Andean agriculture

Map of the Andean region of South America

Current agricultural practices of the Andean region of South America typically involve a synthesis of traditional Incan practices and modern techniques to deal with the unique terrain and climatic elements of the area. Millions of farmers in economically impoverished communities make a living producing staple crops such as potato, olluco, and mashua for their own consumption as well as profit in local and urban markets.[1] The Andean region is particularly known for its wide variety of potato species, boasting over about 5,000 varieties identified by the International Potato Center based in Peru.[2] These crops are arranged within the mountains and plateaus of the Andes in four distinct landscape-based units described as Hill, Ox Area, Early Planting, and Valley which overlap one another in a patchwork-styles of plateau surfaces, steep slopes, and wetland patches.[3] Within each of these units, farmers classify soil types as either puna (deep soils) or suni (thin, slope soils) (local names may vary per region).[3]

Andean farmers must contend with the severe fluctuations in temperature, the unpredictability of the rainy season, and a multitude of pest threats on the daily.[4] To cope with such challenges, many farmers try protect their crops by cultivating a diverse array of species rather than a monoculture. Communities engage in many cultural and faith-based practices to ensure a good harvest and season. They highly value ancestral wisdom and call on it often for agricultural and social endeavors. Many farmers still use Incan-style terraces and irrigation systems for cultivation.[4]

  1. ^ Velasquez-Milla, Dora; Casa, Alejandro; Torres-Guevara, Juan; Cruz-Soriano, Aldo (6 December 2011). "Ecological and socio-cultural factors influencing in situ conservation of crop diversity by traditional Andean households in Peru". Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 7 (40): 40. doi:10.1186/1746-4269-7-40. PMC 3251544. PMID 22146009.
  2. ^ Anonymous (December 2006). "Traditional Andean Agriculture Key to Food Security". Appropriate Technology. 33 (4): 37–39. ISSN 0305-0920.
  3. ^ a b Zimmerer, Karl S. (2003). "Geographies of Seed Networks for Food Plants (Potato, Ulluco) and Approached to Agrobiodiversity Conservation in the Andean Countries". Society and Natural Resources. 16 (7): 583–601. doi:10.1080/08941920309185. S2CID 154236682.
  4. ^ a b Kashyapa, Yapa. "Reducing Climatic and Other Risks Through Nature-Aided and Faith-Based Experiences by Peruvian Terrace Farmers". UC Berkeley.