Farmers from the guilds of Arequipa, Ica, Tacna, Moquegua, Puno, Ayacucho, Huancavelica, Apurimac, and Cusco announced that they will abide by a 48-hour macro-regional strike for this Thursday, November 24 and Friday the 25, in protest of the shortage of fertilizers for their crops.
The central government has committed itself on four different occasions to implement fertilizer-producing plants so we can acquire this input, but they haven't done anything to date, stated the president of the Regional Council, Orlando Huanqui Guerra.
In addition, they said, producers felt 'deceived' by the government after it intended to implement the fifth urea acquisition process, with only 43,000 tons for Peru when the demand amounts to one million tons.
Not only has the government not built any plants for the production of fertilizers in Moquegua and Cusco, but there's also been a constant change of ministers that hasn't allowed them to meet the needs of the agricultural sector, endangering the harvest campaign for the following year, Orlando Huanqui added.
According to the unions, the shortage of fertilizers has also led to an up to 20% increase in the price of essential goods.
According to La República, more than 75,000 farmers will participate in the 48-hour strike. Among other things, the protestors demand the government endorses the direct import of urea through the Agroperu Fund or Abrobanco, after the various failed purchasing processes from the Executive. They also demand the hydraulic infrastructure in this area of the country be strengthened, as the southern regions have been affected by drought this season.
They also demand the resignation of the Minister of Agrarian Development and Irrigation, Patricia Ocampo.
Source: infobae.com / larepublica.pe