As a result of the weather projections, some rice farmers in the eastern part of the country are already lamenting the lack of resources to irrigate their rice fields in the final stretch of the year.
The local producer, Garcia Richicommented today to Subrayado that the Rochen rice farmers “are only now being able to start sowing,” because the winter was very dry and the rains arrived during the month of September.
“Unfortunately, (the rains) are not enough to complete the dam from which we draw water to irrigate the rice“he detailed Garcia Richi.
The rice farmer added that they are also between a rock and a hard place, since if it rains a lot in October or November, they will be prevented from planting, since they need the land to be dry, but if it does not rain they will be limited to the current area.
“There will be a shortage of between 8,000 and 10,000 hectares of rice”
“Here in the area I would be encouraged to say that there will be a lack of around 8,000 and 10,000 hectares of rice“he concluded Garcia Richi.
40% of the department of Rocha is supplied from the dams in the area, but they are at 25% of their normal flow. In other areas of the department, the rice fields are irrigated from the water of the Merín lagoon and the Cebollatí river, one of the longest in Uruguay with a course of 235 kilometers.
In the last hours, the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP) reported the data on the next harvest of rice and specified that the planting intention is greater than the amount of water available, so some 8,000 hectares would not be covered.
The planting intention, according to MGAP data, is 160,085 hectares, while the area according to available water until the end of last month amounted to 140,800 hectares. In this way, from the wallet you drive Fernando Mattos They indicated that the expected planting area is 152,000 hectares for 2023/2024.
Source: Ambito
