The sector of the farming he also raises his voice. If before the pandemic the price per kilo of fertilizer bordering between S / 40 and S / 60, today the cost is more than triple that amount. Faced with the instability produced by the rising price of imported fertilizers in the agricultural sector for self-employed workers, this newspaper talked about it with the president of the Rímac Users Board, Pedro Orellano, a native of Ayacucho.
Orellano, who is also part of the national coordinator who has requested a meeting with the Agriculture and Irrigation office, met with related unions on Monday 22 at the Zootechnics Auditorium of the Agrarian University, in La Molina.
In the congress they held, in addition to the damage caused by the rise in prices of water resources such as water, they spoke about the existing concern about the lack of interest of the government of the day regarding agrarian policies.
It should be noted that the heads of the national coordinator in question are, in addition to Orellana, Nelson Martínez Talavera, who chairs the Pampa Majes, Arequipa Users Board, and Benito Fernandez Briones, head of the Mashcón River Minor Hydraulic Sector Users Board, Cajamarca.
What agreements did you reach in the congress that you organized with the unions of small and medium farmers?
Yesterday we had a face-to-face meeting with all the basins of our country. A national coordinator has been appointed, of which I am a member to be able to seek dialogue with the Minister of Agriculture (Víctor Maita), with the President of the Republic (Pedro Castillo) and the Prime Minister (Mirtha Vásquez), in order to work on the different problems that afflict us. One of them is the unbearable rise of all fertilizers.
In the statement that you released, you indicate that you invited the president to the convocation at the Agrarian University.
Yes. We had invited the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Agriculture to this meeting but, unfortunately, they did not attend. We have officiated our concern. We look forward to being served. We are aware of all these jobs (the busy schedule), but you must also understand that we need to talk, plan and work.
Why do you think there is a lack of interest, as stated in the statement, on the part of the current government for agriculture?
This is not recent. It comes from years. The governments of the day take agriculture as of little importance for the development of our country. However, it has been shown that in this COVID-19 it has been small and medium-sized entrepreneurs who have fed us. There has been no agrarian policy in this regard. It has been years of years and farmers are losing confidence in governments. There was a lot of expectation for the current government. However, through his minister (Víctor Maita) he does not dialogue, he does not approach. He prefers to dialogue with natural persons (farmers not attached to any union) who do not make him see reality. You have to know how to listen to everyone.
As previously said, last Monday they had a congress to express their demands. What diagnosis did they arrive at?
In the first place, it was analyzed that the Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, dialogues with individuals and non-institutional representatives. (These) do not represent the national boards. Another point is that, to date, we have no dialogue on the Second Agrarian Reform. We want to know and be part of the Second Agrarian Reform. In which part are we going to be able to participate? With this rise in fertilizers you cannot work. It has been evaluated that the S / 350 Bonus is not really far-reaching, because if the fertilizers are close to S / 200, how can it be subsidized, how can it work?
What are the unions that have been summoned for the next national strike?
The unions that participate are clearly small and medium farmers in our country. They are grouped in the boards of each region and each sector.
What are the proposed dates to carry out the national strike?
The dates will be scheduled by the Government itself through the ministry if we do not have an echo. We presented yesterday (11/22/2021) some proposals and we need to work and dialogue. If they turn a deaf ear to this invitation to coordinate and plan to develop, it forces us to take other actions. It is very unfortunate that the governments of the day have to sit down after an action.
Have you (the national coordinator) submitted a document to the Agriculture portfolio office?
That’s how it is. There we mentioned several points: one, that we sit down to talk with the true representatives of all the boards and not with natural persons. Two, that they meet with the spokespersons that are part of this National Coordinator. Three, we want to talk about the fertilizer hike. Four, the electoral process must be developed in all boards and commissions in a transparent manner. We must work talking, not imposing.
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Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
