Over the past decades, the general trend towards shade reduction and intensification of cacao management has led to biodiversity losses. In the Peruvian Amazon, the regional government is heavily promoting crop conversion to shift from regionally marketed foods towards cacao (Theobroma cacao) and copoazu (Theobroma grandiflorum). While this shift is already visibly impacting the farming landscape and the lives of many smallholder farmers, little is known about the reasons that drive farmers to choose certain types of Theobroma species or cacao varieties over others. In this paper, we addressed how cacao farmers perceive and manage specific and varietal Theobroma diversity. We interviewed cacao farmers (n = 20) during a seed-exchange fair and adapted a version of the four-square analysis to explore which Theobromas are currently adopted by farmers and why. The native cacao variety (cacao chuncho) was the one cultivated by most farmers, followed by the more industrial clonal varieties. The source of seeds and seedlings for the most cultivated varieties was a mix of donations by public institutions (for clonal varieties) and informal exchange among farmers (mainly for native and criollo varieties, and species i.e. macambo (Theobroma bicolor) and cacauillo (Theobroma speciosum)). The cacao varieties incentivized by public institutions were the least desired for future investment. The motivations for farmers to plant Theobromas was mainly based on the perceived current and potential market, but their desire to invest in a given species or variety was also based on pest resistance, traditional use, farm diversification and taste. Copoazu and CCN cacao varieties are produced by many households in large areas, while macambo, cacauillo and the cacao varieties TSH and porcelana are produced by few households in small areas. Our study suggests that agroforestry systems that include alternative Theobroma species are multi-strata and more diverse than cacao-based systems. It highlights the risks of agrobiodiversity loss associated with the promotion of industrial cacao varieties, and the importance of seed and seedling access for the development of diverse farming systems. We recommend the expansion of local seed-sharing networks and the extension of public cacao-donation campaigns to neglected and underutilized Theobromas with socio-economic and environmental benefits, in order to make the local farming systems more diverse and resilient.

在过去的几十年中，减少阴影和加强可可管理的总体趋势已导致生物多样性的丧失。在秘鲁的亚马逊地区，地方政府正大力促进农作物的转化，从区域销售的食品转向可可（Theobroma cacao）和可可豆（theobroma grandiflorum）。尽管这种转变已经明显地影响着农业景观和许多小农户的生活，但对于促使农民选择某些类型的可可瘤或可可品种而不是其他种类的原因知之甚少。在本文中，我们探讨了可可农民如何感知和管理特定的和各种的可可瘤多样性。我们种子交换展会期间采访了可可的农民（N = 20）和改编版本的四方形的分析，探讨其Theobromas目前由农民，为什么采纳。本地可可品种（可可春草）是大多数农民耕种的品种，其次是更工业化的克隆品种。种苗的栽培最多的品种的来源是公共机构的捐赠（用于克隆的品种）和农民（主要为原生之间的非正式交流的混合和克里奥品种，品种即macambo（可可双色）和cacauillo（可可speciosum））。由公共机构激励的可可品种是未来投资中最不希望的。农民种植可可作物的动机主要是基于当前和潜在的市场，但他们对特定物种或品种进行投资的愿望也基于对害虫的抵抗力，传统用途，农场的多样化和口味。Copoazu和CCN可可品种由大面积的许多家庭生产，而Macambo，cacauillo和TSH和porcelana可可品种很少在小区域生产。我们的研究表明，包括替代可可瘤的农林业系统物种是多层次的，比基于可可的系统更多样化。它强调了与工业可可品种的推广相关的农业生物多样性丧失的风险，以及种子和幼苗获取对发展多种农业系统的重要性。我们建议扩大当地的种子共享网络，将公共可可捐赠运动扩大到被忽视和利用不足的可可，具有社会经济和环境效益，以使当地的耕作制度更加多样化和更具韧性。