuador reached the figure of 106.200 million dollars. Of that amount, 2.2% belongs to mining, while 7.7% belongs to agriculture.
In addition, the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) published that there are 8,247,269 employed people in the country. Of this group, the agro-commercial activity represents 30% of the jobs in Ecuador, that is, for 2,474,181 citizens. While extractive activity represents 0.4%, 32,989 people.
One in three people in the country is engaged in agriculture as a source of subsistence.
In Ecuador, a country with different types of environments and environments, there are many other alternatives to extractivism that are successfully established and that can be promoted, such as agricultural production and other alternatives linked to the countryside, forests, and biodiversity. Greater efforts are needed to start producing, providing services or exporting other types of products, beyond those that are already known worldwide such as bananas and cocoa.
COPROPAC association of agroecological paneleros from Pacto.
The opportunities are in agriculture with an environmental perspective
One of the success stories is that of the COPROPAC organic panela producing cooperative located in the Chocó Andino, in the parish of Pacto. It is a society between 42 families, they produce 1200 quintals of panela and more than 75% of the production is exported to Europe thanks to the fair trade and organic product certificate. In addition, they have their own national brand of granulated panela and it is in the main supermarkets.
This initiative takes advantage of the natural advantages of the area, as well as the climate and water quality. This cooperative is demonstrating that agroecology is a sustainable and sustainable alternative in the short, but also long term.
