The possibility of a new drought appears on the horizon and in the agricultural sector They seek to prevent a new one from happening again. water emergency, For this reason, they call for a new concept to be coined: that of “harvesting water.”
The director of the Canelones Rural Development Agency, Pablo González, expressed himself in this sense when considering in dialogue with Radio Carve that it is necessary to “collect water during the months when it rains the most to use when necessary”, something similar to what is done with pastures, to avoid the consequences of an eventual water deficit.
González warned that the rainfall in recent months was not enough to reverse the situation and the water wells in that department they are still dry, so he aimed to advance preventive measures.
At the same time, now that the water emergency decreed by the national government has ended, he highlighted that the Municipality that leads Yamandu Orsi took measures such as providing daily water assistance to about 30 families in the rural area, as well as cleaning local breakwaters and wells.
In that line, in cannelloni Progress was made with the delivery of drinking fountains and the future installation of ten semi-emergent wells at key points, as well as the installation of solar pumps.
The impact of drought on agriculture
The drought last year strongly affected the production of Uruguayan agriculture, who hopes for a better 2024. According to the data of the Office of Agricultural Programming and Policy (Opypa), the climate phenomenon caused losses of 1,883 million pesos between 2022 and 2023 in the activity, which was reflected in a sharp decline in GDP.
In fact, the government declared the agricultural emergency to assist producers and was valid between October 2022 and December of last year, until in January the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP) decided to lift it, with the exception of the fruit and horticultural sectors.
It is estimated that the MGAP assisted at least 12,500 agricultural producers who applied for support, while 25% of family producers took advantage of the loans from the Agricultural Emergency Fund.
Likewise, the organism that leads Fernando Mattos granted 4,721 loans for 27 million dollars; and there were 573 guarantees through the National Guarantee System for another 27 million dollars, guaranteeing credits of working capital for 40 million dollars.
Source: Ambito
