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]
^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.
^ abZimmerer, 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.
^ abKashyapa, Yapa. "Reducing Climatic and Other Risks Through Nature-Aided and Faith-Based Experiences by Peruvian Terrace Farmers". UC Berkeley.
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Current agricultural practices of the Andean region of South America typically involve a synthesis of traditional Incan practices and modern techniques...
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The Andean civilizations were South American complex societies of many indigenous people. They stretched down the spine of the Andes for 4,000 km (2,500 mi)...
doi:10.2307/482266. JSTOR 482266. Earls, J. The Character of Inca and AndeanAgriculture. pp. 1–29 Moseley 2001, p. 44. Murra, John V.; Rowe, John Howland...
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The Andes (/ˈændiːz/ AN-deez), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (Spanish: Cordillera de los Andes; Quechua: Anti) are the longest continental mountain...
JSTOR 25067338. S2CID 194099969. Earls, John (nd), "The Character of Inca and AndeanAgriculture," pp. 18–19. http://macareo.pucp.edu.pe/~jearls/documentosPDF/theCharacter...
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) leads the programme Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS), which helps...
especially in the Amazonian area. Others, especially the Andean cultures, practised sophisticated agriculture, utilized advanced irrigation and kept domesticated...
bear (Tremarctos ornatus), also known as the South American bear, Andean bear, Andean short-faced bear or mountain bear and locally as jukumari (Aymara...
The Andean mountain cat (Leopardus jacobita) is a small wild cat native to the high Andes that has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List because...
at an accelerated pace and create unforeseen water shortages in Andeanagricultural towns. Farmers have taken to temporary city jobs when there is poor...
related to spinach and amaranth (Amaranthus spp.), and originated in the Andean region of northwestern South America. It was first used to feed livestock...
(Part Two): The KUKA Andean Brewing Company Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Benco, Nancy (2006). The origins of agriculture: an international...
the general policy to destroy the traditional Andeanagricultural systems. The local marketing of the Andean bean during the religious festival Corpus Christi...
The Andean porcupine (Coendou quichua) or Quichua porcupine is a species of rodent in the family Erethizontidae. It is found in the Andes of northern Ecuador...
Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. Its natural habitats are sub-Andean and Andean forests, sub-páramo and páramo at 2,000–3,500 m (6,600–11,500 ft)...
method of bronze-making from the Shang. The earliest evidence of agriculture in the Andean region dates to around 9000 BC in Ecuador at sites of the Las...
Quercus humboldtii, commonly known as the Andean oak, Colombian oak or roble, is a species of oak found only in Colombia and Panamá. It is named for Alexander...
The Andean textile tradition once spanned from the Pre-Columbian to the Colonial era throughout the western coast of South America, but was mainly concentrated...
The history of human habitation in the Andean region of South America stretches from circa 15,000 BCE to the present day. Stretching for 7,000 km (4,300 mi)...
southern United States through Central America and the Antilles south through Andean South America to northern Argentina. The generic name is derived from the...
the Incas however do not represent the origin stories of other pre-Incan Andean peoples. There are vastly more versions and stories that predate and play...
The Andean hairy armadillo (Chaetophractus nationi) is an armadillo found mainly in Bolivia, in the region of the Puna; the departments of Oruro, La Paz...
Its length is about 70 kilometres (43 mi). The Colca Valley is a colorful Andean valley with pre-Inca rooted inhabitants, and towns founded in Spanish colonial...
are home to the endemic Andean flamingo. The World Wildlife fund defines three distinct puna sub-ecoregions: NT1003 Central Andean wet puna (Bolivia, Peru)...
southern Lake Titicaca Basin. Tiwanaku was one of the most significant Andean civilizations. Its influence extended into present-day Peru and Chile and...
varieties of the Andean tuber crop ulluco (Ullucus tuberosus)". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 56 (17). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry...
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