Resilient native potatoes: Safeguarding food security in the face of climate change

In the Bolivian Altiplano and the Peruvian Andes, indigenous and peasant communities face increasing climatic risks, such as frosts, droughts, hail and storms. These factors have affected the stability of agricultural production and food availability, impacting communities’ food security. Native potatoes are a fundamental crop in the culture and diet of Andean people, offering nutrients and resilience to adverse conditions over the centuries. In addition, native potatoes symbolize the Andean identity and their traditional management reflects accumulated agricultural knowledge. The conservation of their varieties and associated cultivation practices, including ancestral knowledge such as the use of bioindicators to predict climatic conditions and other agricultural practices for adaptation to extreme climatic conditions, are essential to maintaining agrobiodiversity.

Currently, the genetic diversity of native potatoes harbors characteristics of extreme event resistance, but the abandonment of some varieties, and the emergence of negative perceptions related to these varieties, limits their consumption within rural areas and puts their conservation at risk. Market trends have historically favored high-yield potato varieties with homogeneous characteristics, relegating native potatoes to a crop for self-consumption. However, the growing interest in products that reflect Andean biodiversity and culture has created a unique opportunity to revalue these varieties. Throughout the Andes, initiatives have emerged that seek to recover the most attractive native potatoes for the consumer. This project seeks to capitalize on the interest of the gastronomic sector, developing strategies to strengthen varieties that stand out due to their resistance to extreme conditions, with the aim of improving the quality of life of producing communities.

In this context, the project will promote a comprehensive approach that combines ancestral knowledge and genomic technologies, addressing the recovery and improvement of these potatoes to adapt them to climate change.

To carry out these objectives, four key components of the project have been defined:

1. Recovery and revalorization of native varieties: Revalue and promote the cultivation of native potatoes to improve food security and strengthen climate resilience.

2. Genetic improvement: Optimize the genetic and flavor attributes of native potatoes to open new market opportunities, ensuring their adaptation to the demands of a changing climate.

3. Improvement of cultivation practices: Evaluate soil and water quality to optimize crop sustainability and productivity, benefiting farmers with appropriate techniques.

4. Dissemination and awareness: Integrate scientific and ancestral knowledge to promote agricultural sustainability, with the active participation of local communities.

This project will be developed through a technical cooperation between institutions in Bolivia and Peru. In Bolivia, the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA) is participating, through the Institute of Ecology (IE) and the Institute of Agricultural and Natural Resources Research (IIAREN). In Peru, the National Institute of Agrarian Innovation (INIA) and the Santa Ana Agrarian Experimental Station (EEA-SA) in Junín are joining the collaboration. These institutions combine knowledge and resources to face the challenges of climate change, food security and the conservation of agricultural diversity in the Andes.