© The recent surge in synthetic fertilizer prices and the demand for organic food in the West has resurrected the old 19th Century practice of guano harvesting on two small Peruvian islands. The Peruvian government only allows harvesting to take place on two islands, but guano can be found on around twenty. The islands collect the droppings of swarms of seabirds - their exceptionally dry climate preserves them and allows them to accumulate in vast quantities. In the 19th Century it is estimated that guano deposits reached heights of around 150ft. Guano export and production boomed in this period and it is thought that it accounted for 50% of the Peruvian government’s national budget.
Guano has had somewhat of a resurgence with the growth in organic food production and the demand for natural fertiliser. Guano sells in Peru for $250 per ton; in France, Israel and the United States it reaches $500 per ton. There is therefore a big incentive to export guano to the metropoles of the North where a higher price is sought. This is of course to the detriment of local Peruvian farmers where it is was once a primary and cheap source of fertiliser. 'While guano is less efficient than urea at releasing nitrates into the soil, its status as an organic fertilizer has increased demand, transforming it into a niche fertilizer sought around the world' (New York Times).
This is not the only pressure on price however. The presence of the anchoveta, a fish which is the birds’ main source of food is fished in increasingly large quantities – its end point is use as feed for poultry and other livestock in Asia where consumption has soared. A burgeoning middle class has created a growing demand for meat and other commodities associated with moving up the 'development ladder'. This was of course partly a cause of the World Food Crisis, where increased meat consumption in Asia lead to the need for ever greater grain inputs to feed livestock. Naturally, with increased demand for grain production this also increased the price of nitrous fertilisers. With the drive for cheaper inputs, the anchoveta fish became a cost-effective way of feeding livestock. Fishing of the anchoveta fish has placed pressure on the Peruvian seabirds' population where the fish is its main source of sustenance. Guano deposits are therefore set to decrease. The Peruvian government has already stepped in and halted all production on all except two islands. It is not only depleted anchoveta stocks that place pressure on the birds, but also the loud noise of boat engines that scare them afar. The Peruvian guano harvesters have therefore taken to patrolling the waters surrounding the islands to ward off fishermen.
Increased guano harvesting and decreasing guano levels have lead to an increase in its price. This is simple supply and demand. There is not enough guano to meet demand. As Peruvian mango farmer Enrique Balmaceda notes, with 'organic bananas competing for what’s available', prices for guano are also set to increase.
With a resurge in demand for guano, it is thought there are enough deposits for the next ten to twenty years.
Guano has had somewhat of a resurgence with the growth in organic food production and the demand for natural fertiliser. Guano sells in Peru for $250 per ton; in France, Israel and the United States it reaches $500 per ton. There is therefore a big incentive to export guano to the metropoles of the North where a higher price is sought. This is of course to the detriment of local Peruvian farmers where it is was once a primary and cheap source of fertiliser. 'While guano is less efficient than urea at releasing nitrates into the soil, its status as an organic fertilizer has increased demand, transforming it into a niche fertilizer sought around the world' (New York Times).
This is not the only pressure on price however. The presence of the anchoveta, a fish which is the birds’ main source of food is fished in increasingly large quantities – its end point is use as feed for poultry and other livestock in Asia where consumption has soared. A burgeoning middle class has created a growing demand for meat and other commodities associated with moving up the 'development ladder'. This was of course partly a cause of the World Food Crisis, where increased meat consumption in Asia lead to the need for ever greater grain inputs to feed livestock. Naturally, with increased demand for grain production this also increased the price of nitrous fertilisers. With the drive for cheaper inputs, the anchoveta fish became a cost-effective way of feeding livestock. Fishing of the anchoveta fish has placed pressure on the Peruvian seabirds' population where the fish is its main source of sustenance. Guano deposits are therefore set to decrease. The Peruvian government has already stepped in and halted all production on all except two islands. It is not only depleted anchoveta stocks that place pressure on the birds, but also the loud noise of boat engines that scare them afar. The Peruvian guano harvesters have therefore taken to patrolling the waters surrounding the islands to ward off fishermen.
Increased guano harvesting and decreasing guano levels have lead to an increase in its price. This is simple supply and demand. There is not enough guano to meet demand. As Peruvian mango farmer Enrique Balmaceda notes, with 'organic bananas competing for what’s available', prices for guano are also set to increase.
With a resurge in demand for guano, it is thought there are enough deposits for the next ten to twenty years.
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Guano workers make the pilgrimage on boats to islands such as Isla de Asia (the location of Munta's photo-series) where they receive around $600 per month, three-times the amount they would earn through agricultural labour in the impoverished Pervuvian highlands.
'Many go barefoot, their feet and lower legs coated with guano by the time their shifts end in the early afternoon. Some wear handkerchiefs over their mouths and nostrils to avoid breathing in guano dust, which, fortunately, is almost odorless aside from a faint smell of ammonia.' (New York Times)
Tomas Munita’s photo-series for the New York Times provides a narrative of what essentially represents the globalization of commodity production, relations and the growing complexity and interelatedness of supply and demand.
The original New York Times article can be found here -
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/30/world/americas/30peru.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
Tomas Munita -
http://www.tomasmunita.com/
'Many go barefoot, their feet and lower legs coated with guano by the time their shifts end in the early afternoon. Some wear handkerchiefs over their mouths and nostrils to avoid breathing in guano dust, which, fortunately, is almost odorless aside from a faint smell of ammonia.' (New York Times)
Tomas Munita’s photo-series for the New York Times provides a narrative of what essentially represents the globalization of commodity production, relations and the growing complexity and interelatedness of supply and demand.
The original New York Times article can be found here -
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/30/world/americas/30peru.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
Tomas Munita -
http://www.tomasmunita.com/
hard labour
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