Government will disburse a new bonus for small farmers so that they can buy fertilizers.
The delivery of this reinforcement of the Fertiabono It is aimed at those producers who have farms of less than 5 hectares and ranges from S/470 to S/2,350.. The amount will depend on the number of hectares of each farmer.
However, in some regions it is not clear how many will benefit from this new subsidy.
Daniel Lozada, president of the Agricultural Society of Arequipa (SADA)said to The Republic that the Ministry of Agrarian Development was putting together a register, despite the fact that the irrigation boards already have a list. Also, he said that the elaboration is at 30% and had errors. “There were many vices in that pattern,” he said.
According to the ministry’s register, only 47 farmers received the bonus, since it was implemented last year.
He also described the norm as discriminatory, since a farmer who owns 7 hectares is also considered small. “In Arequipa, 99.9% of farmers are medium and small,” he asserted.
In progress
According to the president of the Water Users Board, Lucio Challco, not even 30% of farmers from Cusco will receive the bonus because they were not registered. “Cusco has not been fully registered to receive this bonus, because the Ministry did not hire personnel for it (…) so we do not have access to that bonus,” he said.
The leader assured that more than 85,000 farmers within his organization were not registered. They come from provinces such as Calca, Urubamba, Canchis, Anta, Quispicanchis, Cusco and Paucartambo.
In Tacna
According to Ceneagro of 2012, Tacna has 11,656 parcels with an extension of up to 5 hectares. That would be the number of farmers who would benefit. The purpose of the subsidy is to support the purchase of chemical fertilizers such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
The technical secretary of the Tacna Users’ Board, Guido Bermejo Sardónwelcomed the government’s decision, but warned that it will not be enough to improve the difficult moment that agriculture is going through because of the rise in fertilizers and the political crisis that affects the production process.
He explained that due to the high cost of fertilizers in 2021, there are 18% of agricultural areas that have not been cultivated for the 2022-2023 campaign. These are areas destined for potatoes, squash, corn; and other products whose growing cycle is six months.
Farmers decreased irrigation
According to Daniel Lozada, due to the lack of rain and, therefore, low water storage in the dams, farmers continue to reduce irrigation on their plots. “The losses will be monstrous. We calculate that with the blockades, the lack of water, the damage is 4 million soles per day”.
This calculation is based on the start of the protests.
Source: Larepublica
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