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How did the Inca government organize food production, storage, and distribution?

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A group of Native American men in colorful traditional regalia with feathered headdresses dance outdoors at a powwow ceremony on a grassy field. — Indigenous peoples of the Americas Performers at a Canadian powwow, c. 2008.

The Inca government managed food production, storage, and distribution through a highly organized, state-controlled system that leveraged the labor of its subjects and the unique Andean environment.12

Food Production

Rather than a traditional tribute system, the Inca state relied on the mit’a system, where households provided labor as a form of tax. Peasants worked on state-run agricultural projects, such as the large-scale corn production in the Cochabamba Valley, where different ethnic groups were assigned specific plots to cultivate. The state also utilized advanced irrigation works to maximize agricultural output, producing significant surpluses.341

Storage and Preservation

The Inca utilized the extreme temperature fluctuations of the high Andes to preserve food. By exposing animal and vegetable tissues to intense daily cycles of tropical sun and arctic frost, they created long-lasting products like chuño (processed tubers) and charqui (jerky). These reserves were kept in thousands of state-built warehouses, strategically located along the extensive Inca highway system to support armies, porters, and priests.25

Distribution

Surplus crops were apportioned by the state according to a standard formula among the government, the church, and the populace. These stores were essential for compensating for natural calamities and sustaining the state's military and administrative activities.12