Peru: Potato production chain advances in Amazonas, Cajamarca, and La Libertad

With the aim of improving living conditions and strengthening productive capacities, primarily in potatoes and corn, the Rural Agrarian Productive Development Program (Agro Rural) has been implementing, since February 2023, the project "Improving the organization, associativity, and market inclusion of small and medium-sized producers in Amazonas, Cajamarca, and La Libertad," with an investment of S/16,388,862.

The project, which will run until December 2026, will benefit 2,614 families. Thus, in 2025, the budget execution totaled S/. 10,558,053, with a physical progress of 57.7% and a budget execution of 65.7%.

Its main objective is to improve small and medium-sized producers’ access to regional markets with quality agricultural products, with an emphasis on potato and corn crops, pillars of national food security.

The project also promotes the active participation of 1,045 rural women, who contribute their experience and leadership in the management of their organizations, contributing to the social and economic development of their communities.

In this way, through technical exchange between agricultural engineers and beneficiary producers, validated technological packages are being applied to improve corn yields and optimize cultivation, fertilization, and pest control processes.

Currently, 132 agricultural organizations are actively participating in the project’s activities, which include organizational and planning strengthening, technical training to increase yields, and the development of products with commercial potential.

In the three regions, 46 demonstration corn plots were established, allowing small farmers to be trained in the correct cultivation, fertilization, and pest control processes.

Through the "Potato and Corn" project, the quality of the corn crop has been improved and the average yield has been exceeded, with 1,215 producers working in this chain achieving between 1.3 and 4 tons per hectare of the INIA 603 Corn and INIA 601 Purple Corn varieties, respectively.

The Agro Rural program recognizes the producers who make it possible for these products to reach our tables. Their efforts, from the heights of the mountains to the markets of our cities, reflect the true value of work in the fields: sowing hope, harvesting a future, and feeding Peru.