Title
Changes in food access by mestizo communities associated with deforestation and agrobiodiversity loss in Ucayali, Peruvian Amazon
Date Issued
01 June 2020
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Cruz-Garcia G.S.
Talsma E.F.
Labarta R.
Perez-Marulanda L.
Paz-Garcia P.
Quintero M.
Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical
Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical
Publisher(s)
Springer Nature
Abstract
Few longitudinal studies link agricultural biodiversity, land use and food access in rural landscapes. In this paper, we test the hypothesis that, in a context of economic change, cash crop expansion is associated with deforestation, reduced agrobiodiversity and changes in food access. For this purpose, we analysed data collected from the same 53 upland and floodplain mestizo households in Ucayali, Peru, in 2000 and 2015. We found an emerging transition towards less diversified food access coupled with loss of forest cover and reduced agricultural biodiversity. In 2015, diets appeared to rely on fewer food groups, fewer food items, and on products increasingly purchased in the market compared to 2000. Wild fruits and plants were mentioned, but rarely consumed. Agricultural production systems became more specialised with a shift towards commercial crops. Peak deforestation years in the 15-year period appeared linked with incentives for agricultural expansion. Our results suggest an overall trend from diversified productive and “extractive” systems and more diverse food access, towards specialized productive systems, with less diverse food access and stronger market orientation (both in production and consumption). The assumption in the food and agricultural sciences that increased income and market-orientation is linked to improved food security, is challenged by our integrated analyses of food access, agrobiodiversity, land use and forest cover. Our results highlight the importance of longitudinal, multidimensional, systemic analyses, with major implications for land use, food and health policies. The potential risks of parallel homogenisation of diets and agricultural production systems require interdisciplinary research and policies that promote integrated landscape approaches for sustainable and inclusive food systems.
Start page
637
End page
658
Volume
12
Issue
3
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Agronomía
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85083846772
Source
Food Security
ISSN of the container
1876-4517
Sponsor(s)
This study was partially funded by the “ASSETS: Attaining Sustainable Services from Ecosystems through Trade-off Scenarios” initiative and the CGIAR Research Programme on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE). We would like to thank Tamsyn Murray for providing the data. We are grateful to all those who helped with data collection, in particular, Danica Pisango and Maria Claudia Tristan Febres. We are most grateful to the local communities in Ucayali who took part in the study, for patiently sharing their knowledge and experiences with us.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus