Chilean growers look for government help in water crisis

Faced with the recent declaration of agricultural emergency due to water deficit in four regions by the Ministry of Agriculture, to go in support of farmers affected by the severe drought, the president of the Federation of Fruit Producers of Chile (Fedefruta), Jorge Valenzuela Trebilcock, comments the following:

“It is tremendously valuable that resources are allocated to help the producers who are more complicated in the regions of Coquimbo, Valparaíso, O’Higgins and Maule, because of this drought that is at the most critical moments.

“The declaration of an agricultural emergency is a necessary and urgent aid for farmers, and we hope that it will soon be extended to other areas. We accompany the Ministry of Agriculture in all these measures.

“Even considering the importance of Minister María Emilia Undurraga’s announcement, because it will be a help for many, it is key to point out that if we want to ensure food and water consumption, and even the electricity supply from now on, we have to decide at this moment public policies and investment in water infrastructure, a strategic water plan to respond to all the needs of the country.

“In that sense, we are waiting to know the water plan that President Sebastián Piñera is soon to announce, as he pointed out last Friday in Ñuble.”