Amazon Chibata: Aria - A Food Alternative to Combat Food Insecurity in the Brazilian Amazon Amid Climate Change

Overview

In 2023, the Brazilian Amazon had the worst drought in history. People from the rural and indigenous areas suffered from many problems, especially hunger. In search of a food alternative from the local sociobiodiversity, we encountered the ariá (Goeppertia allouia), also know as “sweet corn root” or “topitambo”, a native tuber of the Amazon, that has archeological consumption evidence of 9,000 years. But nowadays it is barely consumed. This project aims to revitalize the use of ariá by analyzing its nutritional composition and promoting its potential as food source. The project encompassed four phases: 1. transforming unused sports fields into agroforestry systems to cultivate ariá, 2. conducting laboratory analyses to determine its complete nutritional profile, 3. implementing urban gardens initiative featuring ariá alongside other vegetables to promote biodiversity, and 4. revitalization of the use of ariá by increasing cultivation among the local population. As a result of these phases the ariá was introduced in three urban gardens and nutritional assessments revealed that ariá contains all nine essential amino acids, minerals (Ca, Fe, K, P) and vitamins (B3, C). With a carbohydrate content of 19.7 g/100 g and a caloric value of 83.2 kcal/100 g. This research aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2 - Zero Hunger, 3 - Good Health and Well-being, and 15 - Life on Land. Fortunately, what enforces the study is that the dry season of the region coincides with the harvest period of the tuber. So we propose that the ariá becomes an alternative against food insecurity coming from the own Amazon sociobiodiversity.

Competition history

• ISEF 2025 Biomedical and Health Sciences · Entry BMED003

Resources

• ISEF abstract page ↗

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