Rains alleviate water crisis in Piura, but long-term risk persists

The water crisis in the Piura region continues to be a source of great concern for the agricultural sector, requiring significant investment in storage infrastructure to guarantee the region’s water supply for human consumption and agricultural irrigation.

In a detailed analysis of the situation, consultants Fresh Fruit Peru note that although recent rainfall has provided some relief, the problem will persist unless underlying structural problems are properly addressed.

“The Poechos reservoir, the main source of water for both human consumption and for irrigating crops in the region, especially in the Chira valley, faces a storage capacity problem. The 1,000mn cubic meters (MMC) that it originally had as its capacity, due to silting problems, can no longer be retained in its entirety, and currently not even half of that figure is reached,” Fresh Fruit Peru said.

This sedimentation process has intensified with extreme weather events, such as the El Niño phenomenon and Cyclone Yaku. Added to this is deforestation and increased agricultural activity in the high areas of the Chira River basin, factors that increase erosion and facilitate the dragging of sediments into the reservoir. In addition, climate change has caused longer drought cycles, making it difficult for the reservoir to recover as quickly as it did in past decades.

As of the latest available update, prior to Fresh Fruit Peru publishing its report, the reservoir had a water availability of 244.2 MMC. Piura faces a current demand of about 150 MMC per month, between human consumption and irrigation. However, with the current reserve and constant use, the dam would not have the capacity to supply the demand required for the entire year.

Therefore, the authorities have established a clear scheme of priorities. First is human consumption, which has been covered in recent months in the main urban areas, showing a great improvement compared to the water shortage crisis experienced between October and November 2024. However, there are still areas where the water service has not been able to be regularized due to technical factors.

As a second priority, the authority has established the use of water for the irrigation of permanent crops, through the scheduled release of water from the main reservoirs. Thanks to this strategy, a good part of the harvests of this type of crops have been saved. However, there are specific cases in which the crops have not managed to withstand the lack of water.

“The priority given to permanent crops, such as bananas or mango, has generated some unrest among producers of non-permanent crops, such as rice, which is the most predominant crop in the entire Chira Valley,” the consultancy said.

“The latter have not been able to save their last campaign and have been seriously affected by the water shortage. There are reports indicating that, due to the magnitude of the situation, many rice producers have freely diverted water to their crops, skipping the established order of priority in the hope of saving some of their investment.”

Although the situation is obviously better than during the second half of 2024, the risk remains latent. The limited capacity of the reservoir, coupled with lower rainfall, could cause the situation to suddenly worsen, especially in the middle of the year, jeopardizing the next campaign.

In light of this, the authorities have prioritised the management of the use of available water, implementing scheduled releases for the main user associations, and have begun works to improve infrastructure and mitigate the crisis.

During the last season, nearly 25,000ha of crops were directly affected, with rice, mango, lime and banana being the most affected. Although the numbers indicate an improvement in the productivity of the sector in 2024, this is due to other factors, such as the growth of crop areas, the entry into production of new crops and the varietal change of some products, which improved volumes. However, it is clear that the water crisis caused all production to not reach its full potential.

Mangoes, for example, saw a recovery during 2024, exceeding the production of 2023 by up to 400 per cent. However, the latest projections indicate that it will not be able to fully recover to the levels of 2022.

This is because the water crisis caused an advance in its ripening, which will lead to a reduction in the projection for the end of the campaign, with a volume of almost 8 per cent lower than expected. In addition, commercial problems were also generated, since this advance has caused a crossover of seasons with other campaigns, both Peruvian and foreign competitors - including Mexico - which has put pressure on prices, driving them down.

Bananas are another of the products that suffered due to the water crisis. When it was in the process of recovery after a disappointing 2023, the losses observed during this latest crisis have been considerably large. Around 10,000ha were affected, which generated losses estimated at US$10mn by the end of the campaign.

Regarding limes, Fresh Fruit Peru said it is important to differentiate between the two main species grown throughout the region: key limes, mostly destined for the domestic market, and the Persian limes mostly destined for export.

The lack of water and poor flowering are generating very pessimistic projections as the year progresses. However, in recent campaigns, the entry of new crops that will begin to produce this year was observed, which could partially compensate for the scenarios of severe shortages. Currently, a drop of between 25 per cent and 35 per cent is expected in the entire production of the region.

The situation with table grapes is different. “Most production comes from large exporters that have their own water reservoirs and technologically advanced irrigation systems, so it is not as exposed as other crops to this water crisis,” the consultants said.

“However, there are reports that indicate that these reservoirs have also been affected, so it is likely that this crop is also being impacted. It is estimated that the lost volume could be between 5 per cent and 8 per cent of the entire cultivated production.”

The report concluded by saying that it is crucial to implement more concrete measures, including investing in developing adequate infrastructure for water storage, both for human consumption and for agricultural irrigation.

“During seasons of intense rainfall, it would be optimal to take advantage of these moments to store water. In this sense, the creation of seasonal reservoirs with high storage capacity, as well as flood retention systems, are presented as the most effective solutions for the region,” it said.

The report also notes that Piura has a serious problem when it comes to the selection of crops and the lack of adequate planning on the agricultural front. “Easy and sometimes poorly regulated access to water has encouraged the cultivation of crops that demand large quantities of this resource, often with low economic returns and a high environmental impact due to deforestation,” it said. “This creates a harmful cycle: the low cost of water favours the cultivation of crops such as rice or corn, which are relatively easy to manage and offer a quick harvest.

“The most suitable path for the region is to promote permanent crops, which, although they require more planning and have a slower initial profitability, are less demanding of water resources.

“A successful example of this transition are the large grape exporters, who have managed to transform desert lands into sustainable agricultural areas by building water reservoirs.

“However, this change towards a more modern agriculture cannot be carried out by large producers alone; it is essential that state support is articulated effectively, providing the necessary tools for a successful and sustainable transition for small producers, who are the largest consumers as a whole.”