Agricultural production remained in 2021 with 3.6%

The small agriculture still has great challenges and opportunities to be increasingly included within the agro-export chain. One way is to integrate small farmers to create platforms that work with cold chains that allow quality products to be brought to the world, said Mario Salazar from Frío Aéreo, at the seminar “Agribusiness and regional development” promoted by ComexPeru.

It should be taken into account that according to preliminary figures from the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (MIDAGRI), in 2021 agricultural production reached a production value of 3.6%, as in 2020, with S/ 22,611 million.

For his part, Milton von Hesse, director of Videnza Consultores, pointed to the modernization of this sector through the promotion of corporate agriculture. On the other hand, promote the exchange of knowledge to generate greater productivity. For example, a farmer who works temporarily in the field upon returning to his community of origin can implement what he learns in modern farming, this integration of knowledge can generate greater productivity and it is carried out in other countries successfully.

The associations and cooperatives they can be another way of decentralizing the agrarian sector. Alfredo Lira, CEO of Agrícola Cerro Prieto, points out that in Europe there are cooperatives that work like a company, with production fields, packaging and research centers. An example is the Las Palmas Cooperative in Spain, made up of 710 farmers and 800 hectares of crops, harvesting 73 thousand tons of fresh vegetables a year, becoming a pantry of the old continent. This could be replicated in our country by identifying certain regions and products where farmers can meet to implement this way of working.

Relevant figures

The agrarian sector had a participation level of 6.1% of the GDP as of 2020, which meant growth compared to recent years, where in 2017 it was 5.2% and in 2018 and 2019, 5.4%, according to the report of the Central Reserve Bank (BCRP).

There are three basic components for the development of agriculture that still have to be worked on, these are: use of certified seeds, only 10% of producers do so; technical training, and credit applications that only reached 10% according to the last National Agrarian Survey (2019), said Carolina Ramírez, director of Economic Studies at MIDAGRI.

More of 4 million people are employed in the agricultural sector in 2020this has meant growth compared to other years, however, this does not have a positive reflection on the labor income of people in this sector because there has been a decrease both at the rural and urban levels, a situation that is attributed to the context of the pandemic, Ramírez explained.