Maintaining crop and cultural diversity in the Andes
The Andes are the origin of many crops, including potatoes and tomatoes, and the people of the region may have domesticated as many as 70 different crop species, including roots, grains, legumes and fruits. Bioversity continues to work to promote and protect that diversity.
- A scene on the road leading from La Paz to Santiago de Okola: waiting for the bus to bring local produce to the nearest town market. Credit: S. Padulosi/Bioversity International.
As Bioversity's researchers and their partners have accumulated experience and evidence from their studies of how and why local people make use of agricultural biodiversity it has become clear that success takes more than merely identifying genetic resources. A project being implemented in collaboration with partners in Bolivia (PROINPA) and in Peru (CIRNMA) and supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is seeking ways to encourage farmers and consumers to use a broader selection of crops. One area in which it is working is the Andean mountains of South America.
The project identified two villages in Bolivia, Santiago de Okola and Coromata Media, both near Lake Titicaca about 60 km north-east of La Paz, one of Bolivia's two capital cities. The villages still maintain a broad diversity of native crops and a survey in 2008 provided a snap-shot of these crops and how they fit into the local culture—not only production systems but also the social uses and social calendar of the villages.
"Some of these crops play a particular role in the local culture," said Stefano Padulosi, leader of the project. "For example, quinoa plays a special part in All Saints Day celebrations on 31st October, during which people use quinoa flour to prepare small figures of llamas. These are made by all the male members of the community, from the youngest to the eldest. These traditions contribute to keeping these crops in cultivation—but as the society evolves and 'modernizes' these links with the past are being lost."
Previous work in Bolivia showed that one of the main reasons why consumers are giving up on some of the traditional crops is that they require a lot more work to process them and make them ready to eat. For example, the seed coat of quinoa must be removed before the grain can be cooked or further processed into flour, and this was taking several hours with traditional methods. The project developed a simple mill that removed the seed coats in a matter of minutes and even preserved better the nutritional value of the seed (see 'Quinoa: a delicate balancing act,' Bioversity Annual Report 2006, p. 17).
Alas, surveys in 2008 showed that despite the mills local crops were having little impact on people's diets. Most of the traditional foods have been replaced by processed carbohydrates—bread, pastries and pasta—in the diet. These foods are cheap and quick to prepare, making them more convenient than the traditional crops.
The mill solved part of the problem—the time it takes to process the seed—but consumers were still faced with a lack of modern recipes for the traditional crops," noted Padulosi. A particular gap was convenient high-energy snacks that children like so much. There is also the problem that traditional crops are thought of as 'food of the poor' and a resultant lack of a ready market for the crops. "This is one of the difficulties in working with neglected and underutilized crops," said Padulosi. "With commodity crops, the whole chain is in place—the agronomic practices to get the best out of the crop, processing technology, markets, distribution systems, the policy environment. But with neglected species, you are always starting from scratch."
One of the ways the project addressed both the lack of practical recipes and the image problem of the crops was through a link-up with Alexander Coffee, a chain of coffee shops in Bolivia that targets middle- and upper-income coffee drinkers in Bolivia's larger towns and cities. "The owner of Alexander Coffee, Carmen Quezada de Prado, heard about our work and offered to join our promotion of traditional crops through her coffee shops," said Padulosi. The coffee shops ran a series of events, each focusing on a specific Andean grain crop (quinoa, cañihua and amaranth) and each lasting several weeks. They produced posters and factsheets about the crops, big banners and table displays in all the shops, and they developed a whole range of products using that particular crop. "There were cakes and biscuits, salads and tacos, all kinds of things," enthused Padulosi.
Sales of the local products were very good during these campaigns and customers, Bolivians and foreigners alike, commented enthusiastically on them. The project is now monitoring continuing sales and public perceptions of the crops among Alexander Coffee's customers to see if the effects last.
Efforts at promotion help to raise awareness of these crops and to create markets for them. But there is also the question of how to ensure that diversity is maintained within each of the target crops. "We are making progress in promoting these neglected species," said Padulosi, "but how can we ensure that these enhanced markets will benefit the tens of varieties grown by local farmers and not just one or two?"
To tackle that challenge, the project is investigating the nutritional quality and suitability for different kinds of food processing technology of several varieties, looking for those with attractive market traits. Good popping quality is vital for making 'popcorn'-type snacks (see also p. 8) while good extrusion character is essential for pasta and pastries. "The wider the diversity we are able to mobilize within each crop, the greater will be the options we can create for making neglected and underutilized species economically viable, useful and enjoyable to people today and in the future," said Padulosi.
Encouraging farmers to continue growing these traditional crops is also a challenge. "Money is not the only answer," said Padulosi. The project is looking at a whole range of mechanisms, such as seed fairs at which awards are presented to farmers who put the greatest range of diversity on show, or who demonstrate innovation in conserving and using diversity. "Social prestige is often worth more than money in these traditional societies," said Padulosi. "Recognizing the role played by farmers as custodians of local diversity is a powerful way to reinforce the self-esteem of community members and thus to contribute towards a self-sustainable and virtuous circle for on- farm conservation."
Maintaining diversity at the farm level requires the maintenance of traditional production systems. These too are under threat as younger generations migrate to towns. Agritourism is a potential solution that the project is looking into. "The two villages we are working with are close to one of the most visited tourist sites on Lake Titicaca, the Isla del Sol in Bolivia. The problem is that most tourists visit only the Isla del Sol and don't go to other places around the lake because there are not enough facilities for their stay," said Padulosi. "We decided to explore whether the villagers could benefit from tourism by providing simple accommodation and encouraging people to take an interest in traditional agriculture in the area." Working with a Bolivian NGO, La Paz on Foot, and two Italian NGOs that have worked on similar schemes in Ecuador—UCODEP and Movimondo—the project has helped farmers to build simple huts for visitors and trained farmers to present their work to visitors, to demonstrate their crops and local farming practices and to prepare a variety of foods based on native crop resources for tourists.
"The local farmers are shy people, not used to being tour guides," noted Padulosi. "But initial results are promising and we are seeing more visitors to the area." The next step is for the project to monitor the effects of agritourism on the maintenance of crop and livestock diversity.
Padulosi stressed the importance of maintaining the traditional crops and varieties and the knowledge associated with them. Already there is evidence of local impacts of climate change in the project area; places that were commonly frost-free are seeing frequent frosts. Quinoa, once popular in these areas, is susceptible to frost, and several farmers are switching to cañihua, a more cold-tolerant Andean grain. Similar changes are likely to be needed in the future as these farmers face new challenges. Without crop diversity and the knowledge needed to grow, process and use that diversity, their options are going to be very limited.
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