The Regional Directorate of Agriculture (DRA) reported that from January to November 2021, the agricultural production of Tacna experienced a growth of 1.3% compared to the same period in 2020. Olive crops have the highest percentage of hectares in the department.
Tacna remains as hehe first region that produces olive trees in Peru since ten years ago. It currently has a 70% share of national production. They are followed by Arequipa and Ica with 21% and 7% respectively.
According to the DRA registry, From 2011 to 2020, the olive production in Tacna increased by 124%, with its ups and downs in those years. His main problem in that period was overproduction and the drop in price in some of the campaigns.
In the 2021 campaign, the olive tree had a drop of -14% in its production, reporting 105 thousand 473 tons. In 2020, it had obtained 122 thousand 731 tons. Regarding exports, Tacna continues to lead the ranking among regions.
In the last ten years the national export of olives increased 177%going from 19 thousand tons in 2011, to 44 thousand tons in 2020. That year, more than half of the cargo sent abroad left Tacneño territory.
The border district La Yarada Los Palos, concentrates most of the land harvested from olive trees, with a production of 91%. It has 22,902 hectares of olive seedlings, of which 15,351 were harvested in 2020.
other paths
The growth of agricultural production in Tacna is due to the increase in demand for other products. Among them are orange, watermelon, yellow pepper, sweet potato, potato, onion, tomato and oregano.
Olga Cutipa is president of the Southern Fruit Growers Association, which has 85 members in the La Yarada Los Palos border district. She is one of the promoters of the export of oranges to Chile, a dream of farmers that motivates them to improve their crops.
Like many, Olga grew olive trees, but the variable price of the product, which fell sharply in 2019, led her to try other fruits. Agriculture -explains Olga- implies risks, some changes work and others fail.
It was thus, in an attempt to find a new product, that oranges arrived at La Yarada-Los Palos, a plant that after two years gives its first harvests for sale. According to the Agriculture report, orange was the product that grew the most in 2021, with a 126% growth in its offer.
The orange went from 7 thousand tons in 2020 to 16 thousand in 2021. The farmer explains that the demand also increased because it is a fruit that strengthens the immune system. The pandemic led families to turn to healthier eating.
In order for the Tacneña orange to be exported to Chile, it must go through a process that involves procedures, certifications and government support. The National Agricultural Health Service of Peru (Senasa) and its Chilean peers have the issue in their hands.
Each year these two institutions, in working groups, coordinate a list of exportable products. Olga explains that the Regional Agency for the Promotion of Innovation and Development supports them with market and pest risk studies.
Another product that has grown is the watermelon, 80%, going from 8 thousand tons in 2020 to 15 thousand a year later. During the export campaign that began in September 2020 to March 2021, 11,603 tons of watermelon were shipped to Chile.
Tacna became the country’s main watermelon exporter in 2018, and since then the figure has been variable. The territories with the largest crops are in the Valle Cinto (province of Jorge Basadre) and Magollo (Tacna), La Yarada Los Palos and Calana (Tacna).
problems for farmers
The problems facing agriculture in Tacna today are related to the high price of fertilizers, water resources and land sanitation. The first of these affects agriculture at the national level and agricultural organizations They have warned the Government that the rise will have an impact on the family basket.
over the water, La Yarada Los Palos uses underground wells for irrigation of crops but there is a ban that prevents the drilling of more wells due to the danger of marine intrusion into the aquifer that feeds those wells.
Source: Larepublica
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