Eduardo Justo Cruces. Seremi of Agriculture Tarapacá Region
When attention focuses on our main urban centers, the rural world is left behind. That is why the Public Account of President Gabriel Boric is so notable, who on June 1 delivered an important message to our agricultural, livestock and forestry sector focused on three concepts: rural development, emergencies and climate crisis.
The last two are closely related. “The effects of climate change are not problems of the future, they are problems of today. The tragic forest fires, floods and droughts in our country are regrettable examples of that,” the President warned.
In a process led by the Ministry of Agriculture, the project that creates the National Forest Service is currently in the legislative process, an entity that will replace the National Forestry Corporation with greater powers. On the other hand, as a country, we are experiencing a water crisis that strongly affects the north-central area. Given this, the President commissioned the National Irrigation Commission to look for options that would allow the construction of new reservoirs. Likewise, the focus will be on desalination plants.
At the regional level we have taken steps towards that direction in coordination with the Mining and Public Works Seremis to face the future of the desalination plants that are built on our coastal edge and how we can, together with private companies, allocate part of that water resource to agriculture or production of fodder for livestock.
The Irrigation Innovation Agreement signed between our Seremi and Conadi has also allowed us to carry out works in El Tamarugal to promote technical irrigation among farmers, thus replacing flood irrigation. This practice, although traditional, is inefficient with respect to water use.
And I conclude with the first point of the three strong ideas expressed by President Boric for the rural world: productive development. This 2024, the continuity of the “Sowing for Chile” plan was announced. The initiative was implemented by the Government in 2022 with an investment of more than $258 billion covering 170 thousand farmers nationwide.
In 2023, the investment increased to $500 billion to address the impact from fires and floods in the south-central area and also reached the north, providing funds for fruit fly and avian influenza emergencies run by the Agricultural and Livestock Service. This plan also considers a traditional crops program led by the Agricultural Development Institute and a forestation plan led by Conaf.
Our tables are supplied thanks to Peasant and Indigenous Family Agriculture, recognizes the President. And he leaves us another key phrase: “We want rural life to be a real option for future generations, so that the countryside maintains its essence, its traditions and is also synonymous with quality of life, innovation and the future.” That is the focus of our Ministry, and not only by presidential mandate, but because our day-to-day work is with the inhabitants of rural Chile.
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