Gabriel Amaro, president of the Peruvian Association of Agricultural Producers' Guilds (AGAP), told RedagrÃcola that Peru continued its agricultural development. He also emphasized the importance of directing production towards high-value crops, such as cherry, which until recently seemed unlikely to be grown in the country.
Amaro stated that the last 20 years have revolutionized Peruvian agriculture thanks to a combination of elements. "I always say that the planets aligned. It was very difficult because we needed many things to happen for agriculture to emerge, but they happened. Agriculture is a large and complex sector, so we're not just talking about one factor, but several," he said.
The Constitutional change in the nineties was fundamental to this development, Amaro stated. "The Constitution's equal treatment of domestic and foreign investment, legal security for land tenure... and, most importantly, the Agrarian Promotion Law were vital for the development of agriculture. The Agrarian Promotion Law has been one of the few laws created to help an economic sector emerge," he said.
These strategies have positioned Peru as a leader in table grape and blueberry markets.
"Some products, such as grapes and asparagus, are already consolidated and must continue to evolve: new varieties for new market niches. There also are crops that are already emerging, such as pitahaya. Pecan is another example. We are waiting for an announcement this week regarding its access to the Chinese market. And it's all small-scale agriculture, so If the Chinese market opens up, there will be a pecan boom in Peru. It's a crop that lasts decades and, like all agriculture, requires regulation and long-term public policy to develop," he said.
Cherry, however, is the crop attracting the most attention. "Peru has the conditions to grow it. It has all the climates and inter-Andean valleys where it can develop. So what do we need? First, access to markets, which we have already requested. We also need access to genetic material. We are asking for access to genetic material from the United States, for example; we already have it from Chile," Amaro stated. "Many producers are carrying out test trials with cherry, so I am sure that in the next few years, we'll start competing with this crop," he said.
Thus, the cherry could become the new blueberry. However, Amaro said, producers are also testing other crops, such as raspberries and kaki.
Source: redagricola.com