Agriculture Extension in the Peruvian Andes: Exploring the Relationship Between Farmers and Technicians

In January 2018, four Middlebury students and two MIIS students traveled to Peru in order to conduct qualitative research with the Andean Alliance for Sustainable Development. The goal of the practicum was to use... [ view full abstract ]

In January 2018, four Middlebury students and two MIIS students traveled to Peru in order to conduct qualitative research with the Andean Alliance for Sustainable Development. The goal of the practicum was to use semi-structured interviews to investigate the current process of agriculture extension in isolated farming communities in the Andes mountains and determine what might be done to improve farmers' access to agricultural information and help them be better equipped to receive and implement that knowledge. From our interviews, we gathered that the current system of extension is based on a top-down model that assumes that the technicians have all the expert knowledge while the farmers know very little. Also, issues such as many technicians' lack of knowledge of indigenous farming techniques, their inability to speak the native language, and their lack of trust and transparency among the farmers have made it difficult for the extension process to function. Our recommendations for improving the current agriculture extension model include hiring more Quechua-speaking technicians, establishing a demonstration school so farmers can meet together to gain practical farming experience and share knowledge, and encouraging technicians to make a commitment to visit the same farming towns more frequently in an attempt to build trust and encourage them to consult with the farmers and consider their perspective when developing and implementing projects.