Recetas con maíces criollos en la Patagonia

In Argentina, a significant loss of genetic diversity, especially of traditional crops and associated knowledge, is detected which is due to the replacement of local varieties by improved ones. However, there are groups of farmers and communities that conserve local populations and are interested in recovering traditional varieties of different crops. Through the project PR-154 “Conservación y uso sostenible de los recursos fitogenéticos locales para la alimentación y la agricultura (RFAA) para contribuir a la seguridad alimentaria de los pequeños agricultores de Argentina”supported in the 4^th project cycle of the Benefit-sharing Fund (BSF) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources (ITPGRFA) of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); different actions related to in situ conservation and sustainable use of local PGRFA have been supported by family farmers in the Northwest, Northeast and Northern Patagonia of Argentina.

The project activities focused on the conservation and use of local varieties of potatoes, beans and maize-crops that play a central role in the world's food supply, particularly for some vulnerable communities. The germplasm conserved in INTA's banks and in the territory has also been characterized and evaluated by producers, in order to make adapted materials available to local conditions and contribute to the diversification of cropping systems.

Coordination between farmers, seed guardians and institutions succeeded in establishing networks for the conservation and circulation of native maize seeds and their value as “human food”. In this way, in situ conservation enabled both access to a strategic common good and the interaction of its associated knowledge among the producing families themselves.

This recipe booklet proposes to share a fragment of those customs rooted in the knowledge/know-how about the culinary uses of maize based on the testimonies collected in the Confluencia region. The recipes shared here therefore offer a recognition of traditional cooking habits and are also an invitation to revitalize the culinary traditions of local gastronomy.