Environmental sustainability of quinoa production (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) in the inter-Andean valleys of Peru

• Main Authors: Rember Emilio Pinedo Taco, Luz Rayda Gómez Pando, Alberto Marcial Julca Otidiano
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria (Corpoica) 2020-06-01
• Series: Ciencia y Tecnología Agropecuaria
• Subjects: chenopodium quinoa; production systems; soil fertility; soil conservation; sustainable development
• Online Access: http://revistacta.agrosavia.co/index.php/revista/article/view/1309/646

In the last ten years, the production of quinoa in Peru has intensified, going from traditional practices to technified production systems based on market demand, which has caused changes in economic, social, and mainly environmental terms. The aim of the study was to establish the environmental sustainability indexes in three quinoa-producing communities in the high Andean area of the department of Ayacucho, Peru. Under the methodological approach of multi-criteria analysis, a scale was created in sustainability percentage assessment, being a value of zero (0) not sustainable, and a value of 100 percent the maximum sustainability threshold. For this, surveys with structured questions in the environmental dimension were applied. Quinoa production systems achieve an Environmental Indicator (EI) of 49.43% or a low sustainability range. The variable with the highest contribution was the risk of erosion (51.28%), followed by the management of biodiversity (48.68%) and the conservation of soil life (48.32%).