Sarah Cox
Zane Trace High School
Chillicothe, Ohio
Peruvian Responses to Food Insecurity: A Study on Reversing Resource Degradation
Introduction
Peru is a nation rich in contrast in its culture and landscape. Culturally, Peru is by far one of the
most diverse countries in South America. This country is naturally isolated by the Andes Mountains on
the West and the Amazon River Basin on the East. There is strong diversity in terrain throughout the
country. These land forms include: coastal desert plains; high, rugged, mountain peaks; and wet Amazon
jungles.
Peruvians have been successful at preserving the culture of Peru for thousands of years due to the
rugged terrain surrounding the country. Even after the Spanish invasion, the ancient culture of Peru is
still evident today. Over half of the population lives on the desert coastal plains. Most of the remaining
people live in the mountain areas. Less than five percent of the natives live in the jungle areas.1
The contrast in rich and poor people is clearly seen in Lima, the capital of Peru. Like most cites in
the world, the richest people live nearest to the center in Lima. In the city, families live in large protected
homes. The more distant from the center of the city the more desperate the shantytowns become.
Typically, in the city Peruvians live in shacks or dungy apartments. In the rural jungle, they live in huts
on sticks to keep them off the ground, when the rain comes.
Forests and woodlands compose the largest portion of land in Peru while permanent pastureland
makes up most of the remaining land mass. Less than one percent of the land in Peru is used for
repeatedly grown crops.2 Coca leaf, plantains, sugar, cocoa, coffee, potatoes, palm oil, corn, various
tropical fruits, beans, rice, wheat, and barley are all repeatedly grown crops in different land masses of
Peru. The area of available agricultural land per capita is one of the lowest in the non-industrialized
world. In various communities, the Inca system of cooperative labor and land use still remains; fields are
communally planted and harvested, and the produce or the profits are divided.
Peruvian agriculture was strongly affected by the Agrarian Reform Law of 1969.3 Most of Peru
was reorganized into government cooperatives as large private landholdings were taken away. Eventually,
the farming cooperatives became unprofitable. In 1990, President Alberto Fujimori was elected to office.
By changing Peru’s economic policies to free market ideals, the president reversed the previous
redistribution policies and allowed land to be titled and used as collateral.
In several studies, poverty has been linked to natural resource degradation. Natural resource
degradation is shown by: dwindling fish stocks, deforestation, climate change and toxic pollution.
Flooding, drought, and famine are a result of poor stewardship of the land. Architects from the U.S. are
developing systems to support the restoration of native habitat and the regeneration of indigenous
landscape by using local materials for construction purposes while developing compost facilities and
corridors of ancient trees to provide an important habitat. The architects are also constructing wetlands of
1
http://perufacts.org/
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pe.html
3
http://www.photius.com/countries/peru/economy/peru_economy_agriculture.html
2
native plants to retain storm water and increase biodiversity. They are also providing environmental
education for employees and visitors to Peru.4
Typical family
The average family size in Peru is 5.1 people. A family with Hispanic-Peruvian ancestry is
headed by the father. In many Hispanic mestizo (Spanish/Amerindian) homes, fathers often follow strong
authoritarian roles, by controlling the family budget, applying discipline, and representing the family to
the outside world. Mothers in these homes often control and manage the internal affairs in the household,
assigning tasks to children and to the female servants.5
Poor urban areas have a high percentage of female-headed households. These homes include a
large number of abandoned mothers who are left with the full responsibility of supporting their
households and raising the children. Many single mothers have small businesses as their single income to
support their family. When children become old enough to do the family business such as bead making,
they help produce and sell the product.
In urban Peru, men and women both work. Men can work as: bus drivers, postmen, bakers,
mechanics, miners, carpenters, clerks, engineers, accountants, and pilots. Women can be: chambermaids,
flight attendants, and nurses. Both men and women can become: professors, teachers, salespeople,
computer programmers, and hotel receptionists. The current minimum wage in Peru is ~ US 155 dollars a
month.
Social ranking in Peru defines a person. If someone is a poor person, then society dictates that
person will always be poor. Peru is organized into three social classes. The upper class is a minority and
principally found in Lima – they consist of approximately three percent of the total population. The
middle class consists of the workers and professionals that depend on a salary and job –form about sixty
percent of the population and have suffered most under the successive crisis’s of recent years. The lower
class is formed by the workers and the campesinos (the rural people/farmers of the country).6
According to the CIA’s world fact book, 92.9 percent (96.4 percent men and 89.4 percent
women) of Peru’s population can read and write by age 15. Education is under the jurisdiction of the
ministry of education. Public education is compulsory according to the Peruvian constitution. Higher
education is greatly respected, as Peru is considered to have the best education system in Latin America.7
In Peru, an average farm size is 2-8 hectares.8 On the coast, there are community run former
plantations. The community grows enough to feed the whole village and at harvest the crop is distributed
as evenly as possible. Potatoes and corn are the staple crops, grown throughout Peru but with very low
yields. Cotton, sugar, coffee, rice, and barley are the leading commercial crops.
The three major regions of Peru produce different foods that the locals harvest regularly. The
Pacific Ocean provides those who live on the coast with an abundance of seafood, providing they have the
tools to catch it. In the mountains and highlands, locals eat fish caught in nearby rivers and lakes along
with potatoes and corn, pork, and beef. In the jungles, yucca, plantains, bananas, wild animals, and rice
are readily available.
4
www.article13.com
http://countrystudies.us/peru/43.htm
6
http://www.amautaspanish.com/amautaspanish/english/peru/culture_society.asp
7
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Peru
8
http://www.jungle-tech.com/peruadv.htm
5
Peasants still practice subsistence farming. Subsistence farming is a form of farming in which
nearly all the crops or livestock raised are used to maintain the farmer and his family, leaving little
surplus for sale or trade. Pastorialism is mainly used in the highlands. Pastorialism is a social and
economic system based on the raising and herding of livestock.
Reversing natural resource degradation and adapting farming to climate change and water
scarcity
Deforestation and over-grazing of farm animals lead to erosion and eventual desertification.
Desertification is the degradation of land in sub-arid to arid climates. It is a process that starts when the
native plants are replaced with non-native invasive plants or shrubs. Slash and burn, a style of clearing
away vegetation for agricultural purposes, is also a leading cause for desertification.
Reversing natural resource degradation would help transportation issues, thus helping the rural
farmers get their crops from point A to point B faster and safer. In the jungles, only dirt roads are
available to get from one city or town to another.
Public roadways are maintained as much as possible before the rainy season, but there isn’t
enough equipment to complete the job before the rain washes away the roadways. After the rainy season,
the construction workers must replace the soil that was eroded away before anyone can travel. Somewhat
remote villages during dry season are secluded from surrounding areas when the roads are washed out, so
trade with these village people is almost impossible.
Farmers in the Cusco region of Peru are reporting irregular rains and intense heat this past
summer. This climate change is affecting their potato and corn crops. In recent years, production of these
crops has fallen by at least half. The Peruvian Ministry of the Environment gave this information in its
2009 National Environmental Study, which showed that 80,000 hectares (about 195,000 acres) of potato
and 60,000 hectares (148,000 acres) of white corn have been lost in the last 12 crop years due to climate
change. Local residents in rural Piura report that changing rainfall patterns are damaging their mango and
cassava crops.9
Adapting to climate change will need to involve changing crop varieties. As the global climate
changes due to increased greenhouse gas effects, crops will need to be evaluated according to their
viability in the new climate. While Peruvians traditionally grew potatoes and corn, they may need to
change to other crops such as soybeans or rice due to the climate changes in their region. Farmers will
need to adapt their practices to boost productivity.
Peru is disadvantaged by not having research centers that aid food production by distributing
information and supplies to farmers. Peru is also disadvantaged by not having the money to experiment. If
we Americans get something wrong we can just try a new seed or a new technique. The Peruvian farmers
don’t have that choice. They have limited resources, so every plant that produces food is vital for them or
their family’s survival.
Water is indispensible to human survival, livelihoods, and most forms of economic production.
Water quantity is related to food production while water quality is related to drinking water, hygiene and
human sanitation. Water quantity and quality are interrelated. Decreasing water quantity increases
9
http://www.oxfamamerica.org/articles/climate-change-affecting-peru-right-now
pollution and water quality degradation aggravates scarcity. Agricultural practices in Peru must adapt to
the decrease in water quantity and quality.
In Peru, over 98 percent of water is available east of the Andes, in the Amazon region. The
coastal area of Peru, with greater economic activities and more than half of the population, receives only
1.8 percent of the national freshwater renewable water resources. Economic and population growth are
taking an increasing toll on water resources quantity and quality, especially in the coastal area of Peru.10
The government of Peru is currently undertaking a major transformation of its water resources
management from a centralized approach focused on irrigation development in the coastal area to a river
basin integrated water resources management for the entire country. The gradual decrease in Peru's water
quality is due to the release of untreated pollution from sources such as mining, industries, cities, and
agriculture. In the highland and Amazon areas, excessive deforestation due to nomadic agriculture
practices is causing erosion and soil degradation.
Solutions/ Recommendations
Although reversing natural resource degradation and adapting farming to climate changes and
water scarcity is not the answer to all of Peru’s food security issues, it is an attainable solution over an
extended period of time.
In order to reverse the natural resource degradation, farmers in Peru need to reduce overgrazing
of their animals, deforestation and the slash and burn method of farming. There are more efficient ways
to clear the land for agricultural purposes. Pesticides and herbicides have less impact on the environment
than the slash and burn technique.
The roads need to be paved to improve transportation. When roads are paved, there would be an
increase in jobs for the original construction and maintenance. Paving roads would also prevent the rainy
season from ruining the road, so farmers could safely sell their goods year round.
Adapting to climate change will need to involve changing crop varieties. Traditionally, natives
grow potatoes and corn, but farmers in Peru may need to change their crops. To adapt to the climate
changes, they may need to change to crops such as soybeans and rice.
Many organizations in developed countries have the resources to sustain challenged countries like
Peru. Trading countries and large businesses should be compelled to invest in Peru’s trade. The United
States in particular should assist Peru in becoming more independent. Information from the United States
would help Peru become modernized and to stay ahead of the climate changes. Businesses all over the
world can demonstrate leadership by applying pressure on the supply chain to ensure the sustainable
management of natural resources.
The national government in Peru should build research centers in different divisions of Peru, and
encourage foreign students and researchers to come and study at these centers. The students and
researchers would then be able to share ideas and influence agriculture in Peru.
Communities in Peru should aid each other in choosing plots of land to grow crops and protecting
them from destruction. Furthermore, Peruvians should try to not use as much of the rainforest in their
10
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_resources_management_in_Peru
conquest for more agriculture ground. This will conserve what the world does not have much of, and
allow Peru to have another way to keep its economy growing thru tourism.
The government in Peru is currently tackling the water degradation. To aid the government in
their efforts, factories should pursue becoming more “green” and emitting less fossil fuel and
environmental waste.
Conclusion
Peru is a nation rich in culture and contrasting landscapes. There is a wealth of ancient knowledge
and natural resources from the blistering coastal desert plains, to the rainforests, to the frigid Andes
Mountains. While this country is rich, poverty has been linked to natural resource degradation. Flooding,
drought, and famine are a result of poor stewardship of the land. Adapting to climate change, natives will
need to change to other crop varieties.
In several studies, poverty has been linked to natural resource degradation. Natural resource
degradation is shown by: dwindling fish stocks, deforestation, climate change and toxic pollution.
Deforestation, overgrazing, and the slash and burn technique can lead to the eventual desertification of the
land in Peru. In order to reverse the natural resource degradation, farmers in Peru need to reduce
overgrazing of their animals, deforestation and slash and burn. There are more efficient methods to clear
the land for agricultural purposes.
Adapting to climate change will need to involve changing crop varieties. As the global climate
changes due to increased greenhouse gas effects, crops will need to be evaluated according to their
viability in the new climate.
Peru is disadvantaged by not having local education centers that aid food production by
distributing information and supplies to farmers. Peru is also disadvantaged by not having the money to
for research. The national government in Peru should build research centers in different divisions of Peru,
and encourage foreign students and researchers to come and study at these centers.
The government of Peru is currently undertaking a major transformation of its water resources
management from a centralized approach focused on irrigation development in the coastal area to a river
basin integrated water resources management for the entire country. To aid the government in their
efforts, factories should work on becoming more “green” and emitting less fossil fuel and environmental
waste.
References
www.article13.com
http://www.amautaspanish.com/amautaspanish/english/peru/culture_society.asp
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pe.html
http://countrystudies.us/peru/43.htm
http://www.ddg.com/LIS/aurelia/peragri.htm
http://www.feedingminds.org/info/world_h.htm
http://www.erfweather.com/html/chapter5.shtml
http://www.expatperu.com/eperu.php
http://family.jrank.org/pages/1270/Peru.html
http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/003/X8731E/x8731e12.htm
http://www.foodbycountry.com/Kazakhstan-to-South-Africa/Peru.html
http://www.jungle-tech.com/peruadv.htm
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Peru-AGRICULTURE.html
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Peru-ENVIRONMENT.html
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Americas/Peru-POVERTY-AND-WEALTH.html
Morrison, Marion, Peru: Enchantment of the World. Danbury, Connecticut, Grolier Publishing, 2000
http://www.oxfamamerica.org/articles/climate-change-affecting-peru-right-now
http://www.photius.com/countries/peru/economy/peru_economy_agriculture.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Peru
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_resources_management_in_Peru
http://www.worldsalaries.org/peru.shtml#workforce-composition