Agriculture in the central Andes of Peru is severely
limited by low temperatures and drought, and
most rural households depend on livestock for their
income. Rangeland sheep are economically the most
important species, and are used as a source of food,
as a means of obtaining goods through exchange,
and to generate cash through the sale of live animals
or wool. To a lesser extent they are also used for
cultural activities, recreation and tourism. Criollo
sheep represent 60 percent of the Peruvian sheep
population. They are mainly raised on family farms
and by individual farmers, who value the local breed
highly. A dual-purpose breed, developed from a cross
between Criollo sheep and Corriedale sheep imported
from Argentina, Australia, Chile, New Zealand and
Uruguay between 1935 and 1954, is also available.
Peasant farmers maintain both the Criollo and the
composite breed.
In this part of Peru, peasant communities have
organized themselves independently to improve the
management of their sheep, with little support from
the government. Multicommunal and communal
enterprises, cooperatives, as well as family and
individual farms, are common. Farmers exchange
genetic material, experiences and technologies.
Multicommunal and communal enterprises have
far higher production rates than individual farmers.
They have successfully set up participatory breed
improvement programmes based on open-nucleus
schemes, are technically efficient, keep their pastures
in good condition, and use some of their profits to
improve the social well-being of their members – for
example, by buying school materials, selling milk and
meat at reduced prices, and providing assistance to
the elderly.