Guardians of Native Potato Diversity: Rural Women Preserve Andean Agricultural Heritage

Across the Andean highlands and the islands of southern Chile, rural women safeguard a valuable treasure: the diversity of native potatoes. Their quiet yet powerful work sustains the biodiversity that feeds communities and preserves the cultural heritage that connects generations.

On the International Day of Rural Women, the role of these women is highlighted as guardians of the earth, keepers of seeds and custodians of ancestral knowledge across the Andean region.
 

Chiloé, Chile: Where the potato tells a story

In Chiloé, native potatoes have been cultivated for centuries in small family plots. These potatoes, known for their vibrant colors and unique shapes, reflect centuries of adaptation and agricultural tradition.

Farmers Mirna Oyarzún and Esmerinda Culún conserve around 35 genotypes each year, maintaining a legacy passed down through generations. Yolanda Millapichún safeguards 120 genotypes repatriated from the Potato Germplasm Bank of the Universidad Austral de Chile, tending them for more than twenty years.

Through the project, women farmers are forming an association of guardians to restore, cultivate and market these native varieties, ensuring that the tradition continues.
 

Bolivia: Women and the wisdom of seeds

In the Bolivian altiplano, women play a central role in farming systems. Within a FAO-supported initiative led by the International Potato Center (CIP), the organization PROSUCO works with female seed guardians who conserve 23 native potato varieties and 6 maize varieties.

Guided by traditional knowledge and local climate indicators, these women plan their planting cycles, maintain agricultural traditions and honor Pachamama (Mother Earth) through rituals of gratitude while sustaining their families with diverse crops.

Each variety carries its own story, taste and purpose, forming a living link with Andean agricultural heritage.
 

Peru: Strengthening the guardians of native potatoes

In Peru, conservation efforts continue through the Association of Guardians of Native Potatoes (AGUAPAN). Across nine regions, many members are women who actively conserve native potato biodiversity.

To strengthen their role, CIP supports the Leadership Program for the Empowerment of AGUAPAN Women Producers and Marketers. The initiative develops skills in communication, negotiation and entrepreneurship while reinforcing confidence and collective identity among participants.

Through these efforts, women are expanding their roles beyond production, participating in leadership, decision-making and market activities while ensuring that native potatoes remain a source of nourishment, cultural pride and identity.
 

Women who safeguard potato diversity

From the fields of Chiloé to the highlands of Bolivia and Peru, rural women play a key role in preserving agricultural biodiversity and sustaining traditional farming knowledge.

Organizations such as the International Potato Center (CIP) highlight that the future of food security depends in part on these rural women who protect biodiversity, support their communities and maintain native potato diversity for future generations.