A personal study of agriculture & natural resources in Peru

Natural resources, and the agricultural systems that are based on them, have long been Peru's blessing as well as the cause of much of the country's bad fortune. Peru is the place of origin for several of the world's most important crops, including the tomato and the potato. It also enjoys one of the highest levels of biodiversity in the world, as well as a variety of valuable minerals. These resources helped lead to the great achievements of the Incan empire but also to its collapse at the hand of the Spaniards who came looking for those same resources. It was for these reasons that I, as a student of natural resources and environmental management, a field that intimately ties scientific processes with human behavior, chose to study in Peru for two semesters in 2010. The following reflects on agriculture and natural resources in Peru as I experienced them, tying traditional research with personal anecdotes to find a balance somewhere between research paper and memoir.