MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Peruvian President launches Second Agrarian Reform from Cusco

This time around no property rights are to be affected, Castillo explained

Peru's President Pedro Castillo Terrones Sunday announced the country's Second Agrarian Reform, which seeks to promote the social inclusion of more than 2 million agricultural producers, according to the government's plan.

Castillo Terrones was flanked by Prime Minister Guido Bellido, and other cabinet members when announcing the old Inca capital city of Cusco.

In a previous ceremony, Castillo had launched an agroindustrial event in the district of Pichari (Cusco), designed to promote the competitiveness of producers and companies linked to the coffee and cocoa chain.

Castillo pointed out that the second agrarian reform would allow the State to reach farmers with means of communication, technology and technical advice.

“Some have understood that the second agrarian reform is to take away land, totally false, we have to get that out of our heads, it has not even been thought, it will not be done, it would be absurd for a government to do it, it is ruled out,” he said.

He explained that with the second agrarian reform those pending issues of the first one will be promoted.

The Second Agrarian Reform is a government policy that does not envision expropriations or confiscations but which seeks to the development of family, community and cooperative agriculture, authorities have explained.

The government plans to mobilize and train producers, in addition to modernizing and industrializing national agriculture through loans to these productive units which make up for 97% of those existing nationwide.

Castillo also said the “second agrarian reform has the face of a woman.” The initiative, said to be eyeing benefits for over 700,000 agricultural producers “will promote a fund for rural women,” explained the President.

From the iconic Sacsayhuamán site in Cusco, Castillo insisted the new agrarian reform will allow for the deployment of various business and social-technical support programs.

“One out of every three agricultural producers is a lady and within all agricultural households, women play a central role in productive work, food and family sustenance. In my government, we will promote a fund for rural women (…) The second agrarian reform also has the face of a woman, the face of our mothers, our daughters and wives, whose work and effort we see daily,” Castillo said.

The president specified that the second agrarian reform has five lines of work and that it does not seek to expropriate land or affect anyone's property rights. “We propose to change the way of governing so that our State is put at the service of family farmers, (who were) relegated for decades, government after government. That ends today,” he explained.

Castillo also pointed out “that all tax benefits for cooperatives will apply to peasant and native communities.”

“We recognize them not only as social organizations but also as productive and business organizations with full economic rights,” he added.