The fruit sector in Chile has received with relief this June, which has been the rainiest in 10 years of mega-drought, but insists that the country's water crisis is a structural problem, led by the lack of decision in public policies to have a infrastructure that will ensure the continuous supply of water.

This is indicated by the President of Fedefruta Jorge Valenzuela Trebilcock. "We are very happy with the rains that have fallen in the fruit regions of the country. It is very good for us in our fields and it gives us a special relief due to the drought of the last 10 years," he says. "However, we still lack many millimeters to reach a normal year. That is why, as a fruit sector, we must continue investing in technical and precision irrigation, in channel improvement, in telemetry, in order to be more efficient. "

The union leader recalls that since the declaration of a State of Catastrophe by the pandemic, he has held meetings with all the regional associations linked to Fedefruta, in which the issues of water and access to technological improvements for its use have been a common denominator of the conversations. With these conclusions, it was that Valenzuela and directors of Fedefruta have had appointments with the Minister of Agriculture Antonio Walker, in order to seek greater access to financing for irrigation improvements, through the CNR.

Along with this, Jorge Valenzuela assured that these June rains "should not lower our guard for what investment in water infrastructure means. We have pending the construction of reservoirs, the task of recovering aquifers, or installing desalination plants" . The president of Fedefruta insisted with the proposal of the union to think about the design of water matrices by zone or by basin, according to the gaps and of each territory. "Each fruit region has a different geographical configuration, different states in the development of water infrastructure, so solutions must be born from the needs seen in each place," he said.

In addition, he commented that the water crisis that Chile is experiencing is due not only to the drought, but also to the lack of institutional clarity for the agreement and the action of macro policies to deal with the issue. "The truth is that the smallest possible bureaucracy is needed, today there are more than 40 government institutions linked to water, which has made conversation and decision-making very inefficient to solve the crisis due to the lack of water," added the helmsman. of the guild. "Without a doubt, the water crisis is an unsolved structural problem, and Chile cannot place its trust only in the rains."

Finally, Valenzuela indicates that "today, more than ever due to the pandemic, it is important to think about the revaluation of agriculture, for the well-being of the population, given that we are an engine to supply food, employment and decentralized development for regions. "