Traditional supply market in Sinchimache (Peru): characteristics, importance and challenges

características, importancia y desafíos

Abstract

In Peru, as in other Latin American countries, traditional supply markets play a very important role for the economy and for feeding the population. The objective of this study is to analyze the traditional supply market of the town of Sinchimache (Cutervo - Cajamarca - Peru), understanding its transformations over the decades and its current characteristics, as well as the importance and challenges of this commercialization space. In methodological terms, a bibliographic review and a systematization of secondary data were carried out, as well as field work in the market. In total, 25 interviews were completed with 14 consumers and 11 vendor farmers, conducted between November 2021 and January 2022. The market has approximately 100 families that participate in the commercial activity, 80 of whom are farmers from different communities and from neighboring farmhouses. Despite the structural and organizational challenges, the traditional Sinchimache market benefits producers and consumers, contributing to the food and nutritional security of the local population, as it is the main space for food acquisition, as well as an important (for some the only) source of income for commercial farmers.