Alumnus Jorge Chavez-Tafur: ‘Wageningen holds a leading position in agriculture development’

The Peruvian Jorge Chavez-Tafur (now aged 56) completed his BSc-degree in agriculture during a turbulent period. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, the South American country sank deeper into economic crisis. The struggle between the government and armed groups pushing for change gripped the nation. ‘These were violent times in Peru,’ he recalls..

Even then, Chavez-Tafur already knew what he most wanted to do after his BSc graduation in Peru. ‘I wanted continue studying and specialise myself in agricultural education. It was not possible to study this in Peru. Taking into account the volatile economic and political situation, it was clear my opportunities lay abroad.’ He learned of the possibility to continue his studies in Wageningen and visited the Dutch embassy. After applying, months passed before he received the acceptance letter. In 1992, when the long-awaited response finally arrived, he packed his bags and moved to the Netherlands for the first time.

‘I felt incredibly welcome at WUR. The education was well-organised, and all courses were in English. In addition, the programme was very comprehensive, based on examples from all over the world. My fellow students came from all continents: China, Germany, Australia, Ethiopia, Nicaragua - truly everywhere. Each brought different ideas and perspectives on agricultural systems. It was incredibly enriching,’ says Chavez-Tafur.

An international career from the Netherlands

After graduating in 1994, Chavez-Tafur returned to Peru, where peace was slowly being restored. Still, he kept an eye out for opportunities in the Netherlands, and his perseverance paid off. Within a year, he was back to pursue doctoral research at WUR. ‘I focused on development projects aimed at improving yields and agricultural production in general. Such initiatives often end as soon as a project finishes. I provided insights into how to sustainably continue these projects, primarily through better collaboration between formal education and organisations that set up development projects.’

Throughout his career, Chavez-Tafur crossed the ocean several times, taking on new roles at the intersection of agriculture and education. Although the situation in Peru had improved, the Netherlands continued to appeal to him. ‘The Netherlands has always held a more central position in the world. From here, it was easier to travel to projects worldwide, though this was a much stronger argument in the 1990s than it is today. I also saw early on that the Dutch approach to agriculture development and knowledge management was widely applied. Wageningen held and still holds a leading position in this field.’

Less funding, bigger challenges

However, Chavez-Tafur now sees that this trend is changing. Does he mean that the Netherlands is putting its leading position at risk? ‘Yes, that’s what it looks like. Politics are changing in the Netherlands, as is the way people view development cooperation. Projects are receiving less governmental financial support, even as challenges are increasing, especially due to climate change. This is a global trend, but it’s particularly noticeable in the Netherlands. I think it’s very short-sighted, because Dutch support to projects and programmes has helped millions of people all over the world to improve yields and have better incomes. We are not fully aware of this enormous contribution that Dutch development cooperation has had nor of the need to do more.’

For the past four years, Chavez-Tafur has worked as a Knowledge & Learning Specialist at Oxfam Novib, a Dutch organisation. There, he focuses on sharing knowledge across different projects and on showing the contribution they make. ‘I’m based in the Netherlands and would like to stay here. I can still achieve a lot with Oxfam Novib. We will really need to scale up to have even more impact and we need to start by showing what we do and convincing the public sector of the benefits this all brings. That’s what I want to keep working on in the coming years.’