In Zacatecas, a Little Rain Offers Inadequate Relief Elizabeth Monroy - The News
go to original July 5, 2012

As half of Mexico endures one of the most severe droughts in its history, cloud seeding appears to be a promising way to bring desperately needed rain, although it remains a source of controversy. (Mauricio Ramos/IPS)

Farmers and ranchers in Zacatecas continue to suffer from the 20-month drought plaguing the state. According to new data, more than 80,000 head of cattle have perished, 584,000 hectares (1.44 million acres) of land has been scorched by forest fires, and dams remain at just 17 percent capacity.

Last weekend, authorities reported the first moderate rainfall in some areas of the state where it hadn’t rained for nearly two years. Still, the recent rains are little relief to farmers and ranchers, who hope that July and August, Mexico’s rainest months of the year, deliver more sorely needed rain. Governor Miguel Alonso announced that about 800,000 hectares has been tilled in the state and is ready for planting. He added that more land will be tilled and planted if the state receives a good amount of rainfall in the coming months.

The state government and the Food Production Secretariat (Sargapa) allocated 9.5 million pesos to fund a cloud-seeding project. The project will begin on July 7 and is expected to increase rainfall by 15 percent.

The drought is Mexico’s worst in the last 70 years and continues to damage the agricultural and livestock sectors throughout the north of the country. Last month, governors from Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Durango and San Luis Potosí asked the federal government for urgent support. The governors’ plea came after federal deputies shot down the states’ request for financial resources from the federal government’s fund to deal with natural emergencies.

The Zacatecas state government estimates that the drought has hit the checkbooks of more than 75,000 food producers in Zacatecas. Country-wide, the two-year drought has cost farmers roughly 5.45 billion pesos, according the federal government. The Zacatecas’ food secretariat stated that bean production dropped in 2011 to a quarter of its average annual production. At present, water reserves in the state’s 14 dams remain low, with only 88.64 billion cubic meters (3.1 trillion square feet), down 83 million cubic meters compared to last year’s figures. The state government has announced projects to build smaller dams in an effort to collect more water.

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