Efecto de los cambios en el precio de los alimentos sobre el consumo de la quinua y la seguridad alimentaria rural en el Perú

The loss of biodiversity and the effects of climate change hurt agricultural production and food security in Peru and around the world. The family farming sector in Peru (97% of agricultural units - AU) faces numerous challenges when it comes to sustainably producing food. To sustain Peruvian...

The present study aims to categorize quinoa producers and examine and compare quinoa supply chains in the Peruvian regions of Puno and Junin. This research was conducted in the provinces of San Roman and El Collao in Puno and Jauja and Huancayo in Junin using surveys of producers selected according to stratified sampling, along with interviews and workshops with traders and agents in the supply chain. Cluster analysis was used to examine the producers’ attributes, the supply chain, and the profit margins of conventional and organic producers. In both regions, most producers were small and medium sized (100% in Puno and 91.6% in Junin). The supply chains in Puno and Junin comprised 24 and 31 channels, respectively. It was found that numerous collectors, formal and informal processors, and exporters mainly linked with organized producers participated in these supply chains and this made trade efficient and coordinated. In contrast, trade among individual producers in the domestic markets through agents in the supply chain was highly disjointed, tending toward high centralization and without added value. It is concluded that quinoa supply is complex, centralized, traditional, and somewhat inefficient since asymmetrical relations were found between agents favoring commercial intermediaries.

Compensation for custodian farmers to provide agrobiodiversity-conservation services in their farms (in situ) is an emerging global approach because it can generate public benefits when it comes to important plant genetic resources (PGRs) for food and agriculture. This review focused on: i) the integration of in situ conservation to the PGR management involving custodian farmers in a systematic conservation approach; ii) the private benefits obtained by custodian farmers to increase their willingness to actively participate in the conservation service; and iii) the willingness to accept (WTA) compensation of the farmers in providing conservation service relative to opportunity costs. The most recent approaches suggest the integration of in situ conservation with ex situ conservation management for efficient conservation programmes, especially in relation to governance of local agrobiodiversity. Involving custodian farmers in the comprehensive genetic-improvement system appears to be an activity that increases their willingness to participate in agrobiodiversity conservation schemes. Farmers receive private benefits, which are simultaneously reflected in the provision of public benefits. Therefore, WTA compensation, which employs mechanisms in the design of payments for better agro-environmental conservation services, controls the opportunity costs. Overall, farmers seem willing to participate in any type of compensation scheme that is proposed in the different countries. Furthermore, it is possible to capture the WTA, therefore significant progress requires more studies of primary schemes, indepth analysis to capture farmers' preferences on economic, socio-cultural, and environmental factors in scheme design, and the implementation of incentive policies designed with pragmatic tools.

El objetivo fue analizar la estructura e institucionalidad de la cadena productiva de la quinua del departamento de Junín con la finalidad de determinar su competitividad, identificar a sus gobernadores y las posibles alianzas entre actores. El estudio se realizó en cuatro provincias donde se aplicaron 399 encuestas por muestreo, además de entrevistas y un Taller con los actores de esa cadena. Según el cluster bietápico aplicado a la clasificación de los productores de quinua, el 80% de ellos fueron pequeños y la diferenciación se debió a las variables productivas y tecnológicas. La cadena productiva de la quinua está integrada por actores formales e informales, siendo poco competitiva, y los actores con mayor influencia fueron el Ministerio de Agricultura y Riego, el Gobierno Regional y los gobiernos locales. Según el análisis estructural, las posibles alianzas por objetivos prioritarios de cada actor, serían inicialmente entre los productores organizados con las instituciones regionales. Se concluye que la cadena productiva de la quinua muestra débil organización y frágil institucionalidad, lo que dificulta su interrelación con los diversos actores que la integran.

Classifying small agricultural producers based on their technical efficiency and economic performance allows us to gauge the potential to improve yield in the quinoa crop, promote local food security, and improve rural incomes. Consequently, the objective of this study was to characterize and classify quinoa producers at the Peruvian Altiplano based on their productive, economic, and social attributes, so the technical efficiency and economic performance of the identified groups can be analyzed. Hence, 409 surveys conducted among quinoa producers in the Puno region were used to run the statistical analysis using two-stage cluster techniques, stochastic frontier, linear regression, and ANOVA tests. The results revealed that three groups of producers exhibited discriminating variables in the use of fertilizers, organic fertilizers, weed control, application of fungicides, production of quinoa, the total area of all crops, and achievement of economic benefits. It was evidenced that the use of seeds and fertilizers, in optimal quantities, increased yield, and in combination with quinoa sales, were the significant variables to differentiate technical efficiency. The high Andes are characterized by smallholdings, subsistence agriculture and, agrobiodiversity conservation and, although cultivation practices are predominantly low technical efficient, it would be possible to rapidly increase agricultural performance with a better allocation of external inputs. However, this could be done to regional limits, for this reason, the role of public policy is very important so that producers can get broader access to production inputs and technical services.