The president of the Chanchamayo Coffee Federation, Lucho Bautista Palomino, warned that 70% of the 100 hectares of coffee in the jungle of the Junín region, which includes Chanchamayo, Satipo and Jauja, have been seriously affected by the yellow rust plague.
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This alarming situation has put the current coffee campaign at risk, and Bautista Palomino has urgently called on the State to intervene and declare a state of emergency in coffee production. According to Bautista, the declaration of emergency is vital to prevent the plague from spreading further and forcing coffee growers to take drastic measures to protect their crops.
However, despite the seriousness of the situation, regional councillor Kely Flores denounced the inaction of regional authorities, pointing out that at the last session of the regional council, the Economic Development and Agriculture departments, responsible for addressing this crisis, did not include the issue on the agenda.
On August 2, the regional council approved declaring the problem of rust a regional priority and public necessity, tasking the aforementioned departments with taking concrete actions to confront the plague. However, to date, no significant progress has been observed, which has generated frustration and annoyance among coffee growers in the region.