• In November 2022, two pilot training courses for 28 rural women as master alpaca fibre classifiers were held in Cusco and Puno. In these courses, the competency standards designed by Ministry of Agrarian and Rural Development of Peru (MIDAGRI) were evaluated also.
• The support provided in this activity by Andes Resilientes to MIDAGRI is focused on promoting capacity strengthening and training of female master alpaca fibre classifiers, as well as ensuring the preliminary process for the future certification of the masters as extension workers and rural talents.

From 21 to 23 June 2023, with the participation of 7 master classifiers, the Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion (MTPE), the Ministry of Production (Instituto Técnológico de la Producción, PRODUCE), and the Technical Institute of Production (ITP), a workshop was held on the use of instruments for the evaluation of labour competency standards for the classification of alpaca fibre.

With the support of the Andes Resilientes project, this activity was organised by the General Directorate of Livestock Development (Dirección General de Desarrollo Ganadero, DGDG) of the Ministry of Agrarian and Rural Development of Peru, and Sierra y Selva Exportadora, which aims to certify and strengthen the capacities of master alpaca fibre classifiers in Puno and Cusco, incorporating climate adaptation criteria, for their insertion into the alpaca fibre labour market.

The workshop focused on the evaluation of 3 of the 4 labour competency standards for the alpaca fibre classifying occupational profile: i) labour competency standard in alpaca fibre fleece categorisation, ii) labour competency standard in alpaca fibre classifying, and iii) labour competency standard in quality assurance of classified alpaca fibre. With the validation of these 3 standards, the DGDG completes the requirements for the approval request and the creation of the labour competency standard on the classification of alpaca fibre by the MTPE.

From this approval, the approval process of the future certification will continue, which will facilitate the insertion in the local and regional alpaca fibre labour markets. Therefore, the income of the families led by certified masters will improve, and so will the income of the alpaca farming families, who will see, that the value of their inputs increases due to the added value that a classified and categorised fibre represents.

Relevant data:

• Around 98% of the alpaca fibre is marketed as raw fibre through intermediaries, without any value-added process. This means that the producers receive a lower price in the market.
• The categorisation and classification of the alpaca fibre are mainly carried out by master classifiers. The processes give added value to the fibre, increasing the sale price, better market conditions and income for the alpaca producers and organisations.
• Camelid breeding is the main agricultural activity in the high Andean zones above 4000 metres above sea level, and one of the value chains most at risk to the dangers associated with climate change due to the vulnerable ecosystems in which it is developed, and the technological, productive, economic and rural extension limitations, among others, along the entire chain.

Source: Andes Resilientes al Cambio Climático project

The Andes Resilientes al Cambio Climático project of the HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation-Fundación Avina consortium, implemented by the Swiss Cooperation SDC, supports the environment, agriculture and economic and social inclusion sectors in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru. The project supports MIDAGRI in the training of female master alpaca fibre classifiers, as part of the strengthening of rural extension services with value-added criteria of the alpaca fibre value chain, and as an adaptation measure (AGRI 15 and 17) of the sector’s Nationally Determined Contributions or Our Climate Challenge (Nuestro Desafío Climático, NDCs).

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