FARM MECHANIZATION

closed

The Agricultural Machinery Project for Peru will import agricultural equipment and machinery to enlarge the equipment pools operated by SCIPA (Servicio Cooperativo Inter-Americano de Produccion de Alimentos). SCIPA is a semi-autonomous agency that provides technical assistance to farmers, contractually operates agricultural machinery and equipment, provides materials to improve agricultural production, and develops new land by promoting colonization and new irrigation projects. Currently, Peru has insufficient animal power to maintain the volume of agricultural production necessary to feed its increasing population and produce the industrial crops which constitute the bulk of her foreign exchange earnings. In order to alleviate this problem, the project will increase the machinery pools of the SCIPA so it can perform these functions: 1) reclamation of old land and opening up of new land; 2) rehabilitation and construction of irrigation ditches; 3) seeding and tillage; 4) harvesting and threshing of crops; and 5) construction of farm feeder roads. The new machinery will promote the work of the SCIPA by supplementing the diminishing reserves of animal and man power and increasing the efficiency of agricultural production.