Fourteenth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

Food-producing landscapes in the Peruvian Andes hold significant importance for biocultural heritage. However, commodification processes have altered land use, resulting in a decline in agrobiodiversity, erosion of social practices, and loss of situated knowledge. Commons-based governance frameworks for convivial conservation, such as the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS), have been suggested to address these issues. The PGS is an agroecological farmer-to-farmer certification scheme, which valorizes local farmers’ cosmovisión (worldview), knowledges, and practices. Nevertheless, it is essential to assess how this governance framework balances economic considerations with the environmental, social, and cultural dimensions of Andean foodscapes without prioritizing commodification. A qualitative case study in Apurímac served to examine the conflicting and productive tensions between the institutional logics advocated by farmers, public authorities, and NGOs, as well as other market incentives. It was found that particularly female semi-subsistence farmers promote the various dimensions of Andean foodscapes through the food sovereignty logic. In contrast, market-oriented farmers primarily enact the commercialization logic. In addition to these internal tensions, national authorities promote the commercialization logic with agricultural policies and market incentives restricting the success of the studied governance framework. Overall, the paper argues that integrating conviviality and community economies through the commoning of foodscapes offers valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities for concrete pathways towards conservation that allow for social, environmental, and economic sustainability.