Smallholders’ Preferences for Improved Quinoa Varieties in the Peruvian Andes

Abstract

Due to an increase in international demand, quinoa production has boomed tremendously in the Andes since the early 2010s. This has led to significant investments into developing improved varieties for large-scale agribusinesses, but breeding programs are not tailored to the needs of smallholders. In this paper, we study farmers’ preferences and willingness to pay for improved quinoa varieties in the Junín region in Peru. We use data from a choice experiment among 458 smallholders and estimate generalized multinomial logit models to control for preference and scale heterogeneity. We find that farmers generally prefer improved varieties over traditional varieties, with mildew-resistance as the most important crop trait. In general, farmers prefer varieties that are characterized by larger grain sizes, higher yield levels, lower levels of saponin, and a reduced maturation period. Yet, food-insecure farmers are found to be indifferent to early maturity and a larger grain size, which can be explained by a lower degree of commercialization among these farmers. Our results imply that developing mildew-tolerant and higher-yielding varieties with a medium to low saponin content is a priority if investments in quinoa technologies are to benefit small-scale and food insecure farmers in the Andean highlands of Peru.

Seasonal Phenology of the Major Insect Pests of Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) and Their Natural Enemies in a Traditional Zone and Two New Production Zones of Peru

“…In the Andes of Peru, quinoa has mostly been cultivated as a staple crop by smallholders, with limited resources that do not allow them to use advanced agricultural technology. In this ecoregion, small-scale farming has largely been practiced, characterized by low inputs, the restricted use of machinery and rain-fed irrigation [1,2]. However, in the last years, as a consequence of the increasing demand for quinoa on the international markets and the resulting export boom and crop expansion, farmer associations have been created.…”

Prospects for the accelerated improvement of the resilient crop quinoa

“…Still, quinoa remains popular due to its high market value, worldwide demand, and abiotic stress tolerance. Therefore, efforts to convert quinoa into a major crop must aim to increase yield, achieve yield stability, and reduce the saponin content of the seed ( Rao and Shahid, 2012 ; Choukr-Allah et al , 2016 ; Ruiz et al , 2017 ; Gamboa et al , 2018 ; Präger et al , 2018 ). Because quinoa displays a natural resilience to adverse environmental factors, breeding goals for quinoa require crop improvements that optimize productivity with minimum inputs ( Zurita-Silva et al , 2014 ; Yabe and Iwata, 2020 ).…”

A Review of Chenopodium quinoa (Willd.) Diseases—An Updated Perspective

“…For agriculture, field or host resistance is still the most important way of controlling diseases because it leads to the most cost-effective ratio for the grower [ 109 , 110 , 111 ].The response to downy mildew in a diversity panel of 132 quinoa genotypes resulted in strong phenotypic variation with high disease trait heritability ( H 2 = 0.78 for severity, H 2 = 0.82 for sporulation). This variability was paired with the analysis of 603,871 SNPs in 61 genotypes with FarmCPU [ 52 ].…”