Water shortages threaten agriculture in southern Peru
The agro-exporters in Ica are going to see some of their business dreams come true in the next three years: a modern port in Pisco, where they can send out their products without having to first travel 300 kilometers to Callao. Two years from now, another wish will be fulfilled, when improvements to the Panamericana Sur will help to boost shipping logistics in the region.
However the third dream held by many Ica-area exporters is, without doubt, even more urgent— they want public works projects that would improve the distribution of water in the principal agricultural zones of the region. And in this case, there’s still no firm answer. Even though discussions about joint public-private ventures have been talked about by the Central Government, those words aren’t doing much for Ica— they need concrete information.
As many sources in the agro-export business have told El Comercio, the consequence of this [uncertainty about water projects] has been the paralyzation of new investment in the area over the past few years. No one wants to spend a single sol more until water stops being a giant question mark for Ica farmers.
“Since 2008, we’ve known that water was a problem. We made the decision to stop growing, and started buying land further north. We’re also growing in Arequipa and Moquegua,” said Lionel Arce, general manager of Beta Agroindustrial Complex, a company that owns 1,500 hectares of land in Ica.
The Agrokasa company, which has been operating in Ica for 20 years, has taken similar actions. “We’re not growing in the Ica area, so we’re expanding into the north, in Barranca,” said company president Jose Chlimper.
Fernando Cilloniz, agriculture consultant for Inform@ccion, added that large agricultural companies in Ica are leaving their fields empty, since there’s no guarantee that they’ll be water for cultivation.
Water Stress
Hydric stress is a problem that gets bigger every year in the three main zones for agro-exports, in Ica and the Lanchas and Villacuri pampas. The majority of the water is stored in wells, but every year the level of water descends at a rate of one meter or one and a half meters, because the river water brought in to replenish the wells isn’t quite enough, explained the Vice Minister for Agricultural and Irrigation Infrastructure Development, Jorge Montenegro.
Ica is the best place in the country for growing asparagus, due to its geographical conditions. That’s how Ica became an agro-export hub, when, in 2000, 400 hectares were cultivated. Some are now asking for a change, saying that asparagus is too demanding in terms of water to continue growing.
“Asparagus is known for being the crop that consumes the most water, and that does vary from crop to crop and farmer to farmer. It sounds like a lie, but there are still farmers in Ica who irrigate using just gravity, and flooding,” commented Chlimper.
In response to the water question, Agrokasa has been following a strategy since 2005 that involved investing US$2 million in new and different irrigation techniques, including a two-reservoir system that helps to gather water from the Ica River when it’s at its highest flow.
Ica agro-exporter Pablo Buendia, the president of the Subterranean Water Users of Ica Junta (Jusavi) says that there’s been a progressive change to growing crops that use less water [than asparagus]. Grains and quinoa have appeared on the scene, said Buendia. “At one point, in the Ica Valley, there were 10,000 hectares of asparagus, and now it’s around 6,000. Of course, some of this is due to aging, but it is true that water use is a determining factor when farmers are choosing crops,” explained Buendia.
Source: www.peruthisweek.com