Unep

Many native chili varieties are becoming extinct due to the lack of economic incentives for farmers to their continued cultivation in Peru. A potential high value pro-poor market for selling native chilies is the international tourism segment. The objectives of this research were to assess the acceptability of the potential introduction of dried native chilies in the international tourism segment by identifying the motivations for buying dried chilies as souvenirs, and then by evaluating the factors influencing the price premiums’ magnitudes related to different label information conditions, such as information about the farmer community, traditional cooking recipes, organic certification, and Fairtrade certification. A face-to-face survey was conducted with 200 international tourists at the airport in Cuzco, Peru. The data were analyzed using a probit and tobit models with sample selection. The results suggest that dried native chilies would have a relatively good acceptance among international tourists. About 62% of the respondents indicated they would buy dried native chilies, and of them, 62%–74% would pay an average price premium ranging from S/1.16–1.58 for different label information conditions. Nevertheless specific marketing campaigns should be designed for different types of international tourists in order to maximize the economic benefits for small-holder farmers.

Policies for promoting the in situ conservation of underutilized crop varieties include the provision of economic incentives to farmers for their market commercialization. Nevertheless, market participation could also have the counter-effect of favoring the cultivation of uniform commercial crop varieties and inducing the erosion of crop genetic diversity. The objective of this research was to identify the determinants of the in situ conservation of native chili varieties, including market participation. To this end, 128 farmers were surveyed in the Amazon rainforest region of Ucayali in Peru. The data were analyzed using probit, multinomial logit and truncated Poisson models with covariance matrix correction for cluster errors by rural community. Results suggest that participation in commercial agriculture statistically significantly increases the in situ conservation of native chili varieties; only when farmers sell their products to local retailers, but not when they supply wholesalers. In particular, this result implies that policies designed to encourage specific forms of market participation could have a positive effect on farmers’ economic well-being and simultaneously could help to achieve crop genetic diversity conservation goals.

Traditional coca uses have taken place in Peru and Bolivia for at least the past three thousand years. International organizations have been unsuccessful in urging the implementation of zero-coca growing policies in those countries. Supply-side harm reduction strategies are currently being implemented in Bolivia, which rely on social control to limit, although not totally abolish, coca growing. In this article,
the different motivations for coca growing for traditional uses are reviewed, and the data from a survey conducted with 496 farmers in an indigenous community are examined, to provide an overview of the coca-growing problem and explore if social control could potentially influence the scale of coca growing in Peru. The results suggest that social control variables, such as attachment, involvement, and beliefs, limit the size of coca-growing areas. Those factors have been largely overlooked and may offer an opportunity to reduce coca areas if explicitly considered in drug-control policy design.

Perú es uno de los centros de diversidad de ajíes nativos y similares (Capsicum spp.). Esta diversidad no ha sido suficientemente explotada, y estas variedades se encuentran en peligro de extinción. Su bio-comercialización como productos diferenciados de alto valor podría favorecer su conservación. Este estudio identificó oportunidades de bio-comercialización de ajíes nativos, principalmente mediante la implementación de una encuesta con 205 hogares en “Lima Moderna” (clase media y alta en Lima Metropolitana). Los resultados sugieren que: (a) soló se encuentran posicionados comercialmente cuatro variedades de Capsicum; (b) los hogares muestran preferencia por ajíes nativos de color amarillo y rojo, de picor medio-alto, mientras que las características nutricionales y tamaño no son relativamente importantes; (c) nichos de mercado relevantes incluyen a la certificación orgánica y la de comercio justo; y (d) los consumidores, por el momento, no indicaron mayor interés en la denominación de origen para este tipo de producto en particular. Este estudio de caso ilustra como la conservación de la biodiversidad de éstas y otras variedades nativas podría incentivarse mediante el biocomercio en el Perú y en otros países de alta biodiversidad.

Bolivia es uno de los centros de diversidad de ajíes nativos (Capsicum spp.). El comercio informal de ajíes peruanos ha contribuido a una baja demanda y, por ende, a una reducción del cultivo (o conservación in situ) de ajíes bolivianos. Este estudio analiza el consumo de ajíes mediante una encuesta a 359 hogares. Los resultados sugieren que los hogares están acostumbrados al sabor de los ajíes peruanos, y que entre las ventajas de los ajíes bolivianos está el color. Mezclas estandarizadas de ajíes con sabor y color deseados podrían introducirse satisfactoriamente al mercado, lo cual favorecería las ventas de ajíes bolivianos.

Coca is a native bush from the Amazon rainforest from which cocaine, an illegal alkaloid, is extracted. Asking farmers
about the extent of their coca cultivation areas is considered a sensitive question in remote coca growing regions in Peru. As
a consequence, farmers tend not to participate in surveys, do not respond to the sensitive question(s), or underreport their
individual coca cultivation areas. There is a political and policy concern in accurately and reliably measuring coca growing
areas, therefore survey methodologists need to determine how to encourage response and truthful reporting of sensitive
questions related to coca growing. Specific survey strategies applied in our case study included establishment of trust with
farmers, confidentiality assurance, matching interviewer-respondent characteristics, changing the format of the sensitive
question(s), and non enforcement of absolute isolation of respondents during the survey. The survey results were validated
using satellite data. They suggest that farmers tend to underreport their coca areas to 35 to 40% of their true extent.

El Perú es uno de los centros de diversidad de los ajíes y similares (Capsicum spp.). Existen cientos de variedades nativas, las cuales presentan diferentes características, tales como distintos colores y grados de picor. Esta diversidad no ha sido comercialmente explotada y actualmente muchas de estas variedades se encuentran subutilizadas y en peligro de extinción. Su comercialización como productos diferenciados de alto valor podría ayudar a promover su conservación a través de mecanismos de mercado. En esta investigación se determinan las características de los ajíes nativos que tendrían mayor aceptación entre los diferentes segmentos del mercado con alta capacidad de pago en la ciudad de Lima. Para este fin, se recolectaron 205 encuestas entre los hogares de clase media y alta, cuya información se analizó mediante modelos Poisson y Probit ordenados. Los resultados sugieren que los consumidores que se inclinarían a comprar nuevas variedades de ajíes nativos son del sexo masculino, relativamente jóvenes, de clase media y que disfrutan de este producto, pues compran cantidades comparativamente altas de ajíes. Por otra parte, los ajíes picantes son preferidos por consumidores de sexo masculino y oriundos de Lima. En cuanto al color, el rojo es preferido por hogares de ingresos económicos medios; el amarillo por consumidores femeninos, mientras que el verde y morado los prefieren personas que consumen un alto número de variedades de ajíes. Finalmente, los hogares que tendrían preferencia por productos que «conserven la biodiversidad» tienen educación universitaria; mientras que los productos que son identificados como «nativos del Perú» son preferidos por personas de ingresos económicos relativamente bajos y medios.

Native chilies (Capsicum spp.) are currently underutilized in Bolivia, one of this crop’s centers of diversity. Fewer local farmers cultivate native chilies annually due to low market demand. Increasing its private use value can lead to the in-situ conservation of this crop. The objective of the paper is to evaluate the market acceptability of three native chili products: (a) chili marmalade; (b) chili cooking paste; and (c) pickled chilies. Multi-product Becker-DeGroot-Marschak experimental auctions and hedonic tests were conducted with
337 participants in La Paz and Santa Cruz. Data were analyzed using seemingly unrelated regressions. Results suggest that consumers are willing to pay price premiums of about 25–50 percent. Biodiversity conservation and improvements in farmers’ quality of life statements would not have influence on first purchase decisions but rather on repurchase decisions and therefore on consumers’ product loyalty. This in turn could lead to sustainable agro-biodiversity conservation, centered on consumers’ purchase of these products over time.

Background
Genetically modified (GM) crops have generated a great deal of
controversy. Since commercially introduced to farmers in 1996, the global area cultivated with GM crops has increased 94-fold. The rapid adoption of GM technology has had substantial socio-economic impacts which a vast amount of technical and non-technical literature has addressed in the
last two decades. However, contradictory results between individual studies abound. Extensive and transparent reviews concerning this contentious and complex issue could help
promote evidence-based dialogue among the diverse parties involved.

Methods
This protocol specifies the methodology for identifying, evaluating, and mapping evidence related to the main review question: what are the socio-economic impacts of genetically
modified crops worldwide? This question has been subdivided into the following topics: (a) farm-level impacts; (b) impacts of coexistence regulations; (c) impacts along the supply
chain; (d) consumer-level impacts; (e) impacts on food security;
and (f) environmental economic impacts. The search strategy includes the identification of primary studies from
general scientific databases; global, regional, and national spe
cialist databases; an on-line search engine; institutional websites; journal websites; subject experts/researchers; and
serendipity. Searches will be conducted in six languages (Chinese, English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish). Identified studies will be screened for inclusion/exclusion criteria by a group of multi-language reviewers. Finally, pre-defined data from the studies will be extracted, mapped, and presented in a report. Potential research gaps will be identified and discussed, and the review process will be documented in an open-access da tabase (i.e.
CADIMA, http://www.cadima.info/).

Cocaine is extracted from coca: a native bush from the Amazon rainforest. Coca is mostly grown in remote areas to avoid government intervention, and it has been increasingly cultivated inside protected areas (PAs). The effects of coca cultivation on the preservation of PAs are largely unknown. This research uses panel data (2006–2008) from a total of 684 farmers to evaluate the influence of coca growing on the acceptance of PAs, using as case study a farmer community located within the buffer zone of Bahuaja-Sonene National Park (Peru). All farmers are coffee growers and some complement their income with coca production. The area has not been subject of forced coca eradication activities. The data were analyzed using probit models with covariance matrix correction for cluster errors by year, with and without interaction effects. The results suggest that coca growers are more likely to state a positive opinion about the PA than non-coca growers. This may reflect the fact that non-coca growers need extensive areas of land for coffee cultivation in order to approach the economic benefits obtained by farmers who also grow coca. However the likelihood of stating a positive opinion by coca growers decreases the higher the perception that coca cultivation has increased in the region. Coca growers may be afraid that large coca areas would lead to the implementation of forced eradication activities. In such a case, the BSNP would restrict the access to remote land resources, which in turn decreases the support for this PA.

Recent controversies over peer-reviewed papers on potential impacts of genetically modified organisms underline the necessity for an explicit, transparent and unbiased reviewing of published results. Evidence synthesis approaches represent powerful tools to collect, evaluate and summarize such research results in a transparent, reproducible and unbiased manner. The EU-funded project GRACE (GMO Risk Assessment and Communication of Evidence) aims to explore, adapt, apply, and promote these tools to enhance accountability in decision-making by providing policy makers with comprehensive, science-based information on potential impacts (scenarios) of genetically modified plants and their derived products. Furthermore, GRACE will establish an open-access database in order to support the review process, to mirror the evidence synthesis, to assist the dissemination of results and conclusions, as well as to act, in more general terms, as an information resource on biosafety of genetically modified plants.

The present article evaluates farmer and community characteristics that promote resilience to opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan. In general, resilience-building can  be  associated  with  measures  to  manage  changes  in  contexts  of  long-lasting or recurring crisis, as opposed to measures aimed at controlling changes in stable systems. Afghanistan  is  a  country  in  a  state  of  constant,  protracted  crisis.  As  expected,  the  evidence gathered in the field suggests that farmers need sources of income that are not only profitable but also sustainable over time in order to keep them from cultivating opium  poppy.  The  evidence  also  suggests  that  improvements  in  public  services  and  governability  are  needed  to  turn  opium  poppy-growing  communities  into  opium  poppy-free communities and to keep communities free from opium poppy for longer periods of time. Other important factors that increase resilience include improvements in the adaptive capabilities of farmers, such as performing a large number of income-generating  activities,  cultivating  a  large  number  of  crops  and  receiving  awareness-raising information aimed at reducing opium poppy cultivation. Conversely, focusing on  one-sided  solutions,  such  as  the  sole  provision  of  wheat  as  a  crop  substitute  for  opium poppy, or off-farm jobs, decreases resilience to opium poppy cultivation. Therefore, designers of evidence-based interventions need to invest time in understanding local conditions before designing such interventions, and fully consider and integrate farmer  livelihood  strategies,  vulnerabilities  and  uncertainty  with  broad-based  rural  development in order to achieve sustainable reductions in opium poppy cultivation. The price of not doing so is high, as poorly designed interventions generate perverse incentives that are likely to lead to overall increases in opium poppy cultivation.