Some 3,500 hectares of essential crops in the unregulated area of the Chili River in Arequipa are about to be lost due to the lack of water and rains in the region, said Percy del Carpio Lazo, president of the Board of Users of the Chili-unregulated area Irrigation District.
The intense heat recorded in the city of Arequipa and the scarcity of water in the springs and waterholes in the south east has affected several hectares of crops and they are at risk of being lost, he said.
The leader of the farmers in the unregulated area said the water shortage has affected the productive development of the planted products, and that the plantings in other growing areas had dried up.
The lack of water in the unregulated area of Chili would affect the planting essential products, such as potatoes, beans, corn, peas, carrots, and animal feed.
The districts comprising the unregulated area of Chili are: Pocsi, Quequeña, Yarabamba, Mollebaya, Polobaya, Chiguata, Characato, Sabandía Socabaya (lower part), Hunter, Paucarpata, and Uchumayo.
50 percent of the 7,000 hectares of crops in the unregulated area are at risk of being lost due to the lack of water. Thus, farmers in the area have requested support from the regional management of Agriculture to address this situation.
Percy del Carpio said that, after learning about the presence of El Niño, they had requested Agriculture to carry out maintenance work on the irrigation infrastructure and to prevent the loss of water resources.
"We asked Agriculture to execute maintenance work on the intakes and irrigation canals in the south eastern part of Arequipa so as to prevent water loss but to no avail," said del Carpio.
Source: Andina