Knowing Native Potatoes: Finding Local Experts Through Innovative Methods in the Peruvian Andes

Type Journal Article - Revista Gaia Scientia
Title Knowing Native Potatoes: Finding Local Experts Through Innovative Methods in the Peruvian Andes
Author(s)
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2014
URL http://www.okara.ufpb.br/ojs/index.php/gaia/article/download/22425/12449
Abstract
Climate change is considered the most significant threat to agrobiodiversity. This is influencing not only the climate but also the socio- cultural structure and the loss of collective knowledge of diversity in the Peruvian Andes. In this regard, the identification and documentation of local ecological knowledge and recognition of the farmer’s experience has recently taken on greater importance. This study was conducted in three rural communities in the district of Haquira (Pauchi, Queuñapampa and Huancacalla Chico) in Apurimac, Peru and aimed to identify and document the names of native potato and determine the real state of local potato landraces for long-term monitoring. This article focuses on the identification of local expertise and knowledge by the method of analysis of the Five Cells (FCA) and Participatory GIS to develop the Red List. Factors taken into account for the surveys were biological, ecological, economic, social and cultural suggested by the Community Biodiversity Register (CBR). Family focus groups household (n= 61) and quantitative methods (GIS) and qualitative (FCA), which complement allowing recognition of 174 names of local varieties, 45 varieties have different names and 42 varieties share 71 synonyms’ names in the three communities. The results provide us information systematization of native potatoes to prepare a master list that can be evaluated against genetic information.

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