The food supply would be reduced between the months of April and June, which would ultimately continue to deteriorate the food security of Peruvians, warns Eduardo Zegarra.
The ongoing agricultural campaign, which began in August 2022 and will run until July 2023, has been strongly affected by the severe drought that hit the mountains with special intensity from September to November, says the researcher and agricultural economist Eduardo Zegarra. For this reason, it projects that the agricultural harvest will fall by 23% in the first half of 2023.
Between August and November 2022, temporary crop plantings only reached 934,000 hectares, 23% less than in the same period of the previous campaign, according to the registry of the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (Midagri). It is observed that the most pronounced falls were registered in the south (-27%) and north (-25%), with particular intensity for the mountain regions.
Likewise, the drop in plantings per crop indicates a pattern of general affectation, but with greater intensity for Andean crops, such as quinoa, peas, beans, barley and starchy corn, explains the specialist.
“Transitory crop plantings have an impact on harvests after approximately 4 to 6 months. This is why by the first half of 2023 we will have a reduction in the food supply, especially those that come from the mountains,” Zegarra said. .
In this way, the area harvested in the current semester would have a drop of 23%, which will be felt more intensely between April and June of this year. If the lower yields expected due to the lack of water and fertilizers are added to this scenario, the economist suggests that we could reach a general drop in the aggregate supply of domestic market food of up to 30%.
Projection to 2023. Prepared by Eduardo Zegarra.
“This will definitely have effects on higher prices and difficulties for families (especially the most vulnerable) to be able to feed themselves adequately. If palliative measures are not taken and a comprehensive strategy for the food issue is initiated, this year the food security of millions of Peruvians will continue to deteriorate.”alerted the expert.
Source: Larepublica
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