The Valley of Mantaro: Green Revolution, Agrarian Reform, and Local Innovation in the Central Andes, 1970-1990

• In Event: Innovation, Creation, and Technologies of Change in the 20th Century

Abstract

This paper will examine the efforts of farmers and agronomists in the Mantaro Valley of central Peru to improve grain and livestock production during the 1970s and 1980s. It will first highlight the work of the Cereals Program of National Agrarian University, which operated a large experimental station in the Mantaro Valley. In the process of experimenting with new wheat and barley varieties, the Cereals Program worked with local Quechua-speaking communities and with institutions abroad, such as the International Wheat and Corn Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico. Second, this paper will consider the efforts of the SAIS Tupac Amaru, a livestock company formed during the nation's agrarian reform period, to improve sheep breeds for the production of milk, wool, and meat in the highlands. The SAIS Tupac Amaru also worked with local communities and with institutions abroad. Third, this paper will examine the early years of the National University of Central Peru (UNCP), which local communities helped form in the 1960s. During the 1970s, this university provided new opportunities for young adults of the region to study agronomy and, in turn, improve the small farms of the Mantaro Valley. When examined side by side, the histories of these three institutions tell a story of agricultural innovation and adaptation to the high-altitude environments of central Peru. Of course, new technology was not always shared equally. For example, the prices of high-yielding barley varieties or improved sheep breeds were often beyond the reach of the small farmers who had, in some cases, contributed to their discovery. At the same time, this study will highlight the fruitful interactions between local communities and national and transnational institutions which significantly changed the agriculture of central Peru.

Author

• Taylor Branch Cozzens, University of Oklahoma