World Bank supports irrigation projects address effects of climate change in Peru

The investment will be implemented by the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Irrigation through 130 subprojects and will directly benefit some 24,000 persons.

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a loan to support irrigation projects that address the effects of climate change in Peru. The US$100 million financing will support the Government’s efforts to modernize and make irrigation systems more efficient thereby benefiting small farmers and rural communities.

The investment will be implemented by the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Irrigation through 130 subprojects and will directly benefit some 24,000 persons. The project will also provide technical assistance to optimize water management for irrigation in 19 regions and will strengthen the institutions responsible for irrigation systems by improving their management capacity.

The project seeks to reduce the vulnerability of family farmers and contribute to the development of a more resilient and competitive agriculture throughout the country by greater efficiency in the use of water, the expansion of mechanized irrigation projects in the investments of regional governments, and improvements in collection to maintain irrigation systems, among other results.

“We support Peru in its response to climate risks with technology and more efficient irrigation for family farming. With this project, small farmers and their water user organizations will increase their agricultural productivity and their ability to respond to droughts, floods or frosts.” stated Issam Abousleiman, World Bank country director for Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru.

The project, which will be implemented over a period of five years, will not only boost agricultural productivity but also contribute to the institutional strengthening of 180 water user organizations, 19 regional governments and the national government in irrigation water management.