Drought damages agriculture and threatens supply

While the population in part of Brazil suffers from the rains and their consequences, such as the overflow of rivers and floods, more than 700 municipalities in the southern region of the country are facing a severe heat wave.

Although isolated rains have been registered since Wednesday (12), the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) issued an alert this morning informing that 727 cities in Rio Grande do Sul and parts of Paraná and Santa Catarina are liable to register , until the next 16th, temperatures 5°C above the historical average for this time of year.

The orange alert issued by the institute is valid for practically all of Rio Grande do Sul, for the west and south regions of Santa Catarina and for the west, southeast, southwest, west-central and south-central regions of Paraná.

The effects of the drought in the South Region have been worsening since the end of last year, causing economic losses and threatening water supply.

In Rio Grande do Sul, 200 cities had already declared a state of emergency until this Wednesday.

A survey carried out by the Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company of Rio Grande do Sul (Emater-RS) points out that, until last Friday (7), more than 195,000 rural properties had already accounted for production losses.

One of the regions of Rio Grande do Sul most affected by the lack of rain is the Alto da Serra do Botucaraí, where, since mid-November, the volume of rains has been insufficient to recover the condition of the rivers and the water table, which has harmed the planting of soybeans. and corn.

“The soy had to be replanted and there was still 30% to 35% left to sow. So, in these 16 municipalities of Alto da Serra do Botucaraí, only in soybeans there is something around R$ 750 million in losses. Added to the losses of corn and milk, the damage in the region reaches R$ 850 million”, informed, in a note, the rural agricultural extensionist of Emater-RS in Soledade Josemar Parise.

In Santa Catarina, in addition to being irregular, the rains at the end of last year were below expectations during the month of December, leaving at least 17 of the 295 municipalities in a state of alert and another nine in a critical condition with regard to conditions to guarantee urban water supply, mainly in the west and extreme west of the state.

“Right now, it is important that the population in regions where the drought has intensified use water consciously and avoid waste. In addition, it is necessary to follow the guidelines and alerts of Organs competent bodies”, warned, in a note, the executive secretary of the Environment, Leonardo Porto Ferreira.

In Paraná, on the 30th, the state government declared a situation of emergency due to the drought.

The purpose of the measure is to speed up the implementation of measures to support farmers and other sectors affected by the lack of rain.

Last Thursday (13), the state secretary of Agriculture and Supply released a report in which it points out that the situation has already caused at least R$ 25.6 billion in damages to rural producers.

The survey was handed over to the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa), Tereza Cristina, who, since Wednesday, has been visiting rural areas affected by the water crisis in the three states of the South Region, in addition to Mato Grosso do Sul, in the Central Region. West.

In Cascavel (PR), the minister explained that, with a diagnosis of the situation of crops in the four visited states, technicians from Mapa and the Ministry of Economy will prepare a plan to help producers. The focus, at this first moment, is to ensure that farmers affected by the drought are able to plant.

“Our concern is agility in these actions, so that we can plant safely. So that the farmer can know what will happen in the second harvest, which is the off-season, which is very important, because that is when most of the corn is planted in these states”, highlighted Teresa Cristina.