Peru: El Niño 2015-16 - More of a Mite than a Godzilla
For Peru the 2015-16 El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) weather phenomena came in weaker than anticipated. El Niño related agricultural losses reported at about $80 million are significantly lower than earlier projections which ran potentially as high as $5 billion. This El Niño impacted 46,000 hectares of agricultural lands, lowering crop yields in about eight percent of Peru’s productive area. Overall agricultural production suffered a less than one percent drop. The greatest impact occurred in southern Peru, where the 2015-16 El Niño disrupted production in some 38,000 hectares. The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation has reportedly provided some $30 million in emergency assistance in the form of food aid, farming supplies, seeds, and fertilizers.
