Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T19:05:54.968Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Building value chains for indigenous fruits: lessons from camu-camu in Peru

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 July 2016

Trent Blare  and
Jason Donovan
Trent Blare*
Affiliation:
World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Av. La Molina 1895, Lima, Peru.
Jason Donovan
Affiliation:
World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Av. La Molina 1895, Lima, Peru.
*
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Governments and NGOs have enthusiastically promoted value chains for lesser-known indigenous fruits in the pursuit of poverty reduction and other development goals. This paper examines experiences in Peru in building the value chain for camu-camu—a fruit native to the Amazon that is in the process of being domesticated. We look at interventions to build the chain, the environment in which the chain operates, the implications of chain development on livelihoods, and prospects for future chain development. Information was collected from gray literature as well as from primary data from household and key informant interviews. The results of this study suggest that the emergence of the camu-camu chain has led to higher farm income without generating large trade-offs in livelihood activities or the environment. However, the results also demonstrate an unrealized potential to achieve greater impact at scale due to gaps in services and inputs, limited coordination among farmers and chain actors, and a risky business environment. Building value chains for lesser-known fruits will require more than a techo-managerial focus on smallholder production. Greater attention is required to build stronger public–private collaboration to expand and diversify markets, with particular attention on strengthening institutions and growing local markets for high-value products.

Keywords

Indigenous fruitdomesticationcamu–camuvalue chainpoverty reductiondevelopment programmingPeru
Type
Research Article
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 33 , Special Issue 1: Value Chain Development and Impacts , February 2018 , pp. 6 - 18
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agroideas. 2015. Beneficiarios. http://www.agroideas.gob.pe/web/?page_id=241 (verified 25 March 2015).Google Scholar
Baez, R. 2014. Faculty of the Agronomy Department at the Ucayali National University. Personal Interview. 25 August.Google Scholar
Belcher, B. and Schreckenberg, K. 2007. Commercialisation of non-timber forest products: A reality check. Development Policy Review 25(3):355–377.Google Scholar
Bolaños, O. and Schmink, M. 2005. Women's place is not in the forest: Gender issues in a timber management project in Bolivia. In Colfer, C.J.P. (ed.). The Equitable Forest: Diversity, Community and Natural Resources. RFF/CIFOR, Washington, D.C. p. 274–295.Google Scholar
Brack, E. 1999. Diccionario enciclipedico de plantas útiles del Perú. Serie Ecologia y Desarrollo 5, PNUD and Ed Centro Bartolomé de las Casas, Cuzco, Peru.Google Scholar
Bradfield, R. and Roca, A. 1965. Camu camu fruit high in ascorbic acid. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 44:28–30.Google Scholar
Campbell, C., Chicchón, A., Schmink, M., and Piland, R. 2005. Intrahousehold differences in natural resource management in Peru and Brazil. In Colfer, C.J.P. (ed.). The Equitable Forest: Diversity, Community and Natural Resources. RFF/CIFOR, Washington, D.C. p. 274–295.Google Scholar
Chirinos, R., Galarza, J., Betalleluz-Pallardel, I., Pedreschi, R., and Campos, D. 2010. Antioxidant compounds and antioxidant capacity of Peruvian camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia (H.B.K.) McVaugh) fruit at different maturity stages. Food Chemistry 120(4):1019–1024.Google Scholar
Clague, C., Keefer, P., Knack, S., and Olson, M. 1999. Contract-intensive money: Contract enforcement, property rights, and economic performance. Journal of Economic Growth 4(2):185–211.Google Scholar
Clement, C., Weber, J., Van Leeuwen, J., Domian, C.A., Cole, D., Lopez, L.A., and Argüello, H. 2004. Why extensive research and development did not promote use of peach palm fruit in Latin America. Agroforestry Systems 61(1–3):195–206.Google Scholar
Colapinto, J. 2011. “Strange Fruit: the rise and fall of açaí,” 30 May, The New Yorker.Google Scholar
Coomes, O., Takasaki, Y., Abizaid, C., and Barham, B. 2010. Floodplain fisheries as a national insurance for the rural poor in tropical forest environments: Evidence from Amazonia. Fisheries Management and Ecology 17(6):513–521. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2400.2010.00750.x Google Scholar
Cronkleton, P. 2005. Gender, participation, and the strengthening of indigenous forest management in Bolivia. In Colfer, C.J.P. (ed.). The Equitable Forest: Diversity, Community and Natural Resources. RFF/CIFOR, Washington, D.C. p. 274–295.Google Scholar
Dirección Regional de Agricultura Ucayali (DRAU). 2012. Diagnóstico situacional y socio económico—Actualización 2012 cadena productiva de camu camu.Google Scholar
Donovan, J., Franzel, S., Cunha, M., Gyau, A., and Mithofer, D. 2015. Guides for value chain development: A comparative review. Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies 5(1):1–22. doi: 10.1108/JADEE-07-2013-0025 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dostert, N., Roque, J., Brokamp, G., Cano, A., La Torre, M., and Weigend, M. (2009). Factsheet sobre Myrciaria dubia (Kunth) McVaugh—Camu Camu, Botconsult.Google Scholar
Effel, C.V. 2012. Implications of the Quinoa Boom on the Farmers’ Income: How do Changes in the Quinoa Market Structure Mediate Quinoa Farmers’ Income? The Hague, The Netherlands. https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00737858/ Google Scholar
EU-Peru. 2009. Sistematización de experiencias en la cadena de camu camu para la propuesta de un sistema de gestión de información, Proyecto de Cooperación UE–Perú en Materia de Asistencia Técnica Relativa al Comercio.Google Scholar
Fold, N. 2008. Transnational sourcing practices in Ghana's perennial crop sectors. Journal of Agrarian Change 8(1):94–122.Google Scholar
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2013. Food Outlook: Biannual Report on Global Food Markets. FAO, Rome.Google Scholar
Fortini, L.B. and Carter, D.R. (2014). The economic viability of smallholder timber production under expanding açaí palm production in the Amazon Estuary. Journal of Forest Economics 20(3):223–235.Google Scholar
German Technical Cooperation Agency (GTZ). 2000. Estudio de Mercado para Myrciaria dubia H.B.K. Mc Vaugh (camu camu). GTZ, Lima, Peru.Google Scholar
Gobierno Regional de Ucayali (GRU). 2011. Informe final del diagnóstico situacional y socio economica–2011. Cadena productiva del camu camu, Pucallpa, Peru.Google Scholar
Gonzalez, J. 2014. Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture extensionist for camu-camu. Personal interview. 10 Oct.Google Scholar
Hermann, M. 2013. Success and pitfalls of linking nutritionally promising Andean crops to markets. In Fanzo, J., Hunter, D., Borelli, T., and Mattei, F. (eds). Diversifying Food and Diets: Using Agricultural Biodiversity to Improve Nutrition and Health. Routledge, Oxford p. 165–185.Google Scholar
Inoue, T., Komoda, H., Uchida, T., and Node, J. 2008. Tropical fruit camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia) has anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. Journal of Cardiology 52(2):127–132.Google Scholar
Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana (IIAP). n.d. Diagnóstico de la actividad productiva. IIAP, Iquitos, Peru. Available at Web site http://www.iiap.org.pe/promamazonia/sbiocomercio/Upload%5CLineas%5CDocumentos/536.pdf Google Scholar
Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana (IIAP). 2001. Sistema de producción de camu-camu en restinga. Proyecto Bioexport-Camu Camu, IIAP, Iquitos, Peru.Google Scholar
Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana (IIAP). 2010. Camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia-Mirtaceae): Aportes para su aprovecha-miento sostenible en la Amazonia Peruana. IIAP, Iquitos, Peru.Google Scholar
Jun, F. 2014. Manager of Sanshin Amazon Herbal Science. Personal interview. 6 Nov. 2014.Google Scholar
Justi, K.C., Visentainer, J., de Souza, N., and Matushita, M. 2000. Nutritional composition of and vitamin C stability in stored camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia) pulp. Archivos Latinoamericanos de Nutrición 50(4):405–408.Google ScholarPubMed
Leakey, R. and Simons, A. 1998. The domestication and commercialization of indigenous trees in agroforestry for the alleviation of poverty. Agroforestry Systems 38:165–176.Google Scholar
McClain, M. and Cossio, R. 2003. The use of riparian environments in the rural Peruvian Amazon. Environmental Conservation 30(3):242–248.Google Scholar
Ministerio de Agricultura y Riego de Perú (MINAGRI). 2000. Programa Nacional de camu camu.Google Scholar
North, D.C. 1994. Economic performance through time. The American Economic Review 84(3):359–368.Google Scholar
Ostrom, E. 1998. A behavioral approach to the Rational Choice Theory of Collective Action: Presidential Address, American Political Science Association, 1997. American Political Science Review 92(1):1–22.Google Scholar
Paino, B. and Donovan, J. 2012. Demanda por frutos amazónicos en el mercado de Lima, Perú. World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Lima, Peru. Available at Web site http://worldagroforestry.org/downloads/Publications/PDFS/RP12243.pdf Google Scholar
Penn, J. 2004. Another boom for the Amazonia? Examining the socioeconomic and environmental implications of the new camu-camu industry in Peru. Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation. University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.Google Scholar
Penn, J. 2006. The cultivation of camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia): A tree planting programme in the Peruvian Amazon. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods 16(1):85–101.Google Scholar
Perez, D. 2014. Owner and manager of Peruvian Amazon Green. Personal interview. 27 Aug.Google Scholar
Pinedo, M. and Armas, M. 2007. El camu-camu y sus usos populares como planta medicinal. LEISA Revista de Agroecología 23:22–24.Google Scholar
Porro, N.M. and Stone, S. 2005. Diversity in living gender: Two cases from the Brazilian Amazon. In Colfer, C.J.P. (ed.). The Equitable Forest: Diversity, Community and Natural Resources. RFF/CIFOR, Washington, D.C. p. 274–295.Google Scholar
PROMPERU. 2015. Evolución de las exportaciones de camu-camu (hasta febrero del 2013). PROMPERU, Lima, Peru.Google Scholar
Richardson, G.B. 1972. The organisation of industry. Economic Journal 82:883–896.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmink, M. and Gomez-Garcia, M. 2014. Under the Canopy: Gender and Forests in Amazonia. Occasional Paper 212. Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). http://www.cifor.org/publications/pdf_files/OccPapers/OP-121.pdf Google Scholar
Schreckenberg, K., Awono, A., Degrande, A., Mbosso, C., Ndoye, O., and Tchoundjeu, Z. 2006. Domesticating indigenous fruit trees as a contribution to poverty reduction. Forests, Trees, and Livelihoods 16:35–51.Google Scholar
Shanley, P., Luz, L., and Swingland, I. 2012. The faint promise of a distant market: A survey of Belem's trade in non-timber forest products. Biodiversity and Conservation 11:615–636.Google Scholar
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). 2014. New European Union Commission's Proposal on Novel Foods Regulation (2013): A Preliminary Overview from the Perspective of Biodiversity-Based and Traditional Foods. United Nations Publications, Geneva, Switzerland.Google Scholar
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). 2012. Biotrade: A Catalyst for Transitioning to a Green Economy in Peru. UNEP and Peru Ministerio de Comerico Exterior y Turismo, Lima, Peru.Google Scholar
Williamson, O.E. 2005. The economics of governance. American Economic Review 95(2):1–18.Google Scholar
World Trade Organization (WTO) Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. 2011. Regulation 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council Concerning Novel Foods.Google Scholar