CONSORCIO PARA EL DESARROLLO SOSTENIBLE DE LA ECORREGION ANDINA - CONDESAN

Foro Electrónico: "InSitu99"

Noviembre 3 - Diciembre 20, 1999

SEMANA 1: Comment by Maria Scurrah

What I think is fantastic from the work described by Carlos Venegas is  the fact that it was possible to recover a large amount of "chilotas" potatoes. We can imagine that within some more years maybe it would not be possible to obtain such a rescue. These varieties could  be considered practically extinct.

It is important to recognize that the potatoes are linked to a culture, and to a knowledge, as long as people who are the owners of that  culture and knowledge exist, the potatoes will be conservated,  although they live under marginal conditions and poverty.

It is indicated that "official" institutions were instruments to damage both the potatoes and the culture that maintain the potatoes, and they have influence on a different knowledge (new varieties, fertilizers, fungicides, pesticides, etc). When the people that maintain those potatoes and other native cultivars dissapear, all what they produce will also dissapear. Therefore, while promoting the rescue of the native chilota potatoes, they have also recognized and respected the culture that cultivated and still maintain those potatoes, and I believe that the value and knowledge of the 46 potato varieties that  are mentioned will be also rescued. I think that this has the same  value and level of importance than the genetic value that these varieties can have for the future.

Maria Scurrah,  CIP

SEMANA 1: Comentario de Maria Scurrah

Lo fantastico del trabajo que escribe Carlos Venegas es que todavia se pudo recuperar gran cantidad de papas chilotas. Nos imaginamos que unos anhos mas y quizas no se hubiese logrado esa recuperacion. Se consideraban practicamente extintas.

Lo importante es reconocer que las papas van unidas a una cultura, y   un conocimiento, mientras la gente que tiene esta cultura y los  conocimientos existe se mantienen (normalmente marginados y pobres)

Se menciona que las Instituciones oficiales fueron instrumentales en deprestigiar tanto las papas como la cultura que los mantiene, e influyen en un conocimiento diferente (nuevas variedades fertilizacion  fungicidas plagicidas, etc). En el momente que desaparecen las personas que mantinen estas papas y me imagino otros cultivares nativos,  desparecen todo lo que siembran. Es por esto que el haber incentivado la recuperacion de las papas chilotas es haber reconocido y respetado  la cultura que cultivaba y aun hoy mantiene esas papas, y me imagino que tambien ser va a volver a expandir el conocimiento del valor de estas  46 papas que mencionan. Creo que esto es de igual importancia que el valor genetico que puedan o no tener para el futuro.

Maria Scurrah

CIP