30% of Peru's blueberry production comes from small farmers who have between 5 and 50 hectares of crops

The article highlights the success of the Peru Berries program, which was initiated by Agromercado (formerly Sierra Exportadora) in 2011, leading to a significant growth in the blueberry industry in Peru. The country is now the world's leading exporter of blueberries, with shipments exceeding $1.7 billion, and is on the verge of becoming the top producer as well. The program aimed to include small farmers in this venture, contributing to the development of the entire logistics chain and creating thousands of jobs. Currently, 30% of the blueberry production is from small farmers, and there is ongoing effort to improve berry varieties to meet market demands. However, small farmers face challenges in affording the financial resources for varietal changes, particularly with the requirement for newer, royalty-bearing varieties. Nonetheless, there is optimism for the future with increasing global demand and potential for expansion in new markets.

(Agraria.pe) It has been 13 years since the Peru Berries program was launched in 2011, an initiative of Sierra Exportadora (today Agromercado), from where the development of blueberries in our country began. Today, blueberries - along with grapes - lead the agro-export basket of Peru. With shipments exceeding US$ 1.7 billion, our country is the world leader in shipments of this berry. Alfonso Velásquez Tuesta, Senior Management Advisor of the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (Midagri), former executive president of Sierra Exportadora and promoter of the Peru Berries program, highlighted that soon Peru will not only be the first global exporter of blueberries but also the main producer. He emphasized that Peru Berries sought to get small producers in our country to enter this new crop early, so that they could take advantage from the beginning of the benefits that blueberries were already expected to generate. He indicated that the objective was not only to benefit ...