Domestication of Native Berries will be the most important project in the Peruvian highlands
Project will work with native 3 berries: Pushgay, Alicón and Kundor. These products were chosen because they are related to the blueberry which is the fruit that has the highest price in the international market.
Sierra y Selva Exportadora has initiated the project "Domestication of Native Berries" that seeks to give value to native biodiversity and thereby reduce poverty in said region.
In this regard, the director of Entrepreneurship, Investment and Innovation of Sierra and Selva Exportadora, Luis Alfaro Garfias, stressed that the aforementioned project will be the most important to be developed in the Peruvian highlands.
He stressed that the project is being worked in partnership with the National Agrarian University La Molina (UNALM), whose Biotechnology Laboratory is used to make crosses and obtain a quality berrie. The project leader is Dr. Antonietta Gutiérrez Rosati.
Luis Alfaro pointed out that the Domestication of Native Berries project is an opportunity because many products native to our country have important nutraceutical properties (beneficial for nutrition and health), which are highly demanded in the international market and with high prices.
"Domestication is about choosing the best species (in size, taste, brix degrees, among others) and developing a species that is standardized that allows us to obtain better income and maintain biodiversity," he said.
He added that he opted for native berries because it is a possibility for small and medium farmers in the mountains so that they can make more profit from their hectare.
He said that to value a promising genetic resource does not require much participation of agrochemicals (being native to the area) which contributes to sustainable development because it is just friendly to the environment.
"With a native berrie we can reach the market with a product with 3 times more antioxidant than blueberry and it is also organic which allows us to have a healthier product, in addition to being developed in the mountains allows us to obtain a richer fruit because the height allows to concentrate higher degrees of brix (sweetness) ”, he commented.
He indicated that in order to choose the native berries that will be used in the project, the cranberry-related berries were identified because it is the fruit that has the highest price in the international market. The project will work with native 3 berries: Pushgay, Alicón and Kundor.
In this regard, the official said that the initiative will allow to know the genetic resource of interest, carry out an adequate prospecting, protect the places of origin, work in accordance with the national and international legislation in force, initiate a program of selection and crosses, obtain a record of varietal protection, granting added value and putting it on the market.
He added that the project has already been working in Cajamarca, where the first species were detected, and in Huánuco. In addition, the aforementioned program will soon be developed in other regions.
Source: agraria.pe
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