The quinoa at the time of COVID-19: new coordination between Andean producers. (Agriculture et syst..mes alimentaires face .. la Covid-19.) [French]

ABSTRACT

Quinoa has been cultivated for millennia in the Andes since its domestication on the shores of Lake Titicaca, between Peru and Bolivia. As a rustic crop of the Andean highlands, it has conquered the international market for less than thirty years. Today, Peru has become the world's leading producer and the majority of its production is exported. Produced locally by small-scale farmers and consumed globally, quinoa reflects the context of the globalization of agriculture and food. The COVID-19 crisis has also affected Peru and it raises questions about the robustness and resilience of export food chains. This opinion article looks back at debates organized in May-June 2020 in Peru. After recalling the general context of the cultivation of quinoa and the link between COVID-19, agriculture and biodiversity, we highlight the links between health crisis, agricultural crisis and food crisis. This global pandemic offers us the opportunity to question the current agricultural models to draw lessons to build the future. The projection of new solidarities through a collective trademark appears to carry a transnational territorial project at Andean level. Accompanying the actors to make it an inclusive development model requires adapted participatory tools.