The meritorious work being done by the Association of Small Farmers of Arica and Parinacota (APAAP) is a clear demonstration that the Chilean territory close to the border with Peru is not abandoned.
80 members of this guild produce fruits and vegetables three kilometers from the border of Peru, near Milestone 1 and the controversial land triangle, in a desert area that was previously plagued by thousands of antipersonnel mines and that is now coveted by Bolivia to have a sovereign exit to the sea.
They work in 350 hectares that form a garden that contrasts with the desert landscape, which will cater its products to the region and to all of Chile. Each farmer has 4 hectares, one of which is used as a greenhouse. In two years, they have already invested over 1,000 million pesos and are employing 450 people.
"We are part of the region’s history as we are changing a desert terrain used for war to a productive field that gives life in the middle of nowhere," said Claudio Godoy, a member of APAAP who harvest melons, green beans and passion fruit.
But how did producers achieve growing fruits and vegetables in the desert? Producers have sought for the most effective formulas since 2013. They’ve installed more than 10 kilometers of pipeline from the airport to supply water.
They store the water in a giant well they built in the middle of the land, and with the help of a petrol engine redirect the water to each of the lots. In total, 80 farmers use 12,000 cubic meters of water per month. "It would be ideal to go with solar energy, but to do that we need a subsidy," says Godoy.
To maximize resources, farmers apply drip irrigation, hydroponics systems, and other techniques. "It's been a huge effort of time and money. Years of sacrifice and investment, but now its paying off. We are proud to add value to an area of great geopolitical dispute, by using it in a useful way: exercising our sovereignty," said the president of APAAP, Niksa Bezmalinovic.
Source: elmorrocotudo.cl