Cultivating Diversity: Field Scattering as Agricultural Risk Management in Cuyo Cuyo, Department of Puno, Peru

Table 9.3
Disaster Threshold for Family B

(page 324)

Step 1: Annual Caloric Needs based on Family Age-Sex Composition

Individual Sex Age Daily kcal Requirement Notes
1 M 29 1997  
2 F 25 1798 Pregnant/Lactating
3 M 4 910  
4 F 1 -- Not included
Total     4705  

Family Daily Requirement = 4705 kcal

Annual Requirement = 1,717,325 kcal

 

Step 2: Time Spent Outside Community

B-1 travels to Maldonado for gold mining. From PSE time allocation study, B-1 spends 34.7% of year outside of the community.

Reducing his caloric requirement by 34.7%, (equivalent to a daily requirement of 1304 for him):

Family Daily Requirement = 4012 kcal

Annual Requirement = 1,464,380 kcal

 

Step 3: Purchased Foods

Reduce annual total by 24%:

Annual Requirement = 1,112,929 kcal

(page 325)

Table 9.3 (cont.)

Step 4: Calories Provided by Other Crops

Crop Field Area
(sq meters)		 Avg. Yield
(kg/ha)		 Kcal
Oca 162 8269 81,714
Illaco 0 5836 0
Isaño 0 6892 0
Habas 481 1162 84,397
Maize 105 930 12,597
Total     178,708

Subtract total calories provided by non-potato fields from requirement:

1,112,929 - 178,708 = 934,221 kcal

 

Step 5: Calories that must be Provided by Potato Fields

Amount of land in potato = 1046 sq m

Need 934,221/1046 = 893.14 kcal/sq m = 8,931,365 kcal/ha

Each kilo potatoes = 1000 kcal:

So minimum yield needed = 8931.37 kg/ha

 

This represents the disaster level for potato field production.