On Thursday, CNN in Spanish met with Peruvian entrepreneurs in the agribusiness sector to discuss various points, such as their current situation and the challenges they will face in the coming years. The meeting was held in the premises of the University of ESAN.
Samuel Dyer, Chairman of the Board of the D&C Group (Camposol); Cesar Zorrilla Wong, CEO of Organic Sierra and Selva; Jorge Montenegro, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation; and economist Marco Antonio Vinelli, attended the meeting.
Regarding the sector's situation, Samuel Dyer said Peru had competitive advantages and a good legal framework, such as the law of agrarian promotion, which helped small, medium, and large producers.
Meanwhile, Cesar Zorrilla said that Peru could position itself as one of the top five suppliers of food worldwide.
In addition, he said, the sector is expected to become one of the engines of growth of the Peruvian economy in the following years.
Challenges
Regarding the challenges or obstacles faced by agribusiness, Cesar Zorrilla said their main problem were the roads' infrastructure because it generated costs and often prevented their products from reaching certain areas in the country, as they had no roads or highways.
Additionally, there are many traffic accidents due to the ravines and the poorly marked roads. Another obstacle is the lack of sanitation that affects the competitiveness of many farmers and entrepreneurs and delays their opportunities of selling in larger international markets.
In turn, Samuel Dyer said they needed more international airports, fast access highways, and modern ports so that entrepreneurs could export their goods from anywhere in the country without having to go to the port of Callao or to the Jorge Chavez airport.
Achievements
Jorge Montenegro, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, said the current management had achieved several developments, such as the water issue. He said that the coast had more than 80% of the water use rights that are transferred to the legal authority, whereas in the mountain they had 30% and only 5% in the jungle.
"Our goal is that this right is granted at 100% at the national level. That's what the National Water Authority has been doing," said Jorge Montenegro.
He also emphasized that they have opened several markets, such as China, to export avocados to a market with 1,600 million people. He also spoke about products such as mango, asparagus, and grapes, among others. "We want to stop being one of the last drivers of growth (as a sector) and become the first ones," said Montenegro.
Source: peru21.pe