Amid the drought, 200 municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul declare a state of emergency

The municipality of Santo Ângelo, in the region of Missões, northwest of Rio Grande do Sul, was the first stop of the minister of agriculture, Tereza Cristina, this Wednesday (12), on a visit to regions affected by the drought in the country.

It must still pass through the regions of Chapecó (SC), Cascavel (PR) and Ponta Porã (MS) until this Thursday (13), according to the folder.

Last week, the governments of the four states discussed possible aid measures with the ministry. Associated with the La Niña phenomenon, according to a specialist from Inmet (National Institute of Meteorology), the drought has punished crops such as corn, soybeans and pastures.

On her visit to Rio Grande do Sul, the minister was accompanied by the deputy governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Ranolfo Vieira Júnior (PSDB), after Governor Eduardo Leite (PSDB) tested positive for infection with the new coronavirus and had to withdraw from face-to-face activities. .

Leite said on social media that he sent a letter to be delivered to the federal government with the state’s demands in the face of the emergency situation, through the minister.

In the document, the governor points out that most of the affected municipalities depend on agricultural production and that agribusiness accounts for 40% of the state’s GDP and more than 60% of the state’s exports.

As of this Wednesday, 200 municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul have declared a state of emergency in the face of drought, according to a balance sheet released by the state Civil Defense. Of these, 52 were approved by the state and 47 recognized by the Union.

The number is equivalent to about 40% of the 497 municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul and considers the 2021/2022 biennium.

According to the ministry, the objective is to verify the situation in the affected areas, together with representatives from other areas of the government who are accompanying the visit, such as the Ministry of Economy and the Central Bank, to define the measures to be taken.

“We still can’t give numbers [dos prejuízos]. There are crops that recover, others that do not, it may still rain, there are different degrees of recovery of crops. We have to follow up, to monitor, and I made a point of coming here to see what we can already propose to mitigate the problems that the states face. We don’t want people to abandon production,” said the minister.

In Espumoso (RS), rural producers demonstrated this Wednesday morning and handed over documents to authorities and bank agencies asking for longer deadlines to pay debts, according to RBS TV, a local broadcaster affiliated with Rede Globo.

Data from Emater-RS, which provides technical assistance and rural extension services to farmers in the state, point to 195,000 properties in Rio Grande do Sul affected by drought-related losses until January 7th.

The greatest impact is on corn crops, with 84,700 producers affected — in the region of municipalities such as Soledade, Lajeado, Passo Fundo, Erechim, Santa Rosa and Frederico Westphalen, losses are estimated between 45% and 65%.

In soybean crops, the estimate is that 72,000 producers are affected, with losses between 25% and 45%, mainly in the regions of Soledade and Lajeado.

Emater also calculates 10,200 families without access to water in the state and a drop of 1.6 million liters of milk collected per day, with more than 22,000 producers affected.

Last Monday (10), Famurs (Federation of Municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul) met to discuss the fight against drought in the state, with the participation of the State Department of Agriculture and the Ministry of Agriculture, senators, deputies and representatives of of the agricultural sector.

President of the federation and mayor of São Borja, Eduardo Bonotto (PP), highlighted in a speech this Wednesday, following the minister’s agenda, that drought problems are cyclical and that the trend is for the number of municipalities in emergency to increase. —São Borja is already among the municipalities with a decree.

He highlighted the priority given to the approval of decrees for the adoption of immediate actions and the discussion of changes in the legal system, such as an agricultural emergency situation decree, which is disconnected from Civil Defense issues.

According to Rogério Affonso Rezende, meteorologist at Inmet (National Institute of Meteorology), the forecast is that the regions affected by the drought in Rio Grande do Sul will only have rains from the 18th of January, next week.