Diego Pacheco

Peruvian engineer who revolutionized Andean agriculture through sustainable terracing techniques

Diego Pacheco (1908-1972) was an innovative Peruvian engineer whose agricultural innovations transformed farming in the Andes Mountains. Born in Cusco, he studied civil engineering at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, later working on restoration projects at Machu Picchu. Observing traditional Quechua farming methods, he developed the Pacheco Terracing System in the 1940s - a method combining ancient Inca techniques with modern engineering.

His system used layered stone walls and drainage channels to prevent soil erosion on steep slopes, doubling crop yields for potatoes and quinoa. By 1960, over 200,000 hectares in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador used his designs. Pacheco also pioneered the Andean Agricultural Cooperative model, which integrated smallholder farmers into collective irrigation systems.

His 1965 book Living with the Mountains became a manual for sustainable agriculture, influencing the FAO's 1970 Andean Development Program. Pacheco's work preserved ancestral knowledge while addressing food security, earning him the 1968 UNESCO Science Prize. Today, his terraces are visible near Machu Picchu and form the basis of Peru's agroecology curriculum.