Irrigation in Peru

Water resources and irrigation infrastructure in Peru vary throughout the country. The coastal region, an arid but fertile land, has about two-thirds of Peru’s irrigation infrastructure due to private and public investment aimed at increasing agricultural exports. The Highlands and Amazon regions, with abundant water resources but rudimentary irrigation systems, are home to the majority of Peru's poor, many of whom rely on subsistence or small-scale farming.

The Peruvian Government is undertaking several programs aimed at addressing key challenges in the irrigation sector like increasing water stress, competing interests, deteriorating water quality, poor efficiency of irrigation, drainage systems (including low technology systems and underutilization of existing infrastructure), weak institutional and legal frameworks, low cost recovery (i.e., operation and maintenance costs above actual collections), and vulnerability to climate variability and change, including extreme weather conditions and glacier retreat.