Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
In a couple of years all this land will disappear, because all this is
being populated. Everything was land but now it's all houses.
Samuel Yupanqui, Carapongo farmer.
In five years this surely is going to be urbanized because people will
no longer want to plant vegetables. Edgard Palacios, Carapongo
farmer.
The land is no longer agricultural, this is already housing. I already
have noticed that, because the council has forced us to accept that
this is now an area of urbanization. Pasio´n Reynoso, Carapongo
farmer.
Five years from now, what can I do - work on the farm until I die?
As I say, when you are already old, no one can give you work.
Edmundo Vicun˜a, Carapongo farmer.
Interviews with responsible authorities suggest a dramatic difference in
perspective. Their perception of UA is that it is a marginal sector. They give
no importance to the conservation of agricultural areas in the district. Instead,
their main priority is the physical development of urban infrastructure. From
their point of view, the concept of environmental care refers to issues related
to the reforestation of the Rı´ mac River and the maintenance of the city's
parks and gardens. In general, they do not fully understand the concept of UA
and its importance within the city. The authorities believe that in the medium
term agricultural activity will disappear in this area and everything will be
urbanized.
There are several key elements that enhance the disagreement between
these two main parties. For farmers, there is a high level of mistrust directed
at the municipal management as well as a rejection of their authority. Three
main conflicts exist:
1 A subject that causes particular conflict is public health, specifically because
the farmers do not agree to having to pay municipal taxes for services that are
not provided. For example, although local authorities collect taxes for
garbage collection in agricultural areas, the municipal garbage truck does
not always come.
2 Another point of disagreement with the municipality is sanitation. The
farmers say that the municipality supports urbanization without
considering that the area is mainly agricultural. Because they are not yet
urbanized, these agricultural zones do not qualify for the necessary
sanitation infrastructure, so there are no sewerage systems in the
agricultural lands. As a result, settlers use the irrigation channels as sewers
and garbage dumps. This behaviour contaminates the water use for
irrigation purposes, and can damage the farmers' health.
3 Conflict also exists relating to classification of land use in Carapongo. The
Central Municipality of Lima has designated the area as being an urban
