Given the eventualities presented by the ‘La Niña’ phenomenon that persists and could last until February 2023 according to the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (Ideam), the different actors and especially agriculture, warn their concerns about heavy rain that are affecting food production in Colombia.
The constant permanence of ‘La Niña’ in the country presents different challenges for most of the agricultural sectors, given that, according to Ideam, the The probability that the phenomenon will reach December is high. According to the entity, it is estimated that for the last month of the year there will be rains of 20% to 60% above normal in a generalized way in the country, which would affect the end of the year for agriculture.
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In turn, as far as November is concerned, the rains will also persist, in the Caribbean and Andean regions, like the Orinoquia. The excesses will be presented in La Guajira, Magdalena, Atlántico, Bolívar and Norte de Santander.
Agricultural actors such as Roberto Vélez, general manager of the National Federation of Coffee Growers (FNC), assure that the low production of coffee is specifically due to a climatic factor that has persisted for 27 months in a rowwhere it is recorded that the amount of monthly rainfall exceeds the historical average, which interferes with the flowering of the fruit.
“The cloudiness does not let the sun enter and the trees acquire the capacity known as thermal degrees. This phenomenon seems to last until December and January of next year, when the meteorological agencies are already beginning to show a change in the climate.“said the manager.
Similarly, Gustavo Gómez, president of Asoexport, indicates that foreign marketing of grain It is also affected since “they are linked to production, so the lower this is, the exports also decrease.”
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However, the difficulties have not only occurred in the coffee sector. For Germán Palacio, general manager of Fedepapa, there are currently deterioration in the quality of the product in some areas of the country due to the constant presence of rains.
“Cundinamarca and Boyacá are the most affected areas. If production is affected, supply drops, a fact that makes the price of potatoes higher and above normal”, he finished.
The livestock sector does not escape from the ‘La Niña’ phenomenon either. For dairy production, they are presenting significant effects in Boyacá, Cundinamarca, Valle and North of Antioquia. This was confirmed by Felipe Pinilla, executive president of the National Association of Milk Producers (Analac).
In addition, Pinilla assured that “the closing of the first semester generated ponding and flooding throughout the dairy country. All these affectations translate into the fact that the rains produce less amount of grass, impacting the health of the bovines, which causes a lower milk production. In several cases, there is a need to move the animals to unaffected areas and finally there are additional costs for the evacuation of water from flooded farms and subsequent costs in their recovery.
José Félix Lafaurie, president of Fedegan, said that there are areas of the country that are under water, which has had a great impact on the dairy sector. “There are places where it is impossible to take the milk to the processing centers. This shows that the backwardness of the rural sector is the inability to be able to have tertiary roads capable of draining the products produced by the countryside in all Colombian regions”.
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José Félix Lafaurie also assured that meat has been affected, but not in the same proportions as milk.
Solutions by the government for agriculture
In response to the effects on agriculture caused by the rains in the country, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development announced a package of special measures to mitigate the negative impact that the winter wave has left in agricultural projects.
According to the minister, Cecilia López, “actions range from lowering loan costs, extending credits or reducing interest costs”.
Likewise, from the portfolio it is ensured that the Financial Relief Law has allowed the Agrarian Bank of Colombia and Finagro apply benefits for $677,574 million to those affected. Through these Special Lines, the Ministry has granted 3,593 credits for a value of $80,030 million between August and September of this year that have benefited the peasants. Of the 3,593 credits, 3,363 have been for small producers who have requested financing for $50,142 million.
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The National Institute of Roads (Invías), assured that in the last week, they attended 19 emergencies caused by the increase in rainfall in the country. According to the entity, they have $5,000 million destined for the attention of these events.
“If necessary, in these situations the governments incorporate more resources,” they assured. On the other hand, Carlos Gaitán, director of the Uniminuto Agroecological Engineering program, stated that for the agricultural sector, the greatest damages are in the tertiary roads since they are affected by landslides, which prevents the transport of food. “Normally these effects cause the price of food to increase “said.
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