The Global Hunger Index (IGH) of 2021 revealed that Peru obtained 17.7 points, on a scale from 0 to 100 where the lowest is better, which meant a 10-year setback for the country. William Campbell, country director at Ayuda en Acción, believes that the scenario now is one of “stagnation” and not improvement.
What would be expected for next year in terms of hunger in Peru?
What we see is a not very hopeful scenario, in which it will be difficult for there to be improvements in the hunger situation. We are going to see that some regions can present improvements based on the push of governors, but the unfavorable context, the political crisis, inflation, the crisis that we are inheriting from abroad, is going to have a great impact on hunger. The fact that we have a decrease in Peruvian capacity to process some fertilizers is complicated.
You have pointed out that this does not come from the pandemic, but from previous years.
What happens is that we are not taking the hunger situation as a matter of State, as a strategic axis of the State. We have let it go because we were confident that this situation was going to improve as economic growth improves, because we continue to grow in 2019, but hunger remained stagnant.
To what extent is there a relationship between economic growth and hunger?
We anticipate that in this situation where there is an unfavorable context for growth (deceleration), by the end of 2022 hunger will remain in the current indicators (around 17 points). It is not going to get worse, which is positive within the projections, but what is negative is that we are going to continue in the same situation of stagnation.
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How does conflict affect the reduction of hunger?
We have Las Bambas where there is conflict and this type of situation ends up affecting the company as well. If the company goes down, its income goes down, there is less canon to pay, the government has less capacity to implement work and this has an impact on hunger.
And the lack of fertilizer?
People are going to continue planting, what we estimate is that productivity is going to drop. If one hectare of avocado gave me 8 tons per campaign, now it could be 30% to 40% less. We are going to see a decrease in production capacity and the supply of food that is arriving in the country.
What has to be done?
We must support the movements that are consolidating in this humanitarian crisis, hunger is a humanitarian crisis. The contribution of Midis is needed because the neighbors may have good will, but coordination, resources and technical support are required. It’s okay that there are processed foods, but you have to keep an eye on ultra-processed foods. It is necessary to include the actors of civil society, local, municipal, and district governments, which recognize the reality of their time. The common pots are a solution for now, but a solution is needed in the medium and long term, for which a series of strategies is needed.
