Guatemala is a global hotspot for biodiversity. In addition to a rich wild flora and fauna, the country is also a center of origin and diversity for many globally-important crops such as maize, bean, papaya, pumpkin, avocado, cocoa, cassava, sweet potato, and pepper, along with numerous lesser-known crops. The high agricultural biodiversity in Guatemala partly results from and reflects the high cultural diversity, as a large portion of the population is indigenous and many different ethnic groups coexist in this hilly and heterogenous landscape. Rich knowledge on the use of local biodiversity is maintained by indigenous peoples for leveraging its values to meet subsistence needs of food, shelter, and medicine.
Native crop plants have not received much attention from research and development efforts to enhance their roles in the livelihoods of Guatemalan peoples, even if some have higher nutrition values and greater tolerance to stressful growing conditions than introduced crops. The programme “Linking agrobiodiversity value chains, climate adaptation and nutrition: Empowering the poor to manage risk” funded by IFAD and the European Commission from 2015 to 2018 aims to strengthen the capacities of farmers to manage risks associated with climate change, poor nutrition status, and economic disempowerment by leveraging their local agricultural biodiversity. The programme is focused on chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius) and tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius) in Guatemala, which were identified through multi-stakeholder consultations as native species with strong potential to support better nutrition and resilience.
Chaya is a nutrient rich leafy vegetable that has been used by Mayan peoples for centuries. Despite the many potentials of chaya for improving nutrition and generating income, there has been little research on this crop and limited work to promote its use in Guatemala. The current use and value chain of this crop are being studied and a holistic approach for its value chain development is being applied, addressing multiple bottlenecks in supply and demand. Multiple stakeholders are being engaged to ensure interventions are pro-poor and gender-sensitive. Chaya nurseries have been established in participating communities with high quality cuttings and farmers trained on best practices for chaya cultivation. Women have been trained on recipes using local plants, including tortillas mixed with chaya, to support better nutrition.
Tepary bean has been grown historically in Guatemala but it has essentially fallen out of cultivation in current times. Because of its high drought tolerance, this crop can support diversification of Guatemalan farm systems for climate change adaptation. The performance of this crop and its acceptability to farmers and consumers in Guatemala are being explored in the project by introducing different varieties through participatory crop evaluation trials. A novel tricot approach developed by Bioversity International is being applied for the trials (see more on ClimMob.net). Consumer acceptability in urban and rural populations are also being assessed, along with investigations of the value chain.
In addition to crop-specific work, a variety of activities are ongoing in the project in Guatemala to provide evidence of the role of agrobiodiversity in local nutrition, income generation and climate change resilience. Activities are also being supported to strengthen the conservation of agricultural biodiversity, including supporting networks of community seed banks and experiments with rewards for agrobiodiversity conservation services. A policy review is also being performed on entry points and barriers for use-enhancement of neglected and underutilized species in this country.
