🇵🇪 Perú frente a El Niño: sequía, inundaciones, calor y crisis alimentaria

🇵🇪 Peru Facing El Niño: Drought, Floods, Heat, and Food Crisis Peru faces the risk of a major El Niño phenomenon 🌊, with impacts that could surpass the disasters caused by the same event in 1983 and jeopardize the country's food security 🌾. Carlos Paredes, coordinator of the Sierra Productiva association, warns that "silent impacts" are already being felt in the countryside: the lack of cold 🥶 is preventing fruit trees from flowering and affecting the production of traditional foods, whose dehydration depends on frosts that this year are not occurring with the necessary intensity. The crisis also threatens one of the most dynamic drivers of small-scale agriculture 🚜: guinea pig farming. Currently, some 800,000 farming families depend on this activity, which generates an economic impact of approximately US$3.2 billion 💰 annually. The lack of rain 🌧️, extreme heat 🌡️, and the evaporation of water sources 💧 could cause an economic catastrophe if pasture and feed for these animals are not guaranteed. This is compounded by the threat to key crops such as coffee ☕ and cacao 🍫, produced by approximately 450,000 family farms that are currently facing drought without sufficient access to modern irrigation systems. Faced with this scenario, Sierra Productiva proposes technological solutions to protect small-scale farming. Among these, hydroponic green fodder 🌱 stands out, allowing for the production of feed for cattle and guinea pigs using only 2 liters of water 💧 per kilogram of feed, compared to the approximately 600 liters required for traditional alfalfa. They also promote the use of phytotunnels or rustic greenhouses, as well as the revival of air condensation technologies, inspired by both Nasca cultural knowledge and contemporary scientific advances. Despite the viability of these alternatives, Paredes questions the lack of political will to respond urgently to the crisis. While Congress prioritizes bonds and short-term disputes, the State continues to turn its back on the 2.3 million small-scale producers who guarantee the supply of domestic markets and who were the backbone of the country during the pandemic. In the absence of a robust state response and a common strategy in Latin America, grassroots organizations are called upon to lead a technological and productive resistance to prevent the country from repeating the tragedy of the famines of the 1980s.