The South American country of Peru has come up with six programs to improve the productivity of cotton in the country, and thereby to promote Peru's cotton exports, said Minister of Agriculture, Milton von Hesse. The suggested programs are a result of the recent visit of a team of experts from Brazil and representatives of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Peru. The Ministry of Agriculture (MINAG), along with the visiting team of experts, has designed the National Competitiveness Plan, which aims at short and long term measures required to improve the cotton productivity in Peru, the Minister said, according to Peruvian agency ANDINA. Mr. Hesse pointed out that lack of use of improved seeds and technology is one of the main reasons for the low productivity of cotton in Peru.
To tackle the situation of low productivity, the National Competitiveness Plan will be ready within four months of time. It will include a work plan for the next five years. The National Competitiveness Plan is a long-term project which will help to improve the technology used in cotton production chain and show the benefits of the same to the Peruvian farmers, Ministry of Agriculture (MINAG) said. The MINAG revealed that in 2011 the Peruvian cotton sector provided jobs to more than 68,000 small farmers in the country, while the agro-textile chain directly employs 350,000 people, representing 1.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) of Peru. In 2012, Peru produced 38,500 tons of cotton, showing a decline of 12 percent, as against production of 46,941 tons of cotton a year earlier, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). After achieving a record cotton production of 89,000 tons in 2006, the crop output plunged to an all time low of 25,590 tons in 2010, but it improved again in 2011.
