Growing Diversity - Latin America

TITLE OF EXPERIENCE: Growing agrobiodiversity in the Vicos community

AUTHOR: Parashpampa Group - Cachipachán Sector Vicos Peasant Community - URPICHALLAY Association

COUNTRY AND REGION: PERU, Ancash Department; Carhuaz Province; Marcará District

ECOLOGICAL ZONE: Lower mountain rainforest (2.900 - 3.800 m.)

ABSTRACT

Since the 1950s, efforts by the state and by development agencies to introduce commercially-bred varieties, particularly of potatoes, has led to a gradual loss of biodiversity in the Quebrada Honda region, located between 3,500-4,000 meters above sea level. For a long time, peasants there have farmed the diversity of native tubers (potatoes, oca, olluco and  mashua) that they still conserve.

After continuous monitoring of the families as they cultivate these crops, we learned that the tubers have more than an economic value, and that their spiritual value is even more important, since the seeds in this community are considered to be members of the family. Sometimes we grow it through all of our farming activities, and at other times it "grows" us, since it feeds us; so there is a great complementarity between peasant families and these seeds. In the months of June and July, the Vicos Peasant Community makes its largest harvest of the most important crops for peasant families: potatoes in the higher land and corn in the lower land.

Urpichallay has accompanied the group of peasants in Parashpampa in its farming activities throughout the yearly local farming cycle, taking close note of peasant cropping of the biodiversity in this microbasin, in the context of the Andean vision of the world. This monitoring of local farmers has revealed that they have carefully conserved this diversity of crops for 10,000 years in the Huaylas Canyon. This region still possesses 109 varieties of potatoes, 49 varieties of oca, 12 varieties of mashua, 19 varieties of olluco, 26 varieties of corn, 6 varieties of quinoa, 5 varieties of achis, and 30 varieties of beans.

CONTACT: Click here for updated contact details

URPICHALLAY Association, Av. Augusto B. Leguía s/n Urbanización La Florida – Marcará – Carhuaz – PERU. Apartado postal 349, Huaras Perú. - Telefax: (51- 44) 743048, E-mail:  Urpi@terra.com.pe -  http://clientes.telematc.com.pe/urpi