Behind the ‘Miracle’: Non-Traditional Agro-Exports and Water Stress in Marginalised Areas of Ica, Peru

Abstract

Expansion in the non-traditional agricultural export sector following neoliberal reform has precipitated an economic transformation in Peru. Non-traditional agricultural export growth has brought environmental, social and distributive costs. This article critically examines the Peruvian asparagus boom and the impact of this on water availability among marginal groups. Based on primary case study fieldwork, the paper asserts that the agro-export model is causing the over-exploitation of important groundwater supplies in the Ica Valley where almost all of Peru's fresh asparagus is produced. This reveals wider issues concerning neoliberal development and the political economy of natural resource allocation in Latin America.