Peru: UN Agency Supports Some 7,000 Farmers from El Niño Floods

New York (UN) – In the wake of the heavy rains, floods and landslides that hit Peru earlier this year, the United Nations agriculture agency said today that it is working with the Government to assist some 7,000 mostly small-scale farmers to restore their capacity to produce crops and feed their families.

Citing preliminary estimates, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said that adverse conditions caused by the coastal El Niño phenomenon from January to March had affected about 445,000 people in Peru’s worst-hit northern coastal areas – 59 per cent of affected households.

“According to Peru’s Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, more than 60,000 hectares of crops have been severely or partially affected and 18,000 hectares were left completely unusable,” FAO reported.

To address the situation, the Government approved the Agrarian Reactivation Plan with an investment of $76 million. FAO seeks to complement this by requesting some $3.1 million from the international community to support activities aimed at restoring family agriculture in the remote areas of Piura, Lambayeque and La Libertad.

“The FAO recovery project will provide the necessary inputs to establish orchards, recover irrigation infrastructure and provide technical assistance in animal health,” the UN agency explained.