Tirso Gonzales, Nestor Chambi, Marcela Machaca^*

Most literature, policies and practises related to agricultural development are embedded in a Western worldview and ignore alternative cosmovisions, particularly those held by indigenous peoples. The relevance and importance of Andean cosmology to both rural development and the conservation of agricultural biodiversity is highlighted in this article, which explores the agri-culture of the Aymaran and Quechuan peoples of the Peruvian Andes. Here the seed is treated with the utmost dignity and respect and is considered an integral part of the whole community.

Just as there is not just one way of doing agriculture, the seed does not mean the same in every language, worldview or cosmovision. In the same way that capitalist agriculture, commercial seeds and scientific knowledge have no place in indigenous agri-cultures, the seed has a different role in Western societies than it does in indigenous agricultural societies. This article is an invitation to approach both worlds on their own terms. This means approaching the seed from two differing perspectives, reflecting different ways of being, ways of knowing, and ways of being related to the world.

First, it is necessary to acknowledge that terms like "traditional farmers," "modern farmers," and "conservation of plant genetic resources," are not neutral, nor are they universal. They are part of a set of Western concepts related to theories of modernization, development and conservation. These terms are coherent with contemporary Western ways of being, ways of knowing, and ways of being related to the world, and not those of non-Western "indigenous peoples." Failure to recognise this crucial difference highlights the problems that have arisen from encouraging or forcing Western blueprints of development upon "indigenous peoples" lives, territories and environments.

Pueblos Originarios (Originating Peoples) such as the Quechuas and Aymaras in the Andes share a rich and unique cosmovision far removed from the contemporary Western one. Consequently, their approaches to agriculture are also very different. Yet most of the current literature concerned with genetic resources concentrates thought and effort on how to conserve genetic resources "rationally" and "scientifically" according to the Western worldview. No serious attempt has yet been made on the part of major international development agencies and their Southern counterparts to understand alternative approaches to biodiversity conservation. A wealth of alternatives exist amongst indigenous peoples around the world. Indeed, to a large extent these groups have been responsible for creating and nurturing the agrobiodiversity that exists on the planet today, suggesting that they are in the best position to determine resource management strategies. The principles of "sustainable agriculture" are found, at least in part, in the agricultures of the Pueblos Originarios.

In the case of the Andes, agricultural practices date back ten thousand years. This region is one of the centres of domestication of plants and animals in the world. The technologies developed to do this are founded in a coherent system inspired by the Andean cosmovision, which places the phenomenon of labour in its own cultural and religious context. In Peru, there are at least 57 indigenous ethnic groups, comprising more than 9 million people. Despite destructive colonial policies and contemporary development policies applied by the nation-state, these indigenous communities possess their own institutions, rituals, religions, languages, cultures and laws, as well as their own ways of being, knowing, and being related to the world. These instruments have been critical to the development of the system of agriculture practised successfully by Andean people.

(follow the link provided to read the rest of this article)