Agriculture in Media Luna

The residents of Media Luna primarily rely on agriculture as a source of food and income. Through the results of the survey, it is becoming apparent that the problems with crops have a serious affect on the well being and livelihood of the families living in Media Luna. The two principal factors that affect the production of crops are the availability of water and fertilizer.

The irrigation system of Media Luna is based on taking turns. There are several irrigation streams that run throughout the community with smaller canals leading to different fields. The smaller canals' access to the stream water is shut off on certain days by blocking the water flow with a metal panel. One day certain community members irrigate their fields; the next day another group of community members irrigate their fields. While the system is the best that can be done at this time, the overall lack of water consensus is that no one receives enough water to satisfy the needs of the crops.

The fertilizer or abono as it's called here, is relatively expensive (90-95 soles, around $30, for 50 kg); therefore, the individual families aren't able to buy a sufficient amount of it. Our idea is to determine a simple and inexpensive (possibly organic) way for the community members to create their own fertilizer. We hope that in addition to the homemade fertilizer being cheaper, that it will also have less of a negative impact on the environment. As the fertilizers currently used are mainly chemically based, an organic alternative will not only last longer but will be better for the fields and the surrounding environment overall.

In order to make sure that the needs of the soil and crops will be met, I've been working to establish contact with someone who specializes in this field. The University of Cusco has a department devoted to Agriculture and Zoology (Agonomia y Zootecnia) and seems like a good source to explore. However, unlike many U.S. university websites (the websites I'm used to searching) the emails of most professors are not listed on the Peruvian university websites. So the two that are listed will receive an email from me and hopefully will be able to provide information or direct me to someone who can.

The idea of teaching the Media Luna residents how to make their own fertilizer seems to be a sustainable plan. They should have a great interest in this project, as a major complaint we've heard is that the fertilizer from the stores is too expensive. We just need to make sure that the fertilizer will be as effective if not more effective than the products they currently use.