World's population grows faster than food supply; thus, Peru is destined to become one of the greatest food-supplying nations, since it currently ranks among the top-ten most important agricultural product exporters, Agriculture and Irrigation Minister Juan Benites said.
"Just to get an idea, we [Peruvians] are number one exporters of asparagus, quinoa and maca. At global level, we hold the second spot in avocado sales, the third position among artichoke exporters; we rank fourth among pepper [exporters] and are the world's fifth largest grapes exporter," Benites told El Peruano official gazette.
"I consider the path is guaranteed to maintain an active agricultural development," he added.
Family farming in Peruvian highlands yields over 80% of food products consumed by national citizens, so it constitutes a source of permanent income for the country's most-remote rural areas.
60% of the total budget assigned to Peru's Agriculture and Irrigation Ministry (Minagri) has been allocated to this sector, Benites explained.
He praised the effort undertaken by the Government through Mi Riego program —the most important base for resources and irrigation infrastructure in Peru’s highlands— since it directly supports small producers relying on minimum plots of land.
"Even, in many cases, the use of technical irrigation was boosted in the highlands, which practically contributes to doubling productivity per hectare [...]," he expressed.
This initiative guarantees constant irrigation. It will allow producing families to rely on more than one harvest season every year, since they currently count on one.
(END) SDD/AVV/MVB
Published: 5/27/2016