In a new calculation, Famurs extends drought losses to R$ 50 billion

The economic losses in the agricultural activity of Rio Grande do Sul as a result of the drought may already be around R$ 50 billion. The number was estimated this Tuesday (31) by the Federation of Associations of State Municipalities (Famurs), after revisiting the situation of the 221 emergency situation decrees since December 1 of last year. The Federations of Agriculture and Livestock of the State (Farsul) and Agricultural Cooperatives of Rio Grande do Sul (FecoAgro-RS) preferred not to analyze the projection.

According to the president of the entity, Paulinho Salerno, mayor of Restinga Seca, the difference in relation to the numbers released in recent days, 10 times smaller, is justified because they represented the values ​​informed by the city halls on the date of the decree. Famurs updated data for each of the 221 municipalities that had reported the problem by noon, and the damage took a huge leap. By the end of the afternoon, 223 city halls had declared an emergency situation due to the drought. Of these, 205 had a decree in force, 114 of them approved by the state government and 86 recognized by the Union.

“The damage, which is repeated for the third consecutive crop year, has different proportions in each point of the State, with greater or lesser damage to crops and water reservoirs. But in the Central, Fronteira and Missões regions, it is even more serious. There are areas where soybeans will not even sprout”, he observes.

The alarming number is even more frightening considering the impact on taxes two years from now, when municipalities, the State and the Union will no longer collect from the sale of all production, which will not be confirmed. On average, municipalities collect R$ 20.00 for every R$ 1,000.00 sold. For city halls alone, R$ 1 billion would no longer be returned to coffers.

“We have been charging the state and federal governments, but the return is still insignificant given the context. We are trying to reach an agenda of the 27 regional associations of Famurs with the state governor for mid-February. We need to move forward on this issue. they can, opening drinking fountains, trying to preserve the water sources. But we need more than that”, says Salerno.

An important claim, according to the entity’s president, would be the release of a zero interest credit line for the construction of dams and acquisition of equipment for irrigation.

One of the most recent municipalities to join the list of those affected by the problem was Santa Cruz do Sul, in Vale do Rio Pardo. Mayor Helena Hermany signed the emergency situation decree this Monday afternoon (30). The decision was adopted based on a report prepared by the Civil Defense, a body that is part of the Municipal Urban Security and Mobility Secretariat. According to the service coordinator, Anderson Matos Teixeira, the rural area of ​​Santa Cruz do Sul is already facing a series of difficulties due to the lack of rain.

The evaluation carried out in the last 15 days verified the water depletion in the rivers that cross the affected areas, making it impossible to supply the communities. The situation becomes even more serious due to the lack of rain – in the last four months, the region had only 110 mm of rainfall.

Allied to all this is the damage to agricultural and livestock production. So far, losses of R$ 19 million have already been computed, affecting crops such as corn, horticultural crops, rice, soybeans, tobacco and even dairy production.

“The perspective is that the irregularity of the rain will continue until March”, comments the coordinator of the Civil Defense of the municipality, Anderson Matos Teixeira.

Helena recalled that the municipality has been seeking to establish strategies that reduce the impact of the lack of rain in the region, such as investing in cisterns and expanding the water network in the interior during 2022. of Agriculture.

According to the mayor, the distribution of water reservoirs had an effect, since farmers needed less water supplied by water trucks this summer. So far, around 1 million liters of water have been distributed. “Whatever is possible, we have to foresee and put into practice. Things just aren’t more serious because we took this initiative ”, she analyzed.

The decree of the emergency situation seeks to support rural producers.

“We are aware of the difficulties that rural workers are facing, and it is up to the Government to adopt measures that can help the category in this hour of need”, he justified.