Bridging the Research Gap in the Amazon: Reflections from Peru

• In Event: Digital Transformers: How Technology is Reshaping Higher Education in Malawi, Cambodia, and Peru

Proposal

Rural Peruvian farmers face challenges from climate change, severe weather, legacy land degradation, and socioeconomic pressures. Access to reliable, actionable data—like weather reports and maps for soil quality and land use suitability—is necessary to make informed decisions that affect their livelihoods. More than three million Peruvians in the Amazon basin have experienced Antarctic cold winds called friajes and intense flooding in Huánuco, Loreto, Madre Dios and San Martín which has resulted in displacement and forced migration (IOM, 2021) and rising temperatures have caused the largest glacier of the region, Huaytapallana, to lose over 68 percent of its glacial area (46.63 km2) (INAIGEM 2017 as cited in Heikkinen 2021). Glacial melting poses a critical threat for water availability in the region as it provides an important supply for many farmers in the valley… (Vergara et al. 2011 as cited in Heikkinen 2021). USAID is committed to diversifying sustainable agricultural production and increasing crop resilience against climate volatility to enhance yields in the coming seasons. In the Amazon basin of San Martin, USAID is supporting youth-inclusive research, and bolstering digital skills through the Peruvian Extension and Research Utilization Hub (PERU-Hub).

Higher education in Peru is meeting the moment as the National Agrarian University La Molina (UNALM) prepares cohorts with the digital data analysis skills required to address salient development challenges in the region. UNALM students, together with students from the University of San Martin and technical team, are developing an agricultural technology transfer system—producing rich digital research results for the Amazon region. The goal of the research and innovation center is to explore viable crops for farmers by providing data to inform their crop management and planning. Further, partnering with Oklahoma University, PERU-Hub has leveraged tools to offer students and citizens necessary climate data. Oklahoma’s Mesonet is a network of weather and soil stations which provides critical, near-real time measurements that will be leveraged by agricultural and climatological modeling systems to provide farmers updated crop suitability information. With this weather station in place, PERU-Hub will serve as a model for the transfer and use of advanced technologies. Student and faculty researchers have dedicated time and attention to building this model and approximately 25 theses will focus on PERU-Hub’s data-driven climate resilience model. Through PERU-Hub, researchers aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 200 tons CO2e by 2026 through the use of sustainable agriculture practices.

USAID is testing this model and believes that a dynamic research and innovation center focusing on advanced technologies in climate resilience, crop diversification, and food production will offer models to improve the livelihoods of rural farmers. Equally, this applied research opportunity for Peruvian university students will increase digital literacy, preparing graduates to meet the needs of a digital society for rural landscapes to confront climate and agricultural challenges with data. Higher education is preparing Peruvian climate scientists for the future.

Author

• Siena Fleischer, USAID (2010-2025)