shower registered in the north of the country threaten not only the health and safety of Peruvians, but also the country’s economy, according to the National Agro-Peruvian Convention (Conveagro).
The increase in runoff caused the collapse of some irrigation canals of the river. farmlandflooding of plots and the ruin of part of agricultural production, but how does this affect the economy?
Conveagro warns that the rains have affected the production of food such as rice and lemon. The CEO of the Municipal Market Company, Antonio Rodriguez Mesa, notes that there is currently no shortage of food in Lima, but confirms that prices are already rising.
“There is an offer, we know that these damages cause havoc on the roads, but our merchants they translate Limon, the product of all these disagreements in the north of the country, we find between 8 and 9 salts (…) The influence of other products is relatively minimal because they come from the south of the country,” he said.
Earlier this week, the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (Midagri) reported that the prices of 80% of the main food items sold at wholesale markets have risen, but how important is the north to supplying the entire country with food?
Cristian Garay, Director General of Statistics, Policy Monitoring and Evaluation of Midagri, clarifies that the north of Peru provides 30.8% agricultural production in Peru and 14% of what Lima consumes.
“Out of every 100 foods we consume in Lima, 14 foods come from the north. Almost 60% of the rice entering Lima comes from Lambayeque,” he told RPP.
Garay noted that the consequences will largely depend on the duration of these weather conditions and their intensity.
“Crops that are concentrated on the north coast, such as rice, cotton, hard yellow corn, fruits like lemons, grapes, avocados and mangoes, will be affected,” he said.
Among the most important products produced in the north are lemon and rice. When riceAt the national level, the main producers of this food product are the departments of San Martin and Piura, one of the areas most affected by the rains.
Saul Nunez, spokesman for the Piura Rice Producers Association, believes that at least 2,000 hectares of production of this staple food, one of the most consumed in the country, have already been lost.
“They produce 65,000 hectares per year, averaging 10,000 kg per hectare. 20% are already affected, they are already irrevocable. We hope that the weather will not become more aggressive and we hope that 2,000 hectares (afflicted) will,” held.
Piura is also one of the main production regions lemonas they produce over 50% of these citrus fruits nationally.
Intense rains will not only affect farmers due to flooding of their farms and limited ability to transport harvested products, but also cause diseases in crops.
These intense rains can cause fungal diseases in crops such as cotton and rice, according to the National Civil Defense Institute (Indeci).
“When growing rice, there is a risk of presence disease fungus due to high relative humidity. Fungal diseases are caused by fungi, which are heterotrophic organisms and need to feed on living or dead decaying organic matter.“, they pointed out a few days ago.
For its part, Conveagro argues that the government should have met the budget to carry out measures to prevent this situation, since this is not the first time climate change has affected agriculture, as was mentioned in 2017, when this phenomenon was reported. led to the loss of hundreds of hectares and the destruction of access roads.
Source: RPP
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