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Valuing Indigenous knowledge for climate-resilient food systems

 

Despite a long history of oppression and colonization, Indigenous communities across Latin America have much to contribute to healthy and resilient food systems amid climate change.

Latin America is home to more than 800 distinct Indigenous peoples. Food systems lie at the heart of Indigenous identity, as knowledge of thousands of plants and animals — and their cultivation, harvesting and uses — is passed down through the generations. These food systems are unique to place and context and provide far more than nutrition; they are imbued with spiritual significance and form the basis of Indigenous worldviews that have evolved over millennia. 

Global pressures have impoverished the diets, lives and livelihoods of Indigenous peoples. In Latin America, Indigenous children suffer chronic malnutrition at twice the rate of non-Indigenous children. Industrial-scale production, monoculture, a move from rural to urban areas and the adoption of heavily processed foods are just some of the factors driving an increase in malnutrition and a loss of biodiversity. Climate change adds further pressure, as rising temperatures and more extreme weather challenge agriculture and alter wildlife behaviour and habitats.

Amid these challenges, many Indigenous foods and practices may prove key to survival and resilience. Quinoa, for example, is a nutrient-rich traditional food of the Andes that also happens to be extremely tolerant of drought and poor soils. 

Bridging the gap between formal science and Indigenous knowledge

Through its Climate-Resilient Food Systems program, IDRC strives to understand how equity-seeking groups can drive change to make food systems healthier, more equitable and sustainable. In Latin America, a cohort of five projects is empowering Indigenous people, not just as beneficiaries, but also as collaborators in designing and producing research that addresses their priorities.

Innovative partnerships are key: all five projects are either Indigenous-led or involve Indigenous investigators within the research team. Through participatory processes, the projects foster Indigenous involvement and agency in transforming food systems while reinforcing community pride, knowledge and the ability to improve production. These partnerships offer a valuable opportunity to learn more about how Indigenous, regenerative and agroecological approaches can complement each other to make food systems more resilient.

Revitalizing Indigenous food systems in Ecuador

Ecuador is one of the most biodiverse countries on Earth, with an equally rich cultural heritage, including 14 Indigenous nationalities and 18 Indigenous peoples. Over thousands of years, Indigenous agriculture has developed through trial and error, with locally specific knowledge of climate, animal breeds, plant varieties, soil fertility and seasonal calendars shared through family and community. For example, in the Andean chakra — the Kichwa ancestral agricultural system — sowing and harvesting times are linked with the solstices and equinoxes that anchor the agricultural and social calendar. The chakra encompasses a wide range of ecological practices for managing soil, water, crops and animal breeding.

In recent decades, the transmission of ancestral knowledge has declined, as the Andes are experiencing glacier melt, changes in the patterns of rain, snow and hail, and the spread of new pests and diseases. With local foods displaced by cheap, nutrient-poor alternatives, malnutrition and food insecurity are on the rise. A 2018 survey found that 39% of Indigenous children under the age of two were chronically malnourished, compared with a national average of 27%.

Led by the Universidad Intercultural de las Nacionalidades y Pueblos Indígenas Amawtay Wasi, a participatory research effort is underway that will test and analyze Indigenous and alternative agricultural practices, while empowering communities to take more control over their diets and food production. According to Kelly Ulcuango, Director of the Agroecology and Food Sovereignty Program, ancestral practices can play an important role in maintaining soil health and productivity while using available resources.

“In recent years, the intensification of agricultural systems has caused soil degradation, threatening food security,” said Ulcuango. “This has been aggravated by climate change. Traditionally, our ancestors used environmentally friendly techniques such as chakras, producing various crops in a small space of land to keep the soil covered as long as possible. This provides organic matter to the soil, animal feed and healthy and diverse food for people.”

Working in three communities from seven Indigenous territories, research will encompass Ecuador’s three main agroecological zones. Forty families in each territory will work with local researchers to document their food security and nutritional status and analyze the sustainability and climate resilience of their production practices. These findings will identify and value culturally appropriate strategies to enhance community resilience and food security.

Linking new and ancestral knowledge to drive innovation

In the rugged terrain of Bolivia’s high plains, farmers face extreme weather conditions that can differ from one set of fields to another, with potentially devastating impacts on crops. Over generations, Indigenous producers, who are experts in their local terrain, have developed the ability to forecast seasonal conditions based on close observation of natural phenomena.

According to agronomist Eleodoro Baldiviezo, “[i]mportant knowledge about the behavior of birds, plants and atmospheric events is used to predict whether the agricultural season will be dry or wet or if there will be frost.” Such early indicators then allow farmers to select crop varieties and tailor their planting and harvesting to match the expected conditions. 

Over seven years, the Bolivian NGO PROSUCO worked with Indigenous master farmers to test this knowledge by carefully documenting how well their forecasting matched actual growing conditions and how their cropping strategies performed. The results have shown that farmers can accurately predict frost, hail and rainfall patterns months in advance.

Modern weather forecasting can give farmers greater precision about what to expect in the near term. But a lack of weather stations in remote areas means that available forecasts are simply not fine-tuned to local conditions. Developing low-cost monitoring stations that can be used by communities in the Andean highlands is just one part of a new research effort that aims to strengthen agroecological food production. In Bolivia, Guatemala and Mexico, RIMISP, the Latin American Centre for Rural Development, is partnering with PROSUCO and other Indigenous-led organizations to adapt sustainable local innovations, drawing on both ancestral and modern practices.

In Bolivia’s Torotoro territory, which has a large Quechua population, one challenge is to increase the involvement of women and youth in agroecological training. Working with a local technical institute, and guided by community authorities and local producers, youth will test Indigenous and new practices to strengthen local food systems while working towards a diploma in agroecological transition.

According to Baldiviezo, it is crucial to give young people the skills and opportunity to remain on the land. Their departure for urban areas has fueled a loss of Indigenous knowledge of food systems. At the same time, the initiative will demonstrate the value of agroecological approaches to address longstanding problems — such as chronic water shortages — faced by local communities. 

“Youth,” he said, “are the strategic force that we hope will drive local innovation.”

Learn more about the IDRC-supported projects that are part of this cohort:

Strengthening food systems of the Indigenous Nations of Ecuador for resilience to climate change

Agroecological innovation and inclusive governance of agri-food systems

Transforming food systems to improve livelihoods and environmental sustainability in three Indigenous territories of Colombia

Multistakeholder collaborative research to advance food system transformation in Latin America and the Caribbean

Food for life: helping Andean farmers pioneer regenerative agriculture and food to improve health, social equity and restore ecosystems