“And it is useless to try to convert it, for example, into a technical-agricultural problem for agronomists.” (Mariátegui, 1928, p. 51)
Mariátegui writes this sentence near the beginning of the third chapter The Problem of Land. He is writing about how the Indigenous peoples of Peru will continue to be oppressed as long as the latifundium system persists; that Indigenous peoples’ right to land is the key to their liberation. As such, the issue takes on a primarily socio-economic and political dimension.
When I first transferred to LFS at the end of first year and picked Sustainable Agriculture for my major, I fully expected to just learn about farming: what fertilizers to use for which crop, how much fertilizer, what machinery is best, how deep to plant seeds, etc. I seriously considered becoming a farmer. But I quickly found that, 1) the way the program is designed very much does not prepare me to actually run my own farm (I’m better off going to technical school or simply doing apprenticeships for that), 2) I am not cut out to be a farmer (as evidenced by today’s visit to the Amaru community), and 3) agriculture is so much more than running a farm. Farming is only one part of a food system that must be understood from not only scientific, but also cultural, economic, political, and social perspectives. In Canada, Peru, and globally, agriculture is also a land back issue.
So, I think I agree with Mariátegui. The problem of land in Peru cannot be solved solely through the work of agronomists. Later on, he writes, “A single valley, a single Andean tableland, if opened up with a few kilometers of railway or roads, can supply the entire Peruvian population with more than enough wheat, barley, et cetera.” The problem is not that there isn’t enough land, nor is it that the land does not give abundantly, rather the problem is in who and what has decision-making power over the land (though I disagree with Mariátegui’s sentiment that wheat and barley should be the primary foods to feed the country). No amount of improvement in sugar cane genetics or development in machinery is going to change the fact that the majority of agriculture caters to foreign demands and the majority of profit goes to landowners.
Today, I learned from Kelly (our guide for the community visit, I’m unsure how to spell her name) that most of the terraces are no longer cultivated because the government wants to preserve them for tourists. I also learned from Kelly that there is Japanese interest in Andean amaranth (quinoa and its various varieties), likely for growth and breeding in Japan. I think there is both economic and cultural anxiety here; fear that Japan will take away profits from Peru’s current position as the world’s top quinoa supplier and of appropriation of an important traditional food, which is already happening with the “discovery” of quinoa’s numerous health benefits. With the terraces and amaranth, I think we are seeing that agriculture in Peru is still subject to the demands of a foreign market. Quinoa is no longer grown solely for the local community, but for a global audience that wants to get in on this cool, “new” superfood.
It is also interesting to note the similar issues experienced by Peru in the early 20th century and by Canada today. Another reason (among others) that I’ve mostly abandoned my dream of becoming a farmer is because land in Canada is very expensive now, in big part due to land having more value as real estate than as farmland. Many farmers across the country, especially younger ones just entering the industry, farm on land that they rent only for a few years, as they can no longer afford to purchase land. As Mariátegui writes, “The tenant farmer generally is not encouraged by this system to improve the land and its crops and installations.” We are very much seeing this in Canada today. Though one farmer may implement BMPs (beneficial management practices, suggested for sustainability and to improve soil fertility), the legacy of that effort is often completely erased by the next farmer who rents the land and who doesn’t bother to continue the practices. After all, it’s not their land and the soil only needs to last them a few years.
Oh, I almost forgot. A topic I’d like for us to return to. The Marxism stuff you were talking about yesterday (Wednesday morning class) was interesting. I’d like to learn more about that I think. The revolution and its role in nation-building stuff in particular. Thanks!
3 replies on “Mariátegui again because he (for the most part) spits bars”
“I think there is both economic and cultural anxiety here(.)” Thank you for writing this thought-provoking blog post. Each of the points you talk about could be the topic of a course in itself! Speaking of these anxieties, let me tell you an old story. Those of us who grew up in the last decades of the 20th century came to think that food problems would be solved for everyone at the beginning of the 21st century. It was the story they told us. We were optimistically ignorant. Mariátegui himself, knowing the difficulties that Peru was going through, was able to envision a better solution. Now, the picture is perhaps more complicated than ever: we have better technology and more specific science, but as you say, the problem does not lie there. And it is people like you, with the awareness that you have, who give me hope even in this very complicated situation.
Hi Cissy! Thank you for sharing your personal experiences contemplating becoming a farmer. Just like clothing trend cycles are becoming shorter, thus prioritizing mass consumption and subsequent waste, I wonder if a similar thing is happening with food fads. When the health benefits of foods like quinoa are “discovered” as you say, there’s a rush to meet demand which I assume involves prioritizing fad crops or planting these crops on less adequate land. The production of food is a much lengthier process than clothing production, so I wonder about how farming communities will adapt to food waste and the drastic changes to the land after adapting farming practices to economic demand.
Hi Cissy, thank you so much for sharing both your personal and academic insights, I’ve learned a lot from your post! 🙂 Learning “that most of the terraces are no longer cultivated because the government wants to preserve them for tourists” is new to me and very important and I like how you talk about agriculture as “a land back issue”….there is a lot for me to reflect on from your post, thank you for such an informative post! <3