Trickle Down Development? The Expansion of Asparagus Exports and Water Availability for Urban Marginal Groups in Ica, Peru

This thesis explores the neoliberal approach to development and its influence on resource management in Latin America using a case study of Peru. Peru’s neoliberal reforms, beginning in 1990s, were successful in fostering macro-economic growth and helping the country reverse its dismal economic performance of the 1970s and 1980s. Promoted by neoliberal policies natural resource export booms, including in the non-traditional agricultural export (NTAX) sector, have contributed to Peru’s economic success. However, this overall economic growth has exacerbated the pre-existing inequalities of Peru. By applying an analysis inspired by structuralist and dependency theories, this thesis critically examines Peru’s NTAX expansion to understand why ‘underdevelopment’ and the country’s position as a ‘resource periphery’ has continued to take place. This study focuses on the rapid expansion of fresh asparagus exports in the Ica Valley following the 1990 reforms. Fresh asparagus production in the Ica Valley represents the flagship of Peru’s NTAX boom, with the industry generating economic growth and eradicating the area’s previously high unemployment. However, the industry has also concentrated water access and worsened water non-availability and inequalities in the valley. These problems are disproportionately affecting Ica’s marginalised population, yet limited work has documented how marginal urban groups are being impacted. This research therefore investigates how the asparagus export boom has affected Ica’s marginal urban groups and their access to water. In doing so, it critically studies the withdrawal of the state from development planning and resource management. Additionally, this research seeks to connect the rural and urban spheres, which are commonly and problematically separated in development study, through a contemporary example of the resource curse argument.