THE LEGEND OF THE THIRSTY FRUIT AND THE MAN WHO DRYED THE EARTH - The consequences of the extensive monoculture of avocados in Chile
The province of Petorca is the water conflict epicenter in Chile.The avocado industry implanted in the90s with the neoliberal model is destroying the environment causing irreversible damage to local ecosystems.2000liters of water are needed to produce 1kilo of avocados.It has become impossible for farmers to cultivate their land or raise animals,people left the area to build new lives elsewhere or forced to use the water transported by tanker trucks paid by the state.Industrial avocado farms took possession of the water obtaining the rights of use from the state thanks to the water code approved in1981by the Pinochet military regime that privatized rights of water.The export of Chilean avocados is constantly increasing.Movement for Water & Territories and Eco-Feminist activists are fighting to find alternatives to environmental disaster and climate change like Food sovereignty and agro-ecology for an ecosystem restoration through establishing polycropping systems,rescuing native seeds