Environmental characterization of crop-animal systems in mountain areas
1995
Li Pun, H.H. | Rueda, J.L. (International Development Research Center, Ottawa (Canada). Environment and Natural Resources Div.)
Mountain agriculture in Latin America is very important. A considerable proportion of the land is found in hillsides and mountains and many peasants and small farmers derive their livelihood from these areas. Management of natural resources in those ecosystems is critical for water and energy balance and has profound effects on adjacent ecosystems. The main mountain ecosystems in the region include the hillsides of Central and South America and the Andean Mountains. The Andean mountains are inhabited by a large proportion of the native population of the region who have kept some ancient agricultural practices, while adopting also some modern ones. As a result, agricultural and nonagricultural production systems are quite distinct and complex. Several important agricultural commodities are produced mainly in these areas--coffee, maize and bean in the lower hillsides, potato in the valleys, other native crops at higher altitude, and animal products including milk, beef, sheep meat and wool, and alpaca meat and fiber. Strong interactions occur among crops, animals, and household activities. Often, crops provide for subsistence, while animals are used for traction, nutrient recycling to the soil, buffer against climatic and economic instability, and source of capital. National development policies have tended to promote centralization and concentration of resources in better endowed areas and in cities which have resulted in marginalization of populations in hillsides and mountain areas. Poverty and deterioriation of natural resources and the environment are common and have downstream effects on adjacent ecosystems and cities
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