Native American Agriculture

Introduction

There are many times where a heralded blessing for a country’s struggling economy can have an unpredicted down side. Despite being a very resource-rich country, almost half of the population lives below the poverty line. For generations the people’s livelihoods of harvesting the nutritious, drought, cold, and saline tolerant quinoa crops to sustained them. Now, with the modern age of information and health awareness in the industrialized countries, the Bolivian farmers have the chance to grow and expand their crops, harvesting them to make a cash profit. While this can seem like the saving grace for the struggling indigenous Andes farmers, there is the unforeseen plight of the impoverished natives that relied on the grain

as a daily dietary staple. It is being observed that the rising demand for quinoa is driving the price up in areas of cultivation, so much so that those who depended on it struggle to obtain it, often because of the price or scarcity due to exporting. Malnutrition, while having been an issue for the countries of South America for decades, is now being scrutinized by government programs, with quinoa rations possibly being a solution. Period of growth and change always have negative accompanying the positive. The Bolivia people are addressing these changes though community programs, government laws and organizations by acknowledging the benefits as well as the downsides.
History
Nearly 5,000 years ago, the ancient Incan civilization in the Andes Mountains of Bolivia, Chile and Peru began cultivating a crop that would help sustain their people to the present day (Oelke). This “Mother Grain” crop, called Quinoa, is a well suited crop for the high altitude region. Normally growing around 12,000 feet and therefore considered a High Altitude Crop, quinoa is a resilient crop that can survive what some would deem harsh conditions (Hamilton). However, these conditions are necessary for crops to survive and reproduce. The lower, consistent temperatures at the higher altitudes prevent the plants’ pollen from dying (Piper). Because of the confines of the growing conditions, quinoa is not a crop that can be easily grown many places. The San Luis Valley in Colorado is one of the few places outside of South American that has quinoa crops.
A highly nutritious crop on its own, quinoa was once traded among Andes tribes, allowing the people maintain well balanced diets.

As well as being rich in vitamins and minerals, the grain is considered a complete protein because it contains all nine of the essential amino acids not produced by the body. It is thought that around the mid 1500’s, the Spaniards began taking the native Andeans to use as slave labour in mines. This greatly disrupted trade among tribes, but European crops were unable to grow in the harsh climate, so quinoa became more heavily relied upon (Richardson). The indigenous people continued to utilize the crop that they knew would be

successful.
For the next few hundred years, quinoa was considered a “dirty” crop or “poor people’s food” by the costal exporters until the 1980’s, when Spanish royalty visited South America and tried and enjoyed the grain, causing its popularity to begin to slowly rise. This ancient grain established a foothold in the United States, Europe, and Japan as a novelty item with health conscious eaters. But, this superfood’s popularity has not diminished. It is estimated that the price of quinoa has tripled in the past decade (Aubrey), causing rippling effects from the rising prices can be seen throughout South America.
Cultural
Generations of Bolivians live in the Andes and work on family farms, as has been their way of life for hundreds of years. Families practice subsistence farming, which is the process of growing enough food to feed themselves and their families. Occasionally surpluses are traded or sold, but that is not the main goal of farming. Plots of land are usually not very large, and the planting, harvesting, and processing was done by hand, as much of the modern tractors and farming equipment cannot operate in most areas of the Andean terrain. Those farmers who could utilize mechanized equipment quickly surpassed the production of those still using traditional methods.
With changes in the global quinoa market came changes for the farmers.

With demand for the grain much higher, farmers began selling off llama herds and focusing solely on utilizing all of their lands for quinoa production (Richardson). Rural agricultural communities heavily stress community ties and do not welcome those from urban areas coming in to try to profit from the crop. Not all of the land is used solely for quinoa production; the majority, over 60%, of land is used for crops that are grown for export include soy, corn, wheat and potatoes. With the inhospitable climate of much of the land impacting these cash crops, much of the remaining land is used for quinoa production because nothing else will successfully grow in those areas.

Quinoa is not just a staple as far as diet. Its leaves and stems also contain medicinal properties and are still used throughout the region. External applications are used to treat abscesses and bleeding (Capodistrias), and quinoa is known to alleviate depression, stress, and provide stimulants for growth hormone that is essential for developing children. These health practices are just a few practiced by the local healers and is central in an abundance of their remedies.

Social
The dynamic of the social aspects of the Bolivian farmers has shifted from born, farm, die, as farmer Ernest Choquetopa surmised. The global quinoa boom has brought something to the Bolivian farmers that they’ve not had before, a chance to do something different. Their whole way of life is being transformed. Money earned from grain sales can go towards medicines, education, and reinvesting in business. Choquetopa states, “Now people here, we think of doing something with our lives,” and tells how his eldest daughter, breaking from family tradition, is now attending medical school (Murphy).