Manioc Varietal Diversity, Social Networks, and Distribution Constraints in Rural Amazonia

Social exchange networks play a critical role in the maintenance and distribution of crop diversity in smallholder farming communities throughout the world. The structure of such networks, however, can both support and constrain crop diversity and its distribution. This report examines varietal dist...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current anthropology 2013-12, Vol.54 (6), p.764-770
Main Authors: Kawa, Nicholas C., McCarty, Christopher, Clement, Charles R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural management
Agricultural products
Agriculture, land tenure, rural space
Amazon
America
Anthropological research
Brazil
Caboclo
Cassava
Centrality
Communities
Community structure
Crop diversification
Crop diversity
Crops
Cultural Pluralism
Economics
Ethnology
Exchange Theory
Farming
Floodplains
Household management
Households
Knowledge
Manioc
Morphological source materials
Multiculturalism
Plant cuttings
Rural Areas
Rural Communities
Social exchange
Social networking
Social Networks
Social relations
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Summary:Social exchange networks play a critical role in the maintenance and distribution of crop diversity in smallholder farming communities throughout the world. The structure of such networks, however, can both support and constrain crop diversity and its distribution. This report examines varietal distribution of the staple crop manioc among rural households in three neighboringcaboclocommunities in Brazilian Amazonia. The results show that the centrality of households in exchange networks had no significant correlation with the number of manioc varieties maintained by households. However, household centrality did show a significant correlation with households’ perceived knowledge of manioc cultivation as well as the total area of manioc they cultivated. Although households with the most knowledgeable and active producers played a central role in the distribution of planting materials and manioc varieties, they did not maintain higher varietal diversity than more peripheral households in this study. This case study represents an important example of how social networks can constrain varietal distribution and contribute to low crop diversity in agricultural communities.
ISSN:0011-3204
1537-5382
DOI:10.1086/673528