Agricultural history of Peru

The agricultural history of Peru tells the story of how people in Peru grew food, plants, and herbs over many years. Farming in Peru began a long time ago, and it has changed a lot since then. People learned how to grow crops in different climates and places, which helped them feed many communities. This history is important because it shows how humans have worked with the land to grow food and survive. Today, we can learn from these old farming ways to help grow food better in the future.

Pre-history

The early history of Peru was shaped by where people could farm. The coast of Peru has two mountain ranges and many rivers that flow through a dry desert. In dry times, only the mountains had enough rain for farming, and the coast stayed empty. When it rained more, many cultures lived along these rivers.

The Inca people lived in the mountains and moved to lower areas when the climate got wetter. Another group, the Moche, lived in lower areas but disappeared after big floods and then a long dry period. People in Peru were among the first to grow crops like squash, peanuts, and cotton thousands of years ago.

Peru’s coast has a special climate because of a cold ocean current called the Humboldt Current. This current brings nutrients to the ocean, which once made Peru’s waters rich for fish. On land, the cool mist from this current helps some desert plants get water from the air instead of rain. However, Peru’s roads and connections were not well developed, making it hard to move farm products to markets. Today, Peru grows many crops such as asparagus, potatoes, maize, rice, quinoa, and coffee. Peru is a big supplier of quinoa and organic coffee, even though it faces challenges from other countries’ support for their own farmers.

pre-history of Peru • Moche • El Niño • drought • squash • peanuts • cotton • Ñanchoc • Humboldt Current • over fishing • Andean • natural resources • tin • silver • gold • guano • rubber • Brazil • Inca road system • asparagus • potatoes • maize • rice • quinoa • organic coffee • Kenya • Coffea arabica • Jamaica • Hawaii

Aqueducts and terraces

Main article: Irrigation in Peru

The ancient people of Peru built clever ways to move and store water. They made aqueducts like those at Cumbe Mayo (around 1500 BCE) and the Nazca's underground aqueducts called Puquios. They also made gardens on hillsides called terraces. These helped keep the soil from washing away. The Chavin, Moche, and Incas used these terraces, called andenes, to grow crops on steep slopes. Some of these old methods are still used today.

Guano

In the 1800s, guano, a special fertilizer made from bird droppings, became very important in Peru. The rich supply of guano built up over time because cold ocean currents brought many fish, which attracted large numbers of birds. These birds left behind lots of guano that stayed rich in nutrients due to Peru’s dry climate.

Between 1840 and 1880, Peru sold about 20 million tons of guano, mostly to Great Britain, earning a huge profit. However, Peru lost its guano to Chile during the War of the Pacific. Later, new ways to make fertilizers reduced guano’s value. As the supply of guano ran low, the government tried to manage what was left, but the number of birds also dropped, making it even harder to get more guano.

Current production

Peru grows many important crops. It is one of the top producers of avocado, blueberry, artichoke, and asparagus. It is also a top producer of coffee and cocoa, as well as potato and pineapple. The country grows a lot of grape, sugarcane, rice, banana, maize, and cassava.

In 2018, Peru grew large amounts of sugarcane, potato, and rice. It also grew smaller amounts of banana, maize, cassava, and many fruits and vegetables.

Some places, like the Peruvian Amazon, use traditional farming methods and tools. One of these tools is the tacarpo, which helps grow certain plants.

Wine

Peruvian agricultural products

Peru is famous for growing many important crops. Farmers in Peru grow potatoes, corn, rice, and coffee plants. These crops are a big part of Peru's farming history and are important for the country's food and economy.