Farming in the High Andes of Peru

SOURCE: IAEA
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: May 2012, Lima, Huancayo, Junin

In the High Andes of Peru, some farmers still harvest in the traditional way. Music from a pinkullo flute and tinya drum entertains the workers and encourages them to compete against each other.

The villagers here are expecting a good crop – with enough to feed their families and a surplus to sell. This was not always the case – few plants survive at altitudes of around 4,000 metres. 

But plant breeders from the National Agrarian University La Molina in Lima, with the support of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have developed a new barley variety, called Centenario.