As mentioned in our previous posts, dryness is causing concerns in Paraguay and not only for rice producer like us. For now, the Paraguay River has reached its lowest level in half a century after months of extreme drought in the region, exposing the vulnerability of landlocked Paraguay’s economy. Around 85% of Paraguay’s foreign trade is conducted via the river, which has been depleted because of a lack of rainfall in the Pantanal area of Mato Grosso state in Brazil.
The fall in the water level has slowed down cargo vessel traffic on the Paraguay River, causing significant cost overruns for the transport of fuel, fertilizer, food and other imported goods. The crisis has also exposed the precariousness of Paraguay’s access to drinking water. Losses in Paraguay’s river transport sector have already reached $250 million. The navigation situation is critical and getting worse day after day as the river is going down at a rate of 3 to 4 cm per day. In a week, no boat will be able to reach Asunción…You can see the situation of the Paraguay River near to Asunción as of October 8.
As our farm is situated along the river Tebicuary (a tributary to the Paraná River), the situation is even worse in terms of water availability, and our business is highly depended on water (water pumped from the river should be kept standing in the rice field throughout the growth period). Water in the river has now reached such a low level that authority decided on October 8 to prohibit water pumping from the river (Official Notice).
The situation is becoming worrying for all rice producers. As you can see, water is almost no more able to reach the entrance of our main pumping station next the river. In our case, we already started to irrigate our 1st block sowed by using our water reserve from our artificial lake. Soon we will have completed the sowing of our 2nd block (so, around 1,000 has in aggregate) which will need to be irrigate during 90 days. However, no more water will be available in our reservoir and we will face a complex situation to maintain our production growing and in good shape. We will also have to evaluate if we will run the risk to sow further (3rd block of around 550 has) as we have already water shortage for the existing fields sowed.
15-Day Forecast Precipitation (% of normal) – Beginning October 9.
Some minor rains are forecasted between October 14 and 15, which will helps to low down evaporation and naturally irrigate the fields for 1 or 2 days. According to the latest forecasts, 30 to 40 mm of cumulated rains should be registered in the coming 15 days. To be continued…