Hope for poverty reduction in Peru

Peru’s Prime Minister Jorge del Castillo yesterday announced that half a million Peruvians have “escaped from the shadow of poverty” thanks to the country’s sustained economic development.

He stated that the country’s overall level of poverty has dropped from 48% to 44% of the population, while recognizing that some regions are harder hit – for instance, 88% of people in Huancavelica region live below the poverty line.

To help address this problem, which is shared by neighboring Andean regions such as Ayacucho, he announced a new law that relaunches Agrobank, a state-run entity that offers credit to small-scale farmers to help them develop their income.

Peru defines poverty as the economic inability to maintain an adequate food intake.