In the first colonization and until 1970, the economy of the islands was primarily agricultural followed by fishing. After the mid-1970s, tourism became the main source of income for the inhabitants, causing agriculture to be abandoned. In the early years of colonization of the Galapagos, many animal and plant species were introduced, some of which have spread spontaneously, affecting the environment. As a result, eradication and mitigation projects have been developed for these species with strict controls on the organic products that are introduced. The agricultural economy, not being developed, caused the farms to be abandoned.

By the time of the National Park creation, it was argued that agriculture was one of the main causes of invasive species spread in the archipelago. Nevertheless studies have shown that abandoned lands have higher incidence of invasive species than lands that are being used in agriculture and maintained (Khatun, 2018). In addition, the lack of local products has developed a dependency on food imports, being mainly processed products. This has affected the food security in the islands, and nowadays importation of products represents a threat for the local population health (malnutrition and obesity) and also is the main source of introduced species from the mainland (Sampedro et al., 2020). Together, the combination of a tourist industry disconnected from the territory and the community, and the lack of agricultural production have triggered ecological, public health and social development problems.

For some years now, efforts have been underway in the Galapagos Islands to seek a sovereign food production system that reduces dependence on the mainland and achieves a synergy between the products consumed by tourism companies and agricultural production, using sustainable techniques and products to care for the ecosystem (Jaramillo Díaz et al., 2022). There are several institutions working on these projects, which has led to a renewed interest in agricultural production, and experimental farms have begun to appear that seek methods to increase production and work with native plants, trying to position them in the Galapagos market. The Universidad San Francisco de Quito, as part of its community outreach projects, is working with producers and tourism companies to achieve an urban-rural connection that will increase sustainable agricultural practices hand in hand with tourism companies. The project described below is one of the efforts that USFQ is currently undertaking with the community in the Galapagos Islands.