Andean Insights and Narrative

Lead Organization:

International Potato Center (CIP)

Partner Organizations:

Grupo Yanapai, Arid Zones Research Institute–La Molina (CIZA), and Fundación PROINPA

Community of Practice:

Andes

Duration:

11/2023—11/2026

Overview:

Strengthening food systems resilience requires radical agroecological changes (Gliessman, 2014). Two factors hamper the implementation of transformative actions: Green Revolution technologies and practices for food production, and stakeholders’ inclination toward a specific knowledge system (e.g. academic over Indigenous knowledge systems) (Global Alliance for the Future of Food, 2021). A viable approach is to influence the multiple stakeholders by presenting compelling agroecological scientific evidence (Compagnon & Bernstein, 2017). This requires scientists and practitioners to engage in a critical learning process that includes literature reviews, research activities, data analysis, publishing in academic journals, and finding novel ways to make this scientific information available to other audiences, especially decision-makers and other stakeholders influencing the decision process. While this process may seem obvious, studies reveal that scientists and practitioners in low- and middle- income countries (LMIC, or countries with a Gini per capita less than USD 4,260  (World Bank, 2023)) encounter challenges (Salager-Meyer, 2008). Strengthening the reflection process and publishing their research could enable scientists and practitioners in LMIC to actively participate in political debates and be “honest brokers” in building resilient food systems (Pielke, 2006). 

The Andes reality is no different from other LMIC. Multiple activities are undertaken by R&D and civil society organizations to strengthen the agroecological narrative and food systems resilience of food systems. However, there is a notable scarcity of published literature documenting these activities. This is particularly true for agrobiodiversity and seed systems (ABSS) (Navarrete et al., forthcoming). The previous project, Improving Agrobiodiversity and Seed Systems Research for Development in the Andes, identified that this lack of information was related to time and synthesis skills constraints and lack of technical backstopping. It is crucial to support a learning process to gain, and widely disseminate, deeper insights from implemented activities in the Andes.

Grant Aims:

The overall goal is to place AE at the core of a new narrative, play a pivotal role in constructing resilient food systems, and provide scientific evidence to advocate for change at the policy level.

Specifically, the project aims to:

  • Co-write one article per project in each funding cycle.
  • Write at the group level one synthesis paper per project cycle based on the interest of the ABSS group and regional team.

Outputs and Outcomes:

 

  • Submission of three high-quality papers to be submitted for publication in high quality journals with open access; each paper will contain insights obtained during individual and group meetings 
  • ABSS group members to acquire and integrate critical learning cycles into their institutions to enhance interventions 
  • At least 40 local scientists learning to use global theory on agrobiodiversity and seed systems as a lens to analyze insights obtained from their action research projects 
  • At least 40 local scientists strengthening their scientific writing skills to publish their results at critical learning cycles 
  • Relationships forged within ABSS group strengthened, fostering more robust and meaningful interactions 
  • ABSS establishment as a leading reference in the Andes in conservation and utilization of agrobiodiversity and seed systems