Argentina: Small producers in the Puna region of Jujuy are advancing in the cultivation, classification, and marketing of Andean potatoes.

These entities and local residents joined forces as part of the post-mining legacy that aims to consolidate Sustainable Development in the Rinconada department. New productive horizons are on the horizon for the economy in this part of the province.

In the Costa de Guayatayoc area of ​​the Pozuelos community, approximately 20 families evaluated their potato and baby potatoes. After a process lasting several months, during which they suffered frost and hail, they addressed the promotion of innovative techniques that also included water management in these inhospitable areas, and the development of sustainable plantation strategies, themes that were crucial to achieving these goals.

This effort is part of the Andean Crop Recovery Program, which has a direct impact on the area of ​​influence of the Pirquitas-Chinchillas Mine project. It has been in development for three years and is currently coordinated primarily by SSR Mining and the Pachamama Agricultural and Livestock Association. Funds from this program enabled families to obtain microcredit loans, and through their application, they have already achieved a successful first crop of 10,000 kilos of potatoes for the 2023-2024 season. During the 2024-2025 campaign, this program was opened to non-members of the territory. This allows the community to reach its goal of reaching 20,000 kilos, encouraging new horizons for some 120 community members.

At this stage, potatoes of various characteristics and colors were sorted for sale, raising hope for those who decided to go beyond sheep and camel farming. "We have a new challenge, which is to add a little more to the family basket with Andean agriculture," said Diego Esteban, a representative of the Secretariat of Indigenous Peoples and a resident of the area. In this context, he recalled the support of the Pachamama Association: "It helps us dream of something that could happen and that our grandparents did. Over time, that activity was lost, but today we are revaluing it. Individually, we can’t get far; working as a team is much better."

The tasks in the region are not easy. "In all rural areas, we always encourage young people, who generally emigrate, leaving women and older adults behind. The biggest problem is labor," Esteban continued.

Another territorial difficulty is the distance required to provide constant support to producers: "We are quite dispersed, with one family 500 meters away; another 4 kilometers away; and others 25 kilometers or more away. The biggest problem has been the logistics: transportation by vehicle, and that was facilitated by the company’s Community Relations department," said Esteban, highlighting the importance of the "Minga" as a collaborative work and spirit where everyone must help each other.

The value of experience and the "Minga"

The producers were advised by Miriam Cruz, a renowned expert who has been growing potatoes in the indigenous community of Ojo de Agua for over 20 years. Specially summoned for this program in Rinconada, her role was instrumental in the exchange of experiences and new learning.

"It’s time to present my product to the most careful and delicate public. If I manage poorly today, I’ll have a bad reputation; if I manage well, customers will call me and order from me; I won’t have to keep banging on doors," he said.

Together with the group, she analyzed the harvested varieties, including Desirée, Revolución, Santa María (reddish), Azul Sayama, Pali (pink), Runa, Imilla Negra, Collareja, and Malcachu, aiming to achieve volume and good production. "The more producers there are, the more difficult it is to maintain the same level of quality and size," said the expert, recommending actions aimed at safeguarding the harvest, selecting good seeds, packaging, and even sales strategies, in a difficult and demanding market that doesn’t always value the great productive efforts of Jujuy.

"Who produces what we eat? It’s the countryside. We need to support young people, show them that you can make a living from the countryside. You know what you’re eating, the quality of the product you’re consuming. I’m encouraging them to keep going: it’s very difficult work, very demanding, but it’s what keeps us alive and standing," he concluded.

The experience of new farmers

For her part, Susana Mayo, who was the host producer on the Guayatayoc Coast, strengthened her agricultural work alongside other women in the region. During this phase, she planted eight varieties of potatoes, but not all of them survived the inclement weather. Still, she expressed pride in the harvest and the community work: "It’s truly a joy because we were able to put together a mini comparsa, as they say. We women are always in the fields raising livestock, with the children, and above all, nurturing Mother Earth."

She and the rest of the producers were also accompanied by zootechnical engineer David Zerpa, who was called in to adapt best practices and minimize errors at high altitudes and in challenging temperature ranges. "We focused on planting potatoes and baby potatoes with varieties of striking color, flavor, and resistance, aiming for new buyers. We see this as an opportunity, since they are not widely produced in the area and we don’t have much competition from Bolivia," he stated.

In turn, Verónica Orellana, a collaborator with SSR Mining, stated that "The company, through its Community Relations area, has been supporting this pilot program for three years, both in logistics and in ongoing workshops and organizational meetings. Our representative, Eliana Flores, is leading and working with producers to help them reach commercialization." Thus, the mining company, with its financial contribution, motivates and provides the technical means to introduce knowledge at every stage of production, including other institutions related to this purpose, such as INTA (National Institute of Statistics and Census), the Ministry of Economic Development and Production, and the consulting firm Empoderar. In this framework, she mentioned that workshops have already been held on fertilization, drip irrigation and a supply bank, planting management, costs of Andean potato crops, and seed removal, selection, and curing. Eleuteria Flores, a worker at the Pirquitas Mine and a member of the Coyahuayma community, completed the assistance team. "We seek to create knowledge so that producers can have their crops and a little more income in the future. We will continue to contribute to logistics," he concluded. From now on, a quality control of potatoes and baby potatoes is expected in Abra Pampa, a town with an agricultural collection center, once again reflecting the mining industry’s sincere commitment to local communities.

Sustainable development

For anthropologist Mario Palma, director of the Empoderar Consulting Firm, a specialist in Community Relations and Sustainable Development, this project responds "to a long-standing dream of producers from different Andean communities, eager to recover the variety and quality of their potatoes to generate added value that has allowed them to improve their quality of life by taking advantage of their ancestral land." "The current learning stage consists of improving marketing methods based on quality control of their products in an unprecedented experience of territorial integration and cooperation between members of different indigenous communities." In short, he spoke of a true achievement toward the sustainable development that the company seeks locally and the mining industry globally.

In this regard, Edgardo Volpi, Community Relations Manager at SSR Mining, stated that "it is a source of satisfaction to observe our company’s collaborative work with social and government organizations and residents of the Puna region, who have successfully achieved goals and objectives." He affirmed that the company supports and endorses the implementation of these types of productive projects, which will go beyond Andean potatoes and will explore the added value derived from camelids and the promotion of high-altitude indigenous rural tourism, in conjunction with the cultural and anthropological legacy of the Puna region. "The projects emerge from the community; they are then studied and agreed upon with government representatives, us as a company, and technical institutions in the region. It’s a good way to plan and act in advance of a mine closure," Volpi concluded.