Peru: The Thematic Group debates the implications of the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) on the country's Agrarian sector.

Fifteen members of the Peru Thematic Group on Rural Development and Food Security met in Lima, 6 December 2002, to discuss the implications of the new Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA), effective from October 2002 to December 2006, on the country's Agrarian Sector.

Rafael Suárez, the manager of projects of the Andean Community of Nations (ACN), introduced the subject, giving an overview of the ATPDEA, its regulations, questions related to its application, and the gaps and limitations that exist in its implementation, according to the views of the USA and the rest of the member countries. Representatives from the government, technical cooperation agencies, NGOs, universities and the FAO attending the meeting, expressed their concern about the lack of appropriate productive infrastructure needed to exploit the potential benefits of an increase in the supply of exportable products such as alpaca, llama and vicuna wool, etc. In addition, it was noted that there is an unwillingness to invest, in this sense, because it does not offer greater market prospects. Moreover, it is observed that the United States will continue to implement protectionist measures in the market sector in order to protect its own labour force. It was also mentioned, during the meeting, that the phytosanitary limitations highlighted by the ATPDEA, will continue to constitute a serious constraint in the negotiations for agricultural products. Attention was drawn to the need to be cautious of the possible use of the ATPDEA as a political instrument, not by only the United States but also by all of the Andean countries involved, because the effective implementation of the ATPDEA will be difficult due to the limitations of the Peruvian productive system for Andean products and due to the lasting restrictions in the terms of exchange.

This subject aroused interest in all the participants and it was agreed that another meeting is necessary to deal with more specific points related to the ATPDEA.

The subject of the next Thematic Group will focus on the Multi-sector Commission on Food Security, recently established with the official visit of the Director-General of FAO, Jacques Diouf, to Peru. The Group will invite to this meeting representatives from technical corporations, who prioritize food security in the implementation of their programs and projects, such as the EU Programme for the Support of Food Security (PASA-UE - Programa de Apoyo a la Seguridad Alimentaria de la Unión Europea), USAID, and the Peru-France counterpart fund, among others.

For more information please contact the FAO representative in Peru: FAO-PE@fao.org