Agricultural Diversity Preserved in Situ by Shipibo-Conibo and Ashaninca Groups from Amazonian

Agricultural Diversity Preserved In Situ by Shipibo-Conibo and Ashaninca Groups from Amazonian Peruvian

Luis Collado-Panduro1, Maria Arroyo-Jump2, Jose Luis Chavez-Servia3, and

Alfredo Riesco-de la Vega2

1. Universidad Nacional de la Selva – Tingo Maria (Peru)

2. Consorcio para el Desarrollo Sostenible de Ucayali (CODESU) -- Peru

3. International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI-Americas)

The amazon region is a zone with the highest genetic diversity in Peru, which is occupied by indigenous people belong to Shipibo-Conibo, Ashaninca, and mestizos farmer field groups. It was divided into three regions on base to economic activity, access to market (river or minor road) and indigenous communities who maintain the diversity of maize, beans, peanuts, chili pepper and cassava. The alluvial soil, replenished every year by floods, are highly fertile where the farmers have implemented different land forms in small areas; three located within the floodplain known as barreal or mudflat, restinga or natural levee, and aguajal or backswamp. A research was conducted with the objective of elucidate which diversity cultivated on farm and that agroecological, economic, social, cultural, and genetic aspect determine its conservation in situ by two ethnic groups from Amazon Peruvian. The basic unit in the village (100 to 1000 people) is made up by house sheltering nuclear families. The annual flood change affect to agricultural land-forms practiced by indigenous farmer. However the access to capital or capital sources, wage-labor opportunities, and transport change frequently affect directly to families which also continuously is changing their size, needs, preferences and obligations. Each change in any of these factors affect to household in its decisions on what and where to plant, and how modify the field manage, in some cases the families lost their crops due to floods. The diversity preserved by the Shipibo-Conibo, Ashaninca and mestizos groups have requested incorporate its own knowledge and experience according to landforms and crop cycle. In the barreal or aguaral are planted short-term crops as Phaseolus spp. landraces as “Huascaporoto”, “Frejol de Palo”, “Ucayalino”, “Pindayo”, “Vacapaleta” or peanuts landraces (Arachis spp.), “Rojo Masisea”. In fertile soils (restingas) maize (Zea mays) – Cuban yellow and Piricinco races –, cassava (Manihot spp.) Amarilla, Maria Bonita, Señorita, Morada, and “Añera”. Chili pepper indigenous preserved are “Charapita”, “Pucunoucho”, “Pico de Mono” and “Dulce”.(Capsicum chinense and C. annuum).