Some climate phenomena are felt first in the countryside. In northern Peru, the heavy rains of recent weeks are already affecting rice farmers in the Tumbes region, who are asking the Government for support so they do not lose the next growing season. According to Infobae, which picks up statements made to Radio Exitosa, some farmers speak of losing half their harvest.
What Tumbes farmers are reporting
According to Infobae, farmers attribute the losses to rain and wind, which force them to harvest the crop before it reaches full maturity. Part of the grain is left on the ground. One producer described a yield of about 5,000 kilos per hectare, when, by his own estimate, he should have harvested between 8,000 and 10,000. In his words, they worked at a loss.
What they are asking for is not only immediate compensation. According to the same outlet, workers in the sector need a bonus, and producers want fertilizers or credit to sustain the next season. This difference is key: the loss from this cycle becomes a financing problem for the next one.
Why rain destroys a harvest before it reaches the granary
A rice crop needs water, but at the maturity stage excess moisture and wind become a problem. When the soil is saturated, the plant loses firmness and can topple over, a phenomenon agronomists call lodging (acame). A fallen plant is not harvested well: machinery or manual labor collects less grain, and the rest is lost in the field. That is why producers speak of harvesting the crop early, a decision that reduces the risk of total loss but sacrifices grain weight and quality.
This mechanism helps explain why a climate event can hit a farming family’s economy beyond the volume of rain that falls. The blow arrives at the least flexible moment of the calendar.
Alert, quebradas and huaicos: the other front
The agricultural situation coincides with a risk alert. According to Infobae, the National Service of Meteorology and Hydrology of Peru (Senamhi) activated, in early November, a red alert for possible activation of quebradas (ravines) in Piura and Tumbes. In Tumbes, the warning covered 2,223 people, 13 educational institutions, two health centers and 54 kilometers of road network, with greater exposure in the provinces of Contralmirante Villar and Tumbes. Senamhi describes rapid water flows and mass movements (huaicos, or flash floods and debris flows) in small basins, caused by recent rainfall combined with the conditions of the terrain.
For the producer, this means the farm is exposed on two fronts: the crop lost to moisture and wind, and the roads, canals and plots that can be affected by water flows.
What is usually at stake when state support is requested
When a producer asks for support after a climate event, in practice they usually demand three things: liquidity to keep working, inputs for the next planting, and formal recognition of the loss. The tools discussed in these cases are usually credits, input support or assistance programs, each with different scopes. In the article, the farmers also question the fact that the authorities who visited the region did not meet with them, a point that shows the gap between the official assessment and the reality in the field.
What a producer can do in the face of an event like this
News Sources
- Infobae: El Niño Phenomenon: Farmers in Tumbes ask the Government for support so as not to lose their harvest
- Agencia Andina: Heavy rain accompanied by thunder and lightning is recorded tonight in Tumbes
- Instagram: 🔵⚪ Senamhi maintains an active alert in Piura for the possible activation of quebradas and huaicos due to forecast rains and the precipitation recorded over the last seven days. The warning extends until midday on Tuesday, 3 of