Rural-urban partnerships for the on-farm conservation of Peru’s native chili peppers

Lead Organization:

Fundación para el Desarrollo Agrario

Partner Organizations:

ANPE Peru; Club de Madres Emprendedoras de Lamud; Asociación de Productores Ecológicos de Pimental; Asociación Huerta Mochera; Universidad Nacional Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza; Universidad Nacional San Agustín; Grupo Impulsor de la Denominación de Origen Ají Mochero; Afro-Peruvian initiative linked to McKnight’s Arts & Culture program;Gastronomic movement actors: various restaurants and gastronomy schools;Ministry of the Environment; Proyecto Especial Chavimochic Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agraria; Patronato de las Huacas del Sol y la Luna; Huaca Pucllana; National Network of Participatory Guarantee Systems – PGS; Leading Peruvian researchers: Rodomiro Ortiz (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) and Carlos Arbizu (Universidad Nacional Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza); La Revolución (NGO involved in food, gastronomy, and education for children)

Community of Practice:

Andes

Countries:

Peru

Duration:

12/2024—2/2028

Overview:

The genus Capsicum and its five cultivated species are among the most important contributions of food crops from the Americas, either as vegetables and as hot peppers, the world’s most grown and marketed spice or condiment. Chili peppers originated in South America and the highest diversity of wild species is found in Bolivia while Peru shows the highest diversity of cultivated types, most of it conserved in home gardens (often just a few plants per household) and small farms throughout the country. Ceviche, a signature dish with fish and chili peppers, was recently declared a UNESCO Immaterial World Heritage and the picanterías (traditional small-town restaurants in the Andes and the Northern Coast) are part of Peru’s National Heritage. But within the gastronomic boom also lies a process of standardization of culinary preferences and a genetic and cultural erosion that is slowly but steadily increasing. For the last 15 years UNALM has been collecting and conserving what is now the most representative ex situ collection of Peruvian chili peppers, which serves as a connecting point with various groups of farmers, cooks and consumers that aim at promoting chili peppers as a key essence of Peru’s gastronomy. Main causes for the loss of genetic and cultural diversity related to chili peppers are the preference of urban consumers for chili peppers produced in larger monocultures, the influence of Lima style of cooking that does not incorporate other varieties, the attraction of export agribusiness, internal migration and weakened associative structures that hinders entrepreneurship in the countryside. Additionally, recent public and private studies have revealed the harsh reality of pesticide residues in fresh food in Peru, with tomato and chilli peppers from monocultures at the peak of contamination. 

Ex situ conservation has been fundamental to register, study and document the diversity of cultivated chilli peppers and assess the extent of genetic erosion, while molecular studies with this project will allow us to combine them with previous work on ethnobotany, morphology and horticulture and produce the first comprehensive publications on these subjects. While this is needed in order to inform conservation strategies and future research, in situ conservation is the key process to assure that native chili peppers (those about 300 types that are not the 5 or 6 that are grown conventionally in monocultures) continue evolving in interaction with smallholders and finding diverse markets. But chili peppers are not staple crops and the amount used by a rural family is rather small, so in situ conservation of chili peppers requires a different approach that the one used for staple crops like potatoes or quinoa. We think that having in mind rural migration and the need to involve youth and entrepreneurship, a new type of rural-urban connection for conservation is needed, building on past experiences in Peru, like the peasant-cook alliance, but with a more strategic vision and better understanding of the local contexts in different areas of high diversity of chili peppers.

Grant Aims:

The project aims to:

  1. Support urban-rural conservation groups and strengthen entrepreneurship for the conservation and use of native chilli peppers.
  2. Improve contributions from germplasm banks to in situ conservation and share scientific knowledge.
  3. Address the excessive use of agrichemicals in chilli pepper production, particularly the Andean rocoto variety, through participatory research and alternative pest control methods.

Outputs and Outcomes:

Objective 1: Support urban-rural conservation groups and strengthen entrepreneurship within them

  • Outputs:
    • Strengthening or establishment of rural-urban local networks for the conservation and promotion of native chilli peppers.
    • Promoting youth entrepreneurship and local research for chilli pepper conservation.
    • Support for the formal application for a geographical indication of Mochero chilli pepper.
  • Outcomes:
    • Establishment of at least five local rural-urban conservation groups.
    • Incentives for on-farm conservation of chilli peppers and a stable presence in local markets.
    • Lessons learned about overcoming limiting factors and fostering local dialogue shared with others.

Objective 2: Improve the contributions of a germplasm bank to in situ conservation

  • Outputs:
    • Completion of the first integrated analysis of the diversity of Peruvian chilli peppers.
    • Decentralization of the ex situ collection to support in situ collections in the three main natural regions of Peru.
    • Use of the Varscout application to identify native chilli peppers and involve citizen science in conservation.
  • Outcomes:
    • Expanded scientific and popular knowledge about agrobiodiversity.
    • Strengthened local pride and stimulated small businesses through decentralized management of genetic resources.
    • Increased public engagement in chilli pepper conservation through citizen science.

Objective 3: Understand the conditions causing excessive use of agrichemicals in rocoto production

  • Outputs:
    • Participatory assessment of rocoto production systems, focusing on pesticide use and residues.
    • Training for farmers, local researchers, and public health practitioners on biological pest control and alternatives to pesticides.
  • Outcomes:
    • Increased understanding of the ecological and public health issues related to pesticide use in rocoto production.
    • Commitment from various stakeholders to reduce pesticide use and adopt healthier farming practices.