An Overview Of Our Solution
The technique of recovering ancestral knowledge on conservation, selection and production of seeds of climate change-resilient native potatoes, known as future foods, is a result of indigenous research of, particularly, Quechua women who are possessors of traditional techniques regarding the selection, recovery and revaluation of native seeds that, over generations, have shown high resistance to climate factors and presence of pests and diseases due to their productive precocity and high yield. The seeds of climate-resistant native potatoes contribute to the food security of indigenous peoples because the potatoes are the basis of the family diet of over 711 313 families in 19 regions of Peru. The potatoes are cultivated especially in the high-Andean zone and, under the best conditions.
Who is this solution impacting?
Community Type
Rural
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: South America
General Information
Organization type
非盈利
Ecosystem (select all that apply)
Grasslands
Population impacted
1500 people
Challenge
Size of agricultural area
150 ha
Production quantity
12 tons / has
People employed
300 Quechua producers
Solution
Describe your solution
The process of change started from a diagnosis of the situation of the indigenous population of Vilcas Huamán, that was affected by the political violence between 1980 and 90. They had lost the biodiversity of their food crops, among them of the native potato which is the staple food of their family diet. For this reason, we developed the following methodology that consists of:
a) Recovery of the knowledge on conservation, selection, production and transformation of climate-resilient native potatoes with the contribution of community elders.
b) Awareness rising, especially among women, in order to start the recovery of the varieties of the native potato seeds.
c) Applied research with indigenous researchers using local farming techniques and indigenous indicators, which allowed to ensure healthy production and high yield of native potatoes.
d) Post-harvest management which comprises the management of seeds for sowing during the next season. This phase includes the identification of characteristics of the climate change-resistant seeds.
e) Inventory of native products that are climate-resilient according to their characteristics identified in the field, high yield and resistance to climate factors and high resistance to preservation in cold.
Implementation
Describe your implementation
In order to recover the knowledge on conservation, selection and production of seeds, the following activities were carried out following the methodological route described above:
1) The indigenous researchers of native products were identified for the recovery of the use of ancestral knowledge on the seeds.
2) We carried out an exchange on ancestral knowledge on seed management which made possible the recovery of more than 300 varieties of native potatoes for multiple purposes.
3) Exchange of experiences with the participation of women as intergenerational knowledge transmitters allowed knowledge sharing with the new generations on selection of seeds and transformation of products.
4) Regarding the gastronomy, the use of native potato in its different varieties is giving an added value and a recognition to the small-scale farming and a cultural appreciation of the contribution of the Quechua farmers to the Peruvian diet and nutrition.
5) One important achievement of the whole potato seed recovery process is that it allows the families to have access to nutritive, eco-friendly and healthy potatoes to form their diet during the whole year.
6) The agroecological practices such as use of organic fertilizers, preparation of the parcels, intercropping and crop rotation have allowed the production of resilient native seeds.
Currently, 300 Quechua producers of Vilcas Huamán have more than 200 varieties of native potatoes distributed in 150 hectares in zones between 3200 and 3800 meters above sea level, in an area of high climate variability. The potato varieties are being identified as resilient to climate change, they have high yield varying from 12 to 18 tons per hectare and they are highly resistant to pests and diseases, with high degree of recovery.
External connections
The main partners in this experience are the Peru's National Association of Potato Growers and Derivatives (APPAPA) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, the International Potato Center (CIP), ADERS Peru and 48 producers from 12 potato regions. Likewise, we cooperate with the provincial Agrarian Agency which allows us to promote the seeds in order to increase the production and commercialize in different markets, and INDECOPI (National Institute for the Defense of Free Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property), an important ally in the protection of Andean knowledge related to biodiversity and the appropriate use of local knowledge
Results
What is the environmental or ecological challenge you are targeting with your solution?
The ancestral technique promotes an agriculture that is free of agrochemicals and this way improves soil fertility and conservation of biological control. Vilcas Huamán is situated in the high-Andean zone that, due to its high altitude and orography is exposed to extreme climatic factors that determine the agricultural cycles and, hence, affect the food security of theQuechua population.Due to the intensity of the low temperatures and frosts, the Peruvian state declared on several occasions an emergency in the region because the impacts of climate change disrupted the agricultural season and altered many climate indicators that the indigenous peoples had used earlier,impacting this way negatively the biodiversity and the alimentation of the families.In the district of Vilcas Huamán,1319 hectares are installed of which 934 hectares are affected.
Describe the context in which you are operating
In the province of Vilcas Huamán the index of extreme monetary poverty is 50.2%. A total of 70% of the population works in agriculture. Currently, the chronical childhood malnutrition level is 35% and 58.3% of the children suffer from anemia. There is a high rate of domestic violence, particularly against women. Earlier, the indigenous population of Vilcas Huamán was strongly affected by the political violence forcing the population to leave their communities to protect themselves and save their lives. By that time, they also lost the majority of the great productive and food biodiversity, especially regarding the native potato which is the main product of the family diet. Currently, due to climate change, the population suffers from shortage of water
How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?
The improvement of the biodiversity is seen in the recovery and conservation of 300 varieties of climate change-resilient native potato seeds. These have shown over generations their high resistance to climate factors and pests but over time they had been gradually lost.
The recovery of the biodiversity of native potatoes was promoted by community elders and indigenous researchers that analyzed in practice the changes in the development of the tuber before climate factors and presence of pests and diseases.
They selected many varieties of seeds and categorized them by their resistance, precocity and nutritional value to promote the seeds in the following farming seasons. The selected seeds were inventoried and stored in rustic seedbeds and then taken to the parcels during the next season.
The applied methodology did not affect the environment because chemical products were not used on soil, avoiding the death of the biological controllers and soil and water contamination.
Language(s)
QUECHUA
Water
The conservation of water underground allows an environmentally friendly agriculture because the native potatoes don´t require using a lot of water. That way, it allows the optimization of water use.
Food Security/Nutrition
The native potato is one of the products that have market for consumption, it has a high nutritional value providing from 23% to 38,6% of energy, 28-57,8% of protein, 4,9-16,8% of iron, 7-45,2% of zinc and 3,2-6,2% of calcium and a regular amount of Vitamin C and magnesium. It is an easily digestible product.
Economic/Sustainable Development
The exportation of native potatoes has grown 211% in the last years which has generated employment and improved the economy of small-scale farmers. The high demand is due to its specific virtues, high resistance to climate change and high yield.
Climate
The native potato is highly resistant to the effects of climate change and produces minimum waste during the consumption avoiding contamination. One its advantages is that when washed properly, the peels can be eaten too. When transformed and prepared, they don’t require much energy, avoiding logging for firewood. Other benefit of the seeds of the native potatoes is their high capacity of resistance to pests and diseases and climate factors such as frosts and drought
Sustainability
The economic sustainability of the proposal for the recovery of biodiversity is guaranteed since it does not rely on any external financial resources in the future. This is possible because of the capacity building among the population during the project on recovery, conservation and selection of native potato seeds. On the other hand, the fact of having seeds that are adapted to different altitude levels ensures the production not only for consumption but also having seeds for sowing in the following farming seasons as well as selling the surplus in local markets as a source of generation of income
Return on investment
The implementation of these activities, with a participation of 300 producers, cost approximately fifteen thousand US dollars in total, meaning a cost of 50 dollars per each producer. 15 hectares of native potatoes were installed, achieving a production of 180 tons.
Regarding the results, the investment return was good because it is calculated that each producer had around 600 native potatoes of which 300 kilograms were destined for consumption and seeds and the remaining surplus of 300 kilograms for selling in local markets.
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Replication and Scale
How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?
We have replicated the experience with Andean tuber crops in other regions due to the low implementation costs of experience sharing among indigenous researchers, seed exchange between regions, participation in local fairs, training in production techniques, technical assistance on the installation of seedbeds and knowledge exchange on names, use, transformation and production. The replications have led to an increase in the amount of native varieties adapted to different regions. The proposal intends to expand the technique of recovery and conservation of climate change resistant native crops, contributing to the Andean biodiversity with “future foods”, ensuring the permanent availability of highly nutritive, locally produced, culturally significant products.
The proposed solution can also be applied to other crops and regions, requiring appropriate research on the qualities of the crop regarding its adaptation and resistance to different climate factors, pests and diseases.