Even after reaching several agreements with the Ministry of Agriculture, potato farmers refuse to end the strike.
On January 10, after two and a half hours of conversations, José Arista, Minister of Agriculture (Minagri) and potato farmers signed an act to stop the strike. In exchange, regional governments will buy the excess of white potatoes farmers had produced.
“Only 19 days later, protests burst once again, although with a larger level of violence,” said El Comercio. The reasons for the new round of protests are new demands from the farmers’ side, as well as their desire to declare the farming sector in a state of emergency.
Several protests took place from that day on, including confrontations with police forces, that led to two deceased: Irineo Curiñapa Campos, 27 years old, and Celestino Flores Venturo, 43 years old, both from bullet wounds.
Several roads remain blocked as a form of protest, specifically in Junín, Pasco, and Huánuco. This led Arista to finally appear in a press conference, alongside seven representatives of the National Commission of Potato Producers, to announce 17 new agreements. One of them is to buy up to 17 thousand kilos of white potatoes in the regions where there is a registered excess of the product.
Nevertheless, William Capcha, leader of Tarma farmers told El Comercio that “the 8 thousand farmers that he represents will continue to protest.”
Cover photo: Pixabay