Reviewing the situation of quinoa production in southern Bolivia, Jacobsen (2011, J. Agron. Crop Sci. 197: 390) argues that the booming export market has a negative effect on the environment and on the home consumption of quinoa, thereby leading to an environmental disaster in the region. In view of the scarcity of scientific knowledge on the rapid social and environmental dynamics in the region, we consider that Jacobsen’s review misrepresents the situation of quinoa production in southern Bolivia. Specifically, we argue that (i) the data presented by Jacobsen (2011, J. Agron. Crop Sci. 197: 390) do not support any drop in quinoa crop yield supposed to reflect soil degradation and (ii) his demonstration regarding home consumption of quinoa is ill‐founded from both a nutritional and a cultural point of view. We suggest that the diffusion of the arguments exposed by Jacobsen (2011, J. Agron. Crop Sci. 197: 390), because of their flaws, might have strong negative impacts on those concerned with sustainable food production and fair‐trade with developing countries. We conclude that, rather than reinforced agro‐technical controls on local farmers, the rising competition in the international quinoa market requires a shift towards an ethical economy and ethical research cooperation with quinoa producers.

Agricultural globalization is blamed for destructive impacts on small farms in developing countries. Yet, many local societies are proactive in the face of these changes and show high adaptive capacity. Investigating their transformations with an integrative perspective and enough hindsight may reveal some of the bases of their resilience and adaptive capacity. Using field data and the panarchy concept of resilience theory, we analyzed the territorial and social dynamics of quinoa growers' communities in southern Bolivia over the last four decades, a case study of regime shift in a poverty-stricken rural society which deliberately entered the global food market. Linking the dynamics of the household economy to the territorial and social subsystems over several decades, we gained insights into the interactions that shaped the rise of quinoa production in the region. We found that a vivid tradition of mobility allowing for pluriactivity on- and off-farm, combined with community self-governance, explains how local populations succeeded in articulating individual agency with collective control over their commons of land, seed resources, and social rules. Our vulnerability analysis points to landscape homogenization, social inequity, and increased dependence on external factors as potential sources of unsustainability. We conclude that, to cope with the changes of unprecedented magnitude they are facing, local producers should retain social cohesion and autonomous governance, without giving up on their heritage of mobility and economic redundancy. As regards theory, we identified cross-scale subsystem configurations critical for regime shifts, and confirm the value of panarchy in capturing complex socioecological dynamics. (Résumé d'auteur

Cet article propose une grille analytique et méthodologique du lien entre migrations et développement rural au Sud à partir de la notion de système familial multilocalisé. Les stratégies de moyens d’existence et les capabilités des familles sont analysées au prisme de leur espace de mobilité et des circulations qui articulent villes et campagnes, aux échelles nationales et internationales. L’application de la grille d’analyse aux campagnes du Nicaragua permet d’en tester la pertinence.

Migrations, mobility systems and life spaces : in search of models. — The migration patterns of Andean peasants in the Bolivian highlands (region of Cochabamba) call for a new approach to migration based on three key concepts: the mobility system, the socio-spatial network of emigration and the socio- spatial life sphere. This article is based on an example of internal migration and an example of external migration and suggests a model of space utilisation that recalls ancestral practices of pre- Hispanic Andean society. The migrant, who does not wish to leave his land, broadens his life space by basing his subsistence logic on a complementarity of places and diversification of economic activities. These migratory strategies, analysed from the places of origin, take root in the community organisation of local societies while adapting to the national and international spheres.