Visiting the INIA Germplasm Bank in Puno
April 11, 2025
For many Andean rural communities in Peru, some of the main traditional sources of food include Andean grains such as quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) and kañiwa (Chenopodium pallidicaule). These grains have been mainly produced for household self-consumption given their importance as a food and due to its nutritional security. In the last decade, the quinoa became an important cash crop, and several rural communities had participated in projects aimed at producing this crop for export due to its increased demand in Europe and the USA.
Due to the importance of the quinoa crop among farming communities in the Colca Valley, on March 24th, members of the Nexus III ‘Organic Farming Systems’ Project visited the facilities of the Illpa Agricultural Experimental Station of the National Institute of Agrarian Innovation (Instituto Nacional de Innovacion Agraria-INIA) in Puno. The aim of this visit was to learn about the Andean grains and legumes germplasm bank, about local resources, and to establish research partnerships.
INIA Illpa main activities consist in production of seeds (quinoa, kañiwa, faba beans, potato, and oats), technology transfer (providing capacity building), and breeder production (camelids, sheep, cuy). Drs. Erica Pacheco and Paul Mendoza, researchers at INIA, showed us the lab facilities and explained about the collection of germplasm INIA holds in quinoa (1,000 accessions), kañiwa, and faba beans. They also showed us their field areas where they are growing quinoa.
Contact Details
- Rosa Cossio
- rcossio@purdue.edu
- 765-494-0721
