Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T09:15:35.309Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Peru potato potential: Biodiversity conservation and value chain development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2016

Daniel Tobin ,
Rick Bates ,
Mark Brennan  and
Tom Gill
Daniel Tobin*
Affiliation:
Office of International Programs, The Pennsylvania State University, 106D Agricultural Administration Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
Rick Bates
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University, 303 Tyson Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
Mark Brennan
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology and Education, The Pennsylvania State University, 204C Ferguson Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
Tom Gill
Affiliation:
Office of International Programs, 110 Morgan Hall, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37966, USA.
*
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Although crop diversity has been identified as essential to enhance global food security and adapt to climate change, high loss of genetic resources is occurring due to agricultural industrialization and market requirements. Value chain development is an emerging market strategy that seeks to simultaneously achieve agrobiodiversity conservation and economic goals, though little empirical evidence exists regarding the extent to which value chains encourage biodiversity maintenance. This study considers the conservation of native potatoes among households in the highlands of Peru where value chain development is being pursued to create market niches for certain native potato varieties. Utilizing a mixed-methods case study approach, the findings of this study indicate that the conservers of native varieties are the households with more endowed resource bases as well as those that sell native varieties in value chains. However, the findings suggest that value chains themselves likely have only a marginal effect on conservation. Native potato conservation and potato production for value chains exist as two separate livelihood activities, and households with more resources are best positioned to engage in both. While value chains allow households to capitalize on the economic value of certain native varieties, the production of other native varieties allows households to fulfill cultural values. Based on these findings, this study concludes that value chain opportunities for native varieties should continue to be identified but they alone are not an adequate strategy to conserve agrobiodiversity. Therefore, in addition to value chain development, a full suite of conservation schemes should be implemented simultaneously.

Keywords

crop diversitynative potatoesagrobiodiversity conservationvalue chainsPeru
Type
Research Article
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 33 , Special Issue 1: Value Chain Development and Impacts , February 2018 , pp. 19 - 32
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Antezana, I., Fabian, A., Freund, S., Gehrke, E., Gimmann, G., and Seher, S. 2005. Poverty in Potato Producing Communities in the Central Highlands of Peru. SLE Centre for Advanced Training in Rural Development, Berlin.Google Scholar
Bellon, M.R. 1996. The dynamics of crop intraspecific diversity: A conceptual framework at the farmer level. Economic Botany 50:26–39.Google Scholar
Bellon, M.R. 2004. Conceptualizing interventions to support on-farm genetic resource conservation. World Development 32:169–172.Google Scholar
Brinkerhoff, D.W. and Brinkerhoff, J.M. 2011. Public–private partnerships: Perspectives on purposes, publicness, and good governance. Public Administration and Development 31:2–14.Google Scholar
Brush, S. 1992. Ethnoecology, biodiversity, and modernization in Andean potato agriculture. Journal of Ethnobiology 12:161–185.Google Scholar
Brush, S.B. 1995. In situ conservation of landraces in centers of crop diversity. Crop Sciences 35:346–354.Google Scholar
Brush, S.B. 2000. The issues of in situ conservation of crop genetic resources. In Brush, S.B. (ed.). Genes in the Field: On-farm Conservation of Crop Diversity. International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome. p. 3–26.Google Scholar
Brush, S.B. 2004. Farmers’ Bounty: Locating Crop Diversity in the Contemporary World. Yale University Press, New Haven.Google Scholar
Carpenter, D. 2010. Complementarity in the conservation of traditional and modern rice genetic resources on the Philippine island of Bohol. In Lockie, S. and Carpenter, D. (eds). Agriculture, Biodiversity, and Markets: Livelihoods and Agroecology in Comparative Perspective. Earthscan, London. p. 99–116.Google Scholar
Cavatassi, R., Gonzalez-Flores, M., Winters, P., Andrade-Piedra, J., Espinosa, P., and Thiele, G. 2011. Linking smallholder potato farmers to the market: Impact study of multi-stakeholder platforms in Ecuador. In Devaux, A., Ordinola, M., and Horton, D. (eds). Innovation for Development: The Papa Andina Experience. International Potato Center, Lima. p. 193–207.Google Scholar
Creswell, J.W. 2007. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Approaches. 2nd ed. Sage, Thousand Oaks.Google Scholar
Creswell, J.W. and Plano Clark, V. 2011. Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research. 2nd ed. Sage, Thousand Oaks.Google Scholar
Donovan, J. and Stoian, D. 2012. 5Capitals: A Tool for Assessing the Poverty Impacts of Value Chain Development. CATIE Technical Bulletin 55. CATIE, Turrialba. Available at Web site http://www.worldagroforestry.org/downloads/Publications/PDFS/B17400.pdf.Google Scholar
Drucker, A. 2013. No free lunches: PES and the funding of agricultural biodiversity conservation in Bolivia. Case studies on Remuneration of Positive Externalities (RPE)/Payments for Environmental Services (PES). Prepared for the multi-stakeholder dialogue 12–13 September. FAO, Rome. Available at Web site http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/pes-project/docs/FAO_RPE-PES_Bioversity_BoliviaPeru.pdf.Google Scholar
Drucker, A.G., Smale, M., and Zamborano, P. 2005. Valuation and sustainable management of crop and livestock biodiversity: A review of applied economics literature. A report published for the CGIAR System-wide Genetic Resources Programme (SGRP) by IFPRI, IPGRIP, and ILRI. Available at Web site https://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/handle/10568/1999/drucker_valuation_2005.pdf?sequence=2.Google Scholar
Escobal, J.A. and Cavero, D. 2012. Transaction costs, institutional arrangements and inequality outcomes: Potato marketing by small producers in Peru. World Development 40:329–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fink, A. 1995. How to Analyze Survey Data. Sage, Thousand Oaks.Google Scholar
Frison, E.A., Cherfas, J., and Hodgkin, T. 2011. Agricultural biodiversity is essential for a sustainable improvement in food and nutrition security. Sustainability 2:238–253.Google Scholar
Galluzzi, G., Estrada, R., Apaza, V., Gamarra, M., Pérez, A., Gamarra, G., Altamirano, A., Cáceres, G., Sevilla, R., Noriega, I.L., and Jäger, M. 2015. Participatory breeding in the Peruvian highlands: Opportunities and challenges for promoting conservation and sustainable use of underutilized crops. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 5:408–417.Google Scholar
Garcia-Yi, J. 2014. Market participation and agro-biodiversity loss: The case of native chili varieties in the Amazon rainforest of Peru. Sustainability 6:615–630.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gill, T.B., Bates, R., Bicksler, A., Burnette, R., Ricciardi, V., and Yoder, L. 2012. Strengthening informal seed systems to enhance food security in Southeast Asia. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development 3:139–153.Google Scholar
Giuliani, A. 2007. Developing Markets for Agrobiodiversity: Securing Livelihoods in Dryland Areas. Earthscan, London.Google Scholar
Graddy, T.G. 2013. Regarding biocultural heritage: In situ political ecology of agricultural biodiversity in the Peruvian Andes. Agriculture and Human Values 30:587–604.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greene, J.C. and Hall, J.N. 2010. Dialectics and pragmatism: Being of consequence. In Tashakkori, A. and Teddlie, C. (eds). Sage Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social and Behavioral Research. 2nd ed. Sage, Thousand Oaks. p. 119–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harlan, J.R. 1975. Our vanishing genetic resources. Science 188:618–621.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hellin, J. and Higman, S. 2005. Crop diversity and livelihood security in the Andes. Development in Practice 15:165–174.Google Scholar
Hellin, J., Higman, S., and Keleman, A. 2010. Value chain coordination for agrobiodiversity conservation. In Lockie, S. and Carpenter, D. (eds). Agriculture, Biodiversity, and Markets: Livelihoods and Agroecology in Comparative Perspective. Earthscan, London. p. 213–228.Google Scholar
Horton, D. 2008. Facilitating Pro-poor Market Chain Innovation: An Assessment of the Participatory Market Chain Approach in Uganda. International Potato Center, Lima.Google Scholar
Horton, D. and Samanamud, K. 2012. Recent trends in Peruvian potato production: The native potato revolution. Papa Andina Innovation Brief 2. Available at Web site http://cipotato.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Brief-2.pdf.Google Scholar
Horton, D., Akellow, B., Aliguma, L., Bernet, T., Devaux, A., Lemaga, B., Magala, D., Mayanja, S., Sekitto, I., Thiele, G., and Velasco, C. 2011. Developing capacity for agricultural market chain innovation: Experience with ‘PMCA’ in Uganda. In Devaux, A., Ordinola, M., and Horton, D. (eds). Innovation for Development: The Papa Andina Experience. International Potato Center, Lima. p. 375–400.Google Scholar
INEI. 2013a. Estadísticas Sociales. Indice Temático. Available at Web site http://www.inei.gob.pe/estadisticas/indice-tematico/sociales/.Google Scholar
INEI. 2013b. IV Censo Nacional Agropecuario 2012. Censos. Available at Web site http://www.inei.gob.pe/estadisticas/censos/.Google Scholar
Isakson, S.R. 2011. Market provisioning and the conservation of crop biodiversity: An analysis of peasant livelihoods and maize diversity in the Guatemalan highlands. World Development 8:1444–1459.Google Scholar
Jackson, L.E., Pascual, U., and Hodgkin, T. 2007. Utilizing and conserving agrobiodiversity in agriculture. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 121:196–210.Google Scholar
Jacobsen, S.E. 2011. The situation for quinoa and its production in southern Bolivia: From economic success to environmental disaster. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science 197:390–399.Google Scholar
Kaplinsky, R. 2000. Globalisation and unequalisation: What can be learned from value chain analysis. Journal of Development Studies 37:117–146.Google Scholar
Keleman, A. and Hellin, J. 2009. Specialty maize varieties in Mexico: A case study in market- driven agro-biodiversity conservation. Journal of Latin American Geography 8:147–174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kumar, N.A., Gopi, G., and Prajeesh, P. 2010. Genetic erosion and degradation of ecosystem services of wetland rice fields: A case study from Western Ghats, India. In Lockie, S. and Carpenter, D. (eds). Agriculture, Biodiversity, and Markets: Livelihoods and Agroecology in Comparative Perspective. Earthscan, London. p. 137–154.Google Scholar
Lockie, S. and Carpenter, D. 2010. Agriculture, biodiversity and markets. In Lockie, S. and Carpenter, D. (eds). Agriculture, Biodiversity, and Markets: Livelihoods and Agroecology in Comparative Perspective. Earthscan, London. p. 1–14.Google Scholar
Lockie, S. and Tennent, R. 2010. Market instruments and collective obligations for on-farm biodiversity conservation. In Lockie, S. and Carpenter, D. (eds). Agriculture, Biodiversity, and Markets: Livelihoods and Agroecology in Comparative Perspective. Earthscan, London. p. 287–302.Google Scholar
Lofland, J. and Lofland, L.H. 1995. Analyzing Social Settings: A Guide to Qualitative Observation and Analysis. Wadsworth, Belmont.Google Scholar
Love, B. and Spaner, D. 2007. Agrobiodiversity: Its value, measurement, and conservation in the context of sustainable agriculture. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture 21:53–82.Google Scholar
Masakure, O. and Henson, S. 2005. Why do small-scale producers choose to produce under contract? Lessons from nontraditional vegetable experts from Zimbabwe. World Development 33:1721–1733.Google Scholar
Mayer, E. 2001. The Articulated Peasant: Household Economies in the Andes. Westview, Boulder.Google Scholar
Mazid, A., Shideed, K., and Amri, A. 2013. Assessment of on-farm conservation of dryland agrobiodiversity and its impact on rural livelihoods in the Fertile Crescent. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 29:366–377.Google Scholar
Meinzen-Dick, R.S., Devaux, A., and Antezana, I. 2009. Underground assets: Potato biodiversity to improve the livelihoods of the poor. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 7:235–248.Google Scholar
Miyata, S., Minot, N., and Hu, D. 2009. Impact of contract farming on income: Linking small farmers and supermarkets in China. World Development 37:1781–1790.Google Scholar
Mutersbaugh, T. and Klooster, D. 2010. Environmental certification: Standardization for diversity. In Lockie, S. and Carpenter, D. (eds). Agriculture, Biodiversity, and Markets: Livelihoods and Agroecology in Comparative Perspective. Earthscan, London. p. 155–174.Google Scholar
Myers, N., Mittermeier, R.A., Mittermeier, C.G., da Fonseca, G.A., and Kent, J. 2000. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403:853–858.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Narloch, U., Drucker, A.G., and Pascual, U. 2011. Exploring the potential for ecosystem services for in-situ agrobiodiversity conservation. Discussion paper N. 14. Ecosystem Services Economics Unit, Division of Environmental Policy Implementation, United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), Nairobi. Available at Web site http://www.unep.org/ecosystemmanagement/Portals/7/Documents/WP14_Exploring%20the%20Potential%20of%20Payments_UNEP.pdf.Google Scholar
Ordinola, M., Devaux, A., Manrique, K., Fonseca, C., and Thomann, A. 2011. Strengthening competitiveness of the potato market chain: An experience in Peru. In A. Devaux, M. Ordinola, and D. Horton (eds). Innovation for Development: The Papa Andina Experience. International Potato Center, Lima p. 151–179.Google Scholar
Pascual, U., Narloch, U., Nordhagen, S., and Drucker, A.G. 2011. The economics of agrobiodiversity conservation for food security under climate change. Economía Agraria y Recursos Naturales 11:191–220.Google Scholar
Perales, H.R., Brush, S.B., and Qualset, C.O. 2003. Maize landraces of central Mexico: An altitudinal transect. Economic Botany 57:7–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perez, C., Nicklin, C., Dangles, O., Vanek, S., Sherwood, S., Halloy, S., Garrett, K., and Forbes, G. 2010. Climate change in the high Andes: Implications and adaptation strategies for small-scale farmers. International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability 6:71–88.Google Scholar
Scurrah, M., Andersen, R., and Winge, T. 2008. Farmers’ rights in Peru: Farmers’ perspectives: Background Study 8. FNI Report 16/2008. Fridtjof Nansen Institute. Available at Web site http://www.fni.no/doc&pdf/FNI-R1608.pdf.Google Scholar
Smale, M. 2006. Concepts, metrics and plan of the book. In Smale, M. (ed.). Valuing Crop Biodiversity: On-farm Genetic Resources and Economic Change. CABI Publishing, Wallingford. p. 1–16.Google Scholar
Small, M.L. 2011. How to conduct a mixed methods study: Recent trends in a rapidly growing literature. Annual Review of Sociology 37:57–86.Google Scholar
Stake, R. 2000. Case studies. In Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. (eds). The Handbook of Qualitative Research. 2nd ed. Sage, Thousand Oaks. p. 435–454.Google Scholar
Stone, E. and Wu, J. 2010. Targeting payments for ecological services. In Lockie, S. and Carpenter, D. (eds). Agriculture, Biodiversity, and Markets: Livelihoods and Agroecology in Comparative Perspective. Earthscan, London. p. 253–268.Google Scholar
Tapia, M.E. 2000. Mountain agrobiodiversity in Peru: Seed fairs, seed banks, and mountain-to-mountain exchange. Mountain Research and Development 20:220–225.Google Scholar
Thiele, G. 1999. Informal potato seed systems in the Andes: Why are they important and what should we do with them? World Development 27:83–99.Google Scholar
Thiele, G. and Devaux, A. 2011. Adding value to local knowledge and biodiversity of Andean potato farmers: The Papa Andina project. In Devaux, A., Ordinola, M., and Horton, D. (eds). Innovation for Development: The Papa Andina Experience. International Potato Center, Lima. p. 37–39.Google Scholar
Thrupp, L.A. 2000. Linking agricultural biodiversity and food security: The valuable role of sustainable agriculture. International Affairs 76:265–281.Google Scholar
Van Dusen, M.E. and Taylor, J.E. 2005. Missing markets and crop diversity: Evidence from Mexico. Environment and Development Economics 10:513–531.Google Scholar
Winters, P., Hintzy, L.H., and Ortiz, O. 2006. Rural Development and the Diversity of Potatoes on Farms in Cajamarca, Peru. In Smale, M. (ed.). Valuing Crop Biodiversity: On-farm Genetic Resources and Economic Change. CABI Publishing, Wallingford. p. 146–161.Google Scholar
World Bank. 2015. World Development Indicators. World DataBank, Peru. Available at Web site http://databank.worldbank.org/data/reports.aspx?source=2&country=PER&series=&period.Google Scholar
Zimmerer, K. 1996. Changing Fortunes: Biodiversity and Peasant Livelihood in the Peruvian Andes. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.Google Scholar
Zimmerer, K.S. 1998. The ecogeography of Andean potatoes. BioScience 48:445–454.Google Scholar
Zimmerer, K.S. 2014. Conserving agrobiodiversity amid global change, migration, and nontraditional livelihood networks: The dynamic uses of cultural landscape knowledge. Ecology and Society 19:1.Google Scholar