Chapter 10. Farming and forestry

1.1. Contribution of the farming sector to gross domestic product, exports and employment

The farming sector continues to be important to Peru’s economy owing to its economic contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) and exports; its social functions, chiefly the creation of jobs and livelihoods in general; and its contribution to food security and to protecting agrobiodiversity, as it belongs to a region that is the centre of origin of crop plants currently known worldwide.

The combined GDP of the agriculture, hunting, forestry and fisheries sectors was estimated at USD 11.3 million in 2014 (at constant 2010 prices), or 6.2% of Peru’s GDP (ECLAC, n/d). Over the 2003-2014 period, real sector GDP grew at an average annual rate of 3.8%, below the total GDP rate of 6%. The fastest-growing subsector was livestock (5.4%), followed by agriculture (3.2%) and fisheries (2.0%) (Central Reserve Bank of Peru, n/d).

In 2014, agricultural exports, including agribusiness exports, totalled USD 7.978 billion, or 20.7% of total export value. The main exports were unroasted coffee, onions, fresh grapes, fish oil (except liver oil) and fresh and chilled asparagus. In the same year, the biggest markets for Peru’s agricultural and agribusiness exports were the European Union (32.1%), the United States (22.4%), Latin America and the Caribbean (14.8%) and China (13.2%) (United Nations, n/d). The main agricultural export is coffee, and Peru is the world’s leading exporter of asparagus, quinoa and organic bananas. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in export sales of dairy products, citrus fruits, avocados and cocoa. While ecological diversity offers potential for crop diversification and for specialisation in products with a high unit value, the existing constraints on mass production should not be overlooked.

In 2014, a total of 26.6% of Peru’s employed population was working in the farming sector, down from 35.2% in 2001 (ECLAC, 2015). In absolute terms, the sector employed around 4 million people in 2014 (INEI, n/d).

1.2. Dual development

According to Peru’s latest agricultural census, in 2012 there were more than 2.2 million production units, spanning 38.7 million hectares (or 30.1% of Peru’s total area) (INEI, 2013). The highland region accounted for the largest proportion of this total, with 57.5% (22.3 million hectares), followed by the rainforest region, with 31.1% (12 million hectares) and, lastly, the coastal region, with 11.5% (4.4 million hectares).

In the period between the last two agricultural censuses (1994 and 2012), the number of farms increased by 26.8%, considerably more than the 9.5% increase in agricultural area. This gap reflects the increasing dualism of agriculture throughout the inter-census period, which is even more evident when examining the data on farm size, and allows three conclusions to be drawn. First, there was a rise in the number of smallholdings, with the number of production units under 5 hectares in size rising much more than the area they covered. Second, concentration in large farms intensified, with the number of large farms decreasing in parallel with an increase in the area they covered. While the number of medium-sized farms (5 hectares to 49 hectares) and the area they covered decreased, their average size remained largely unchanged (Table 10.1). Growth in the number of smallholdings creates environmental pressure because of the more intensive use of land, while growth in large farms has an environmental impact because of the increased use of agrochemical inputs typically associated with commercial farming.

1.3. Growth in agricultural area

A total of 18.4% (7.1 million hectares) of all farmland is used for cultivation (compared with 15.5% in 1994), including temporary crops (4.9 million hectares), permanent crops (2 million hectares) and associated crops (230 000 hectares). The remaining 81.6% (31.6 million hectares) includes natural pastures (18 million hectares), woodland and forest1 (10.9 million hectares) and other types of land use (2.7 million hectares).

Most of the arable land is found in the highlands (46.3%), followed by the Peruvian Amazon region (30.1%) and the coastal region (23.7%). The average size of farms is 4.8 hectares on the coast, 4.7 hectares in the Amazon and only 2.3 hectares in the highlands. A comparison of the data collected for the last two agricultural censuses (1994 and 2012) shows that arable land increased by 30% (rising by a total of 1 648 000 hectares, from 5 477 000 hectares in 1994 to 7 125 000 hectares in 2012).

The most important permanent crops in terms of area are: coffee (425 400 hectares); plantain (145 700 hectares); cocoa (144 200 hectares); avocado (65 700 hectares); grape (43 800 hectares); asparagus (39 600 hectares); mango (39 000 hectares); oil palm (26 700 hectares); orange (22 500 hectares) and cherimoya (18 100 hectares). The main temporary crops are: potato (367 700 hectares); hard yellow maize (261 600 hectares); soft maize (240 800 hectares); rice (167 100 hectares); sugar cane (141 600 hectares); yucca (94 600 hectares); sweetcorn (66 000 hectares); fodder oat (51 300 hectares); broad bean (45 800 hectares) and barley grain (45 400 hectares). The main managed pasture crops are: signal grass (Brachiaria decumbens) (170 200 hectares); alfalfa (156 000 hectares); bread grass (Brachiaria brizantha) (139 300 hectares); rye grass (44 400 hectares) and elephant grass (22 300 hectares). These 20 crops and 5 grasses cover 41.9% of the agricultural area and include temporary, permanent and associated crops.

In the inter-census period, the biggest increase in planted area was for coffee, which grew by 109.6% (222 400 hectares), and cocoa, which grew by 195.5% (95 400 hectares). This means that, in 2012, more than 50% of the coffee-growing area and more than 66% of the cocoa-growing area had been planted after 1994. This increase occurred mainly at the expense of forest cover.

Although the Peruvian agricultural census collected no data on the area allocated to livestock production, this may have expanded considerably because livestock has been a fast-growing subsector over the past decade (section 1.1). What the census does provide is information on the number of livestock per species. The following changes were recorded between the last two censuses: (i) a variation in the stock of the main species, specifically a 12% increase in cattle, a 32% decrease in sheep and a 2% decrease in pigs; (ii) a variation in camelid stock (a 49% increase in alpacas and a 26% decrease in llamas); (iii) a significant increase in small livestock (the guinea pig population increased by 80% and the poultry population, by 58%).

1.4. Structure of land tenure

The structure of land tenure in Peru points to great inequality. At one extreme, 67.9% of all farms occupy an area of less than 3 hectares and cover only 3.5% of all farmland. At the opposite extreme, 1% of units exceed 100 hectares and cover 77% of the total. The situation is much the same with arable land: 68.4% of farms are smaller than 3 hectares and cover 15% of the cultivated area, while 0.5% of farms are larger than 100 hectares and cover 34% of area. Inequality is evident in terms of the average size of arable farms: 68% occupy an area of less than 1.1 hectares (22.6% are less than 0.2 hectares), while 0.5% cover an average area of 211.6 hectares (Table 10.2).

This land tenure structure favours intensive farming, thus causing a range of environmental effects, especially on soil. In addition, the smaller the unit, the higher the percentage of area used for agriculture: 80% of units cover an area of less than 3 hectares and only 8% cover more than 100 hectares.

1.5. Importance of common land tenure

Common ownership of land by officially recognised indigenous communities and farming communities (comunidades campesinas) is the most widespread form of land tenure, accounting for 60% of the total, while 36% is owned by individuals. Only 11% of total arable land is communally owned, while 83% is owned by individuals. In contrast, 71.7% of land not used directly for growing crops is communally owned, as compared with 25.9% owned by individuals. In addition, more than 95% of the land owned by farming communities and nearly 100% of the land owned by indigenous communities is not used for growing crops (Table 10.3).

1.6. Participation of women and older persons in agriculture

The number of women working in the agricultural sector doubled over the 1994-2012 inter-census period, while the number of men increased by only 14.2% (INEI, 1994). This growth in the agricultural population was accompanied by an improvement in some sociodemographic variables, including education, although women and some age groups continue to suffer shortcomings. Over the same period, the number of farmers having completed secondary education increased from 7% to 15%, although the level of education varied widely according to age. Farmers aged 24-35 have more years of education than those aged 45-54, and many more years than those over the age of 65. In addition, there is a severe imbalance between the educational levels of men and women: 28% of women working in the agricultural sector are illiterate, compared with only 9% of men.

The agricultural population has aged in recent years. In 2012 it was composed primarily of people aged 45-54 and over 65, while in 1994, the largest age cohort was 35-44. This reflects the general pattern of demographic change in rural Peru over the past two decades. There has been an increase in the number of farmers over the age of 65, who currently account for 19% of the total.

1.7. Use of technology and interregional differences

There are marked differences in technological advancement between arable farms growing crops for export and other types of farm, as well as between regions, especially between the coast and the highlands. On the coast, greater use is made of certified seed and seedlings, chemical fertilisers and insecticides, herbicides and fungicides than in other regions, as coastal farmers practise a more modern form of agriculture with heavier reliance on agrochemical inputs. In contrast, biological pest control and organic manuring are used much more widely in the highlands, which is associated with more traditional, organic agricultural practices. In the rainforest, much less use is made of chemical fertilisers, insecticides and fungicides than in the other regions. Little use is made of electrical power in any of the regions, although it is greatest on the coast (Table 10.4).

1.8. Development of the forestry sector

Forests are Peru’s main terrestrial ecosystem and cover approximately 57% of its surface area. According to the national vegetation cover map,2 the Amazon tropical rainforest is the most extensive type of forest, covering 53.9% of Peru’s total area, followed by dry forest (3%) and Andean forest (0.2%). The Amazon tropical rainforest covers an area of 69 million hectares and is found in 15 of Peru’s 24 departments, as well as in the constitutional province of Callao.

Peru has the second largest area of Amazonian forest in the world, the fourth largest area of tropical forest and the ninth highest cover of forest in general. Forest ecosystems provide services of great economic and social importance. Much of the Amazon tropical rainforest is inhabited by indigenous communities (11.5 million hectares) or is a protected natural area (18.2 million hectares). Around 27% of Amazonian forests have no recognised legal status, nor have rights been granted, thus limiting the potential for legal and sustainable harvesting.

Development of the forestry sector falls far short of its potential in terms of surface area and biodiversity. In fact, Peru is a net importer of forest products, thanks to low levels of industrialisation and value added in the sector. The area under commercial plantation is still very small, and less than half of the exploitable forest area is under an operating concession.

In recent decades, economic activity in the forestry sector has focused mainly on primary processing of wood products to produce low-value-added sawn wood (575 261.5 cubic metres).

Although Peru has an estimated reforestation potential of 9 463 251 hectares, no major progress has been made to date. As of 2013, the reforested area totalled 1 042 080 hectares (MINAM, 2014a).

2.1. Greenhouse gas emissions

According to the 2009 inventory, the farming sector is the direct cause of 19.5% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, two main sources of which are methane generated by enteric fermentation (42.6%) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) and other pollutants from soil cultivation (47.2%) (MINAM, 2014b). In addition, GHG emissions attributed to land use, land-use change and forestry accounted for 40.8% of registered emissions in 2009, revealing the scale of deforestation taking place in Peru.

2.2. Deforestation

Despite the importance of Peru’s forests, they have shrunk in size and are suffering degradation. In 2000, Amazon rainforest covered 55.1% of the country’s total area but, by 2013, this had fallen to 53.9% (MINAM, 2014a). The cumulative loss of Amazonian forest over the 2000-2011 period is estimated at 1 172 648 hectares. Intensification of degradation led to annual average losses of Amazonian forest of 82 236 hectares in 2000-2004, 108 183 hectares in 2004-2008 and 136 913 hectares in 2008-2011 (MINAM, 2014b).

Farming is the main direct cause of more than 90% of deforestation. Between 1994 and 2012, there was a 9.5% increase in farmland (around 3.3 million hectares) (Table 10.5). This stemmed mainly from felling and burning of forests, especially in dispersed, small-scale operations close to transport routes. Forest degradation has not yet been properly quantified but is attributed largely to intensive illegal logging.

Major indirect causes of deforestation include poorly defined land rights (section 1.5), coupled with an incomplete rural land register and lack of land-use planning mechanisms for land bordering with Amazon forest areas undergoing deforestation.

It is of great economic and legal importance to define land capability, which allows land titles to be granted only for land that is suitable for farming but not for land intended for logging or in protected areas, as titling such land makes it harder to preserve. It is estimated that around 35% of Peru’s land is classified. There is thus a need for official maps to be updated to clearly identify areas suitable for titling.

2.3. Forest concessions

Law 27308 of 2000 on forestry and wildlife established the legal concept of forest concession, applicable to forests suitable for permanent production: 17 771 900 hectares were classified in this category, with concessions granted on a further 7 542 077 hectares (42.4%). Other types of forest concession were also granted, for the purposes of harvesting non-wood products, wildlife management, ecotourism, conservation and reforestation. In 2013, the total area exploited under some form of forest concession was around 10 million hectares, most of which was used for logging (74.8%). The average area of these concessions was 12 827 hectares. Conservation concessions accounted for 10.8% of the total and covered an average area of 28 600 hectares, while concessions for services and non-wood products (harvesting of Brazil nuts, ecotourism and wildlife) accounted for less than 10% (Table 10.6).

2.4. Land title

According to Peru’s 2012 agricultural census, there are 5 895 farming communities of which 3 957 have land titles and are registered, 1 000 have land titles but are not registered and 734 neither have land titles nor are registered. There are 984 indigenous communities that have land titles and are registered, while 160 have land title but are not registered and 243 neither have land title nor are registered. Although there had been a 9% decrease in the number of untitled hectares since the 1994 census, 8.5 million hectares were still untitled. The situation varies widely from one region to another: in the coastal region, untitled land accounts for 26% of a total of 9.4 million hectares; in the rainforest region it accounts for 16% of 8.6 million hectares; and in the highlands it accounts for 48% of 16.8 million hectares. Lack of land titles discourages proper protection of both land and forests.

In the preceding decade, progress had been made with land titling, particularly in the coastal and highland regions, but far less in the Amazon. Legal authority for rural land titling, including indigenous and farming communities (section 1.5), was transferred to regional governments, which had limited capacity to fulfill this role. After several years of limited activity, the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MINAGRI) was re-designated as the lead agency for titling and has already embarked on this role by implementing a rural land titling and registration project in Peru (PTRT).

2.5. Use of agrochemicals

Between 2003 and 2012, agricultural production increased by 127%, while the livestock sector grew by 45% (INEI, n/d). The use of nitrogen and phosphorous fertilisers per hectare of arable land increased by 27% over the same period (World Bank, n/d) and the use of fertilisers in general averaged 104 kilograms (kg) per hectare in 2012. This is less than 122 kg per hectare used on average in OECD member countries and less than 126 kg per hectare used on average in Latin American and Caribbean countries.

The above data do not take into account the high use of organic manure from livestock. According to Peru’s 2012 agricultural census, 44% of farmers reported using chemical fertilisers in 2012 (an increase of nearly 50% over 1994), while 62% (1.37 billion farmers) reported using some form of organic manure (Table 10.7). Organic manuring predominates in the highlands, while the use of chemical fertilisers predominates on the coast. Although fertiliser use per hectare is unknown, the Ministry of the Environment (MINAM, 2014b) believes that one of the problems in the sector is over-fertilisation.

According to the same source, 38% of farmers use chemical insecticides, while 5.4% use non-chemical or biological insecticides. Farmers in the coastal region rely the most heavily on pesticides. Of this total, 67% use chemical insecticides, 55% use herbicides, 52% use fungicides and only 12% use non-chemical or biological insecticides.

2.6. Soil degradation

According to the global Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) project, between 1981 and 2003, some 19.3 million hectares in Peru suffered degradation (15.3% of the country’s total area). While no recent information is available on how this problem has evolved, the view is that, despite the increased attention paid to it, there is still a long way to go before it can be fully resolved.

A nationwide study on soil degradation conducted by the National Institute For Natural Resources (INRENA) in 2005 revealed that 99% of soils were experiencing mild to severe erosion, 27% were experiencing desertification (3% desertified and 24% desertifying) (MINAM, 2011) and 0.24% suffered problems of salinisation. A total of 65.7% of severely eroded soils were found in the highlands, 30.6% on the coast and 3.7% in the rainforest. Moreover, desertification affected 79.7% of soils in the highlands and 20.3% of those on the coast. All the land (100%) affected by salinisation was in the coastal region.

These problems have both anthropic and natural causes. Anthropic causes include unsustainable practices, such as land conversion, use of inappropriate irrigation technology and planting on sloped terrain. Natural causes include extreme weather events, such as frost or prolonged drought, which have contributed to desert expansion.

According to the 2014 national agricultural survey (ENA), 76% of farmers do not use good agricultural practices, such as methods to minimise soil degradation, good tillage practices, appropriate irrigation techniques and appropriate use of agricultural inputs.

Erosion problems are most evident in the Andean highlands, where at least 60% of farmland is undergoing moderate to extremely severe erosion from the use of inappropriate management techniques, the destruction of hillside vegetation and the practice of extensive livestock farming in the high rainforest. In the Amazon, 60% of occupied and settled land (around 5 million hectares) has been abandoned because of a dramatic reduction in fertility and erosion caused by inappropriate techniques. The same problem is evident on the coast, where farmers practise indiscriminate irrigation and, in many cases, flood irrigation. It is estimated that at least 40% of the cultivated area on the coast is suffering salinisation problems caused by irrigation techniques that build up salt deposits.

Agriculture is the economic activity worst hit by soil degradation, especially in the departments of Cajamarca, Áncash, Cerro de Pasco, Huancavelica, Ayacucho, Puno and Huánuco. MINAM recently unveiled a national strategy for 2016-2030 to combat desertification and drought (MINAM, 2016), and is progressing with the development of a national action programme to combat desertification and drought, as well as providing regional governments with technical assistance to develop and implement action plans. The impact of these and previous plans is as yet unknown.

2.7. Water consumption and quality

The biggest water user is the agricultural sector (87.5%), followed by households (10%), mining (1.5%) and manufacturing (1%) (MINAM, 2014b). In Peru, water consumption varies from one region to another. In the coastal region, where water is the most abundant and export crops are grown, the agricultural sector uses 83% of all surface water. The coast is also seeing overexploitation of groundwater for agricultural and domestic use. Irrigation efficiency is low, with only around 35% of the water supplied through irrigation being consumed by crops (MINAGRI, 2016) because of inappropriate practices and the poor state of water conveyance systems. Irrigation systems are used for only 12% of crops, with gravity irrigation used for the remainder. An estimated 15% to 20% of water is lost in the distribution system.

Water quality affects agriculture and vice versa, with water quality diminished by the use of agrochemicals, further compounded by the use of inefficient irrigation techniques, including flood irrigation. According to the National Water Authority (ANA), more than 40% of the watersheds where water quality measurements are taken fail to comply with environmental standards. Some of the main causes of their deterioration are untreated wastewater, industrial and mining pollution and agrochemical use (ANA, 2015a).

Twenty per cent of respondents to Peru’s 2012 agricultural census believed that irrigation water was contaminated by mine tailings, while 26% believed it was contaminated by industrial or domestic discharges.

2.8. Waste production and management

Information on agricultural waste production is inconsistent, which might stem from data supply problems or from differences in coverage of the years considered. In 2013, 31% of all agricultural waste was classified as hazardous and largely comprised oils (81%).

Under the current regulations, anyone producing non-municipal waste is obliged to dispose of it in accordance with technical criteria applicable to the different categories. In 2012, only 4% of the 1 279 companies that stated that they managed solid waste were in the agricultural sector, pointing to a lack of information on the destination of waste from the sector.

Legislation on hazardous waste disposal and management stipulates that packaging of toxic products used in agriculture must either be returned, placed in a special container or triple-washed. However, Peru’s 2012 agricultural census revealed that under 5% of farmers using pesticides actually employed one of the three options. The lowest percentage was among farmers in the highlands (3.6%) and the highest percentage was in the rainforest (9.6%). In all regions, the most widespread practice is to place packaging in a special container. The most common means of disposal, especially on the coast and in the rainforest, is burning, or burial (mainly in the highlands). A total of 23.4% of farmers on the coast and 30% of farmers in the rainforest throw packaging into the garbage (Table 10.9).

The Peruvian agricultural census found that most livestock waste was used as fertiliser, although some was placed in an open dump, burned, buried, or dumped on the public highway or even into bodies of water. No figures are available on volumes.

3.1. Water law

In March 2009, the new water resources law was enacted, repealing the general water law and related regulations. The repealed general water law had a strong focus on agriculture and failings that limited the use of water resources. The new water resources law establishes watershed management mechanisms, which provide for user involvement via the National Water Resources Management System (SNGRH), comprising public- and private-sector institutions, including farming and indigenous communities. The new law also reiterates that water is publicly owned, thus ruling out the possibility of privatising it, although private entities or individuals may handle some aspects of water management. The law clearly defines the role of the Executive, represented by ANA, thereby consolidating the one-stop shop principle. It also introduces improvements in management and administration. Specifically, it establishes planning instruments and improves mechanisms for such purposes as applying sanctions and managing information.

The following were adopted in this connection: the National Water Resources Policy And Strategy (ANA/MINAM, 2009); the National Water Resources Plan (ANA, 2015b); Law No. 30157 of 2014 on water user organisations; and the Fondo Mi Riego (2012) irrigation fund, which is designed to close gaps in the provision of services and infrastructure.

3.2. Forest law

The purpose of the National Forestry and Wildlife Policy (adopted by supreme decree 009/13/MINAGRI) (MINAGRI, 2013) is to contribute to Peru’s sustainable development through proper management of its forest and wildlife heritage, in harmony with the nation’s social, cultural, economic and environmental interests. Moreover, Law No. 29763 of 2011 on forestry and wildlife establishes the legal framework for regulating, promoting and overseeing Peru’s forestry and wildlife activity. The law establishes SERFOR, the National Forest and Wildlife Management System (SINAFOR) and the National Forestry Congress (CONAFOR). These entities act in conjunction with the Agency for Supervision of Forest Resources and Wildlife (OSINFOR), which was established in 2008 under the Office of the President of the Council Of Ministers (PCM).

The laws on regionalisation and regional governments assign the role of forest administration and control to these entities, some of which act as regional forest and wildlife authorities. As collaborative management is essential, policy and implementation tools are being developed for this.

The bicentennial plan, which sets a zero net deforestation target by 2021, and PLANAA are also important forest instruments. A National Forestry and Climate Change Strategy (MINAM, 2016c) and Action Plan for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+) are being developed under the joint supervision of MINAM and MINAGRI.

3.3. Land law

Land tenure is governed by the civil code and Law No. 26505 on private investment in the development of economic activities in the lands of the national territory and of farming and indigenous communities, which is designed to promote private investment in this sphere. The law provides maximum tenure security for agricultural landowners by regulating abandoned land, restricting entitlement to expropriation and creating mining easements in certain cases. It also defines a mechanism for disposing of common land.

With regard to soil conservation, MINAGRI implements budget programme 0089 on reducing degradation of agricultural soils. The aim of the programme, which must be implemented in co-ordination with the attached agencies and in conjunction with MINAM, is the sustainable use of soil resources in the farming sector. It is targeted at farmers in districts with the highest agricultural population, largest agricultural area, lowest human development index, lowest seeding rate with respect to land capability, highest intensity of land use and heaviest environmental liabilities. This population segment comprises around 1 million farmers.

For 2014, activities were planned to collect information on soils and measure their deterioration, to research suitable crops, and to train farmers on the use of agroclimatic and land capability information. The estimated budget for these activities was around PEN 10.2 billion.

3.4. Agrobiodiversity

The national biodiversity strategy to 2021 and its 2014-2018 action plan, based on Law No. 26839 of 1997 on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and its implementing regulations (supreme decree 068-2001-PCM), recognises the importance of in situ conservation and respect for agrobiodiversity. In addition, the 2014-2018 action plan foresees activities in 2016 for developing technical and legal instruments to evaluate biodiversity, including agrobiodiversity, and to identify priority areas that can be classified as centres of origin of agrobiodiversity.

One of the objectives of the first national biodiversity strategy (supreme decree 102-2001-PCM) was to establish a national biotrade programme. The Peru National Biotrade Promotion Programme (NBPP) was established in 2004, along with a National Commission for the Promotion of Biotrade (CNPB), composed of public- and private-sector representatives. CNPB implemented and promoted programmes and projects that laid the foundations for biotrade (MINAM, 2015). They include:

• Biotrade facilitation programme

• PerúBiodiverso project (PBD)

• Capacity-building on biotrade project

• Project by the Global Environment Facility/Andean Development Corporation (CAF) Biocomercio Andino (BCA) on facilitation of financing for biodiversity-based businesses and support of market development activities in the Andean Region

• PerúBioInnova project

As a result of these initiatives, production and exports of agrobiodiversity products have grown rapidly in recent years. Between 2006 and 2010, the compound annual growth rate of agrobiodiversity exports was 39.6%, with a 64.1% rise in export sales of cochineal and 19.7%, of tara (SIICEX, n/d).

In an effort to protect Peru’s biodiversity, Law No. 29811 (December 2011) imposed a 10-year moratorium on the import and production of living modified organisms (LMOs), in order to build national capacity and to establish baselines for native biodiversity to allow a proper assessment, prevention and management of potential impacts of releasing LMOs into the environment.33 In November 2012, the law’s implementing regulations were approved by supreme decree 008-2013-MINAM.

Since then, MINAM has carried out activities to achieve the objectives of the law, including: the establishment of a multisectoral advisory committee; the adoption of supplementary regulations to control LMOs, considering guidelines for the selection of detection laboratories; and drawing up a list of restricted goods subject to controls at points of entry (MINAM, 2013).

3.5. Climate change mitigation, risk management and adaptation

At the twentieth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 20), Peru unveiled its iNAMAzonia initiative. This nationally appropriate mitigation action (NAMA) for the agricultural sector was designed to increase sustainable production of coffee, cocoa, oil palm and livestock and to promote the restoration of deforested and degraded land in the Peruvian Amazon (Agroforestry World, 2014). Even though Peru has begun to adopt measures to mitigate emissions from the agricultural sector, hitherto none had been presented as a NAMA (NAMA Database, n/d).

Peru’s farming sector is vulnerable to the impact of multiple weather events; the most common are frost, drought, bitter cold snaps and flooding. To address this condition, a climate change adaptation and disaster risk management plan for the farming sector (PLANGRACC-A) was developed for the 2012-2021 period (MINAGRI, 2012a). The aim of the plan is to prevent climate risks in line with national priorities by applying climate-change adaptation criteria in short- and medium-term investment and development activities in the agricultural sector. Another objective of the plan is to mainstream government spending and investment priorities that pursue a climate-change adaptation and risk-management approach into agricultural development programmes and projects.

Planned activities fall into five strategic areas: (i) research, information and technology on climate change adaptation and risk management; (ii) preparedness and response to emergencies caused by weather events; (iii) prevention and reduction of risks related to weather events; (iv) risk-management and climate-change adaptation planning; (v) relevant local capacity-building.

3.6. New agricultural policy

The national agricultural policy, adopted by supreme decree 002-2016-MINAGRI in March 2016, is binding upon the Government of Peru and regional and local governments. The policy is built around the following strategic priorities, several of which are linked directly with environmental management in the farming sector.44

• Priority 1: Sustainable water and soil management

• Priority 2: Forestry and wildlife development

• Priority 3: Legal certainty of land tenure

• Priority 4: Irrigation infrastructure and technology

• Priority 6: Agricultural innovation and technology

• Priority 7: Risk management

• Priority 8: Capacity-building

• Priority 11: Agricultural health and agrifood safety

• Priority 12: Institutional development

The other priorities are: agricultural finance and insurance (priority 5); production restructuring and diversification (priority 9) and market access (priority 10). The policy makes no mention of specific targets for each priority.