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Country profile:
Peru
languages: Samoan, English
Head of state: Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese Efi
Prime minister: Tuila'epa Sailele Malielegaoi
The Independent State of Samoa
eligion: Christianity
Agro-Industry Development
Samoa - Agriculture :
Tropical
agriculture occupies 43% of the land area,
employs about 65% of the labor force, and makes
up about 50% of GDP. Most Samoans grow food
crops for home consumption and cash crops for
export. Village agriculture, in which the family
is the productive unit, involves the largest
areas of land, occupies the preponderance of the
labor force, and produces the major portion of
food and cash crops. Coconut products, cocoa,
taro, and bananas are produced for export, and
bananas, taro, and taamu are grown for local
sale. Village plantings are invariably mixed,
containing some or all of the following crops:
coconuts, cocoa, bananas, taro, taamu,
breadfruit, sugarcane, yams, manioc, and various
fruits. Plantation agriculture has been
controlled mainly by non-indigenous residents.
Exports of unprocessed copra have been largely
replaced by coconut oil, coconut cream, and
copra cake. Due to a decline in world prices,
coconut production fell to 95,000 tons in 1992.
In 1999, coconut production was estimated at
130,000 tons. Taro (coco yam) production in 1999
amounted to 37,000 tons. Taro production dropped
97% in 1993/94 due to leaf blight, and the
government is working on methods to control the
disease. Exports of cocoa have fallen in recent
years, thereby discouraging production. Since
1991, no production over 1,000 tons has been
reported. Banana exports fluctuate greatly from
year to year. Exports of agricultural products
in 2001 amounted to $5.1 million, while
agricultural imports totaled $17.7 million that
year.
Peru's rich and
varied heritage
includes the ancient
Incan capital of
Cuzco and the lost
city of Machu Picchu.
The country boasts
spectacular scenery
including Lake
Titicaca the world's
highest navigable
lake.
It is
rich in copper
silver lead zinc oil
and gold. Despite
this Peru's progress
has been held back
by corruption and
the failure of
successive
governments to deal
with social and
economic inequality.
In its
recent past Peru has
alternated between
democracy and military
dictatorship. Also it is
deeply divided politically
and economically. A small
elite of Spanish descent
controls most of the
wealth and political power
while indigenous Peruvians
are largely excluded from
both and make up many of
the millions who live in
poverty.
AT-A-GLANCE
Politics:
Former leader Alan
Garcia won
presidential
elections in June
2006; his first
term ended in 1990
with the economy
in tatters;
nationalist rival
Ollanta Humala has
a majority in
Congress
Economy:
Peru has seen
growth but the lot
of the rural poor
is little
improved; the US
and Peru have
agreed a free
trade deal
International:
Peru and Chile
dispute their
maritime border;
Venezuela's
President Chavez
ruffled some
Peruvian feathers
by backing Alan
Garcia's election
rival
Because of
these problems foreign
investors have often given
Peru a wide berth. In
addition a preoccupation
with political power
struggles has meant that
the economy and
infrastructure have been
neglected a factor which
fuelled Peru's guerrilla
insurgencies.
Peru
endured a brutal war
against Maoist rebels in
which up to 69000 people
were killed in the 1980s
and 1990s. Investigators
have blamed the rebels for
many of the killings but
the military has also been
implicated.
Despite the
near destruction of the
Shining Path and Tupac
Amaru guerrilla groups
violence - in the form of
murders and gang warfare -
is still a problem and has
been linked to the drugs
trade.
Peru is one
of South America's biggest
producers of coca - the
raw material for cocaine.
The UN children's fund
Unicef has found that most
of the pickers in the
coca-growing areas in the
north-east and south-east
are children.
Facing the
Pacific Peru is an
important link between
Asia and Brazil.
Former
centre-left president Alan
Garcia celebrated a
dramatic political
comeback in June 2006 16
years after he left office
with rock-bottom approval
ratings. Hyperinflation
food shortages and a
Maoist guerrilla
insurgency plagued his
1985-1990 term; the
president says he has
learned from his mistakes.
Economic turmoil
dogged Alan
Garcia's first
government
He won a
run-off vote in
presidential elections
having campaigned on
promises to tackle poverty
and boost economic growth.
His rival former military
man Ollanta Humala was
backed by Venezuela's
populist leftist leader
Hugo Chavez.
President
Garcia represents Peru's
oldest political party the
American Popular
Revolutionary Alliance or
Apra. On taking office he
announced an austerity
drive - which included a
cut in his own salary -
and cited Chile as an
economic role model.
His
government has come under
fire from environmental
and human rights
campaigners over plans to
auction off swathes of the
Amazon to oil and gas
companies.
In October
2008 the entire cabinet
resigned after members of
the party were implicated
in a corruption scandal
over the allocation of oil
contracts. In an effort to
restore public confidence
in his administration Mr
Garcia appointed Yehude
Simon a leftist regional
governor from outside Apra
as the new prime minister.
But less
than a year on Mr Simon
himself resigned amid
criticism of the
government's handling of
an strike by indigenous
people in the Amazon
against new land laws -
quickly repealed - which
would have opened up the
area's resources to
foreigners.
The
violence along with a
sharp downturn in the
economy and opposition
protests against
free-trade policies
contributed to a steep
downturn in Mr Garcia's
popularity ratings. In
another reshuffle aimed at
reviving the government's
fortunes he appointed
Javier Velasquez Quesquen
- an Apra insider - as his
new PM.
Mr Garcia's
predecessor Alejandro
Toledo took office
promising to wage "a
head-on war on poverty"
but struggled to improve
the lot of the poor and to
deliver on a pledge to
create one million jobs
over five years.
Mr Toledo
oversaw economic growth
but had to balance the
need for economic prudence
with calls for more
spending on social
programmes and
public-sector wage
increases.
Privately-run broadcasters
and newspapers dominate
the media scene with the
state-run media having
relatively small
audiences.
The
airwaves of Lima are home
to dozens of radio
stations and several TV
services. Many radio
stations and regional
newspapers are available
in the provinces.
Media
watchdog Reporters Without
Borders says there is a
high level of violence
against the media.
Corruption
drug-trafficking and the
activities of Shining Path
rebels are "very
dangerous" subjects for
reporters.
Country profile:
Peru
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