Publications /  The Potato, Treasure of the Andes
From Agriculture to Culture

Zúñiga is not a historian, or a new-age theorist preaching a return to simpler times, but an agronomist who sings the praises of highly nutritious Andean roots and tubers that today are little known or used. The star of Zúñiga's line-up is maca, a plant belonging to the radish family. Grown at altitudes as high as 4,000 m, maca is rich in protein and vitamins. It has many culinary uses; for example, the root is used to make soups or alcoholic beverages, and the leaves to make a tea. Yet maca is best known throughout the Andean highlands for stimulating sexual appetite. Only 50 hectares of maca were in production in the early 1990s, and as a result the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute placed the plant on their endangered species list.

Maca’s reputation as an aphrodisiac, however, helped save it from extinction and attracted the attention of scientists and entrepreneurs. By early 2000, nearly 1,500 hectares were under cultivation in the central Peruvian highland departments of Cerro de Pasco and Junín. In recent years, researchers have discovered many more uses for this crop, from easing problems related to menopause to replenishing nutrients lost by athletes during sporting events. Maca is the best known of what Zúñiga calls “the forgotten ancestral crops,” but it is not the only one with commercial promise. Antonio Brack, a researcher with the UN Development Program, is the author of an encyclopedia (1999) describing more than 25,000 plants cultivated in Peru alone. He lists maca and another Andean root, yacón, among the ten crops on which the country should focus its attention in the coming decade. Brack believes that these plants could help Peru become a major exporter of agricultural products.

Yacón, a relative of the sunflower, grows on the slopes of the Andes from Venezuela to Argentina. “Yacón is a marvelous root that is still relatively unknown,” says Brack. “Research on its beneficial properties should be encouraged.” Its roots are pleasantly sweet and can be eaten raw. Its sweetness comes from sacchrose, fructose, glucose and, most important, fructans, carbohydrates that are not metabolized by the human body and therefore can be safely eaten by diabetics. Yacón leaves are also used in Brazil and Japan to make a tea to control high blood pressure. Achira, ahipa and arracacha – three other root crops eaten by rural families in various parts of the Andes—are high in starch, another source of industrial potential. Achira is also grown in Vietnam, where it is used to make noodles. Arracacha is an ideal thickener for instant baby foods, and is combined with cane sugar to make traditional Andean desserts.

Scientists rediscovered mauka, another root, in the 1960s. Cultivated in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru, mauka is rich in protein and carbohydrates. Its leaves, also protein-rich, are used as fodder. Mauka has an extensive root system, a quality that could make it instrumental in controlling erosion in the Andes.

Olluco and oca, both tubers, were staples of pre-Columbian diets. Olluco, rich in calcium and vitamin C, is a popular addition to soups and stews. Oca, which is high in minerals and vitamins, has very good yields, making it an excellent component in programs to alleviate hunger and malnutrition.

Mashua is another tuber that, like oca, has very good yields. It can be cultivated as high as 4,000 m and is found from Colombia to northern Argentina. Because of mashua’s high concentrations of natural insecticides, farmers often plant it around other crops to protect them from pests. Mashua is also valued for its medicinal properties as a diuretic.

Lucien O. Chauvin