Peruvian Growers Urged to Seek Potato Niche
Tubers for Specialty Market Seen as Path Out of Poverty
An Andean potato farmer prepares a pachamanca, or "earth oven." Jon Miller/Worlds of Difference hide caption
Agronomists and economists for years have told farmers in developing countries that to break out of poverty, they need to get more of their produce to market.
Potato farmers in the Peruvian Andes followed that advice -- only to see the price for potatoes collapse. Now they're being told to grow specialty crops for high-end niche markets.
As part of Worlds of Difference, a series on global cultural change, Jon Miller traveled to the highlands of Peru, where farmers in one community are trying to decide whether to take the plunge.