Blue Creek Farmers Lose Millions in Corn Crop due to Drought
As changes in weather patterns rise due to climate change, a drought is wrecking havoc in agricultural fields in northern Belize. Earlier today, the Meteorological office issued a drought warning advising farmers of the ire situation. In the Corozal and Orange Walk Districts the effects of the drought are evident as waters recede. Farmers collectively stand to lose up to a million dollars invested in crops. News Five’s Hipolito Novelo has the following story.
Hipolito Novelo, Reporting
A deadly drought has begun developing over the Corozal and Orange Walk Districts and the northern half of the Belize District.
The drought is so intense that its impact on large surface water reserves and groundwater is evident. In San Narciso Village, the lagoon there has dried up. In Orange Walk pictures of the Honey Camp Lagoon show the water receding, revealing the now dry lagoon floor.
The National Meteorological Service of Belize which has been monitoring the situation since June has therefore issued a short-term drought warning for the north of the country.
Ronald Gordon, Climatologist
Ronald Gordon
“We have been receiving below normal rainfall in those areas for the past six months. Indeed there has been report that there has been areas of waters that have been drying up. That is to be expected when you have continuous mostly below normal rainfall. I would say that it is a moderate to strong drought. We haven’t gone to condition of severe as yet because it has not translated to the lack of water in households.”
And while households are not feeling the impacts directly, farmers in Blue Creek Village in Orange Walk have accepted the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Collectively, they stand to lose more than a million dollars.
An agricultural nucleus, Blue Creek Village is home to many farmers like Albert Rempel and Rodney Dyck. They have been farmers for all of their lives. In fact, it is a tradition passed down from generation to generation but today’s generation has to deal with this year’s below-average rainfall. Rempel and Dyck’s corn plantations’ growth has ceased.
Albert Rempel
Albert Rempel, Farmer
“It has been incredibly difficult. Usually the rains start coming in late May. That is when crops get planted. We did get rain about that time which triggered to farmers to put their crops out there. So we planted and then it just stopped raining. That was about it. There was sufficient moisture to actually sprout and come out as you see behind. That did work. It did come up but it did not rain enough to keep the crop growing to actually produce harvestable corn”
Rodney Dyck, Farmer
Rodney Dyck
“It started to grow really nice because we got to plant into moisture. We got about two inches of rain and the farmers figured okay the season has start, let’s start to plant and so everyone started to plant. Then we stopped having rain right after planting and we only got like half of our acres planted. We usually have five hundred acres of corn and this year we have two hundred acres planted. We would have liked to plant everything but we are luckily that the rains stopped completely and we didn’t fill the farm with corn because we would have been further in debt because of that. We just have two hundred acres that are dying on us right now.”
And now these farmers have to act fast. In order to salvage any sort of investment already made, Rempel and Dyck like many other farmers are now converting the young plants into cattle feed.
Albert Rempel
“Basically there comes a time in the cycle of the plant that you just see that it won’t be able to fulfill even if the rains come. That time has passed. It won’t be able to produce the crop that it supposed to. Basically it is just a gut feeling that it won’t be happen. So we might as well just salvage it and feed it to the cows because there is nutritional value in the stock. But that does not pay for the expenses that have been put in.”
Rodney Dyck
“We started moving the machines on Monday. Yesterday we got a little drizzle so we stopped because once you get a little drizzled on mowed hay it starts to rot. So we wait until the sun comes out again and then chop all the rest, everything is going to be chopped and fed to the cattle just to salvage the little bit that you can.”
Some farmers have moved to plant different crops which are drought resistant.
Albert Rempel
“We are just trying this survive this now. How we recover from it I really don’t know at this point. I am sure everybody is looking at other opportunities like to grow other crop because that is all what we do. Our land that is all what is worth to us so we can produce other crops.”
There is also the option of installing a massive irrigation system, but this solution is extremely costly.
Albert Rempel
“We don’t have any irrigation. We have tried to get into it but it is very costly. So on a farm that is struggling to stay above water it is almost impossible to get into because you have to invest so much more money impossible for that same farm to pay for that kind of investment. If we were at a better place where we didn’t have all the debts to pay already then it could have paid for itself.”
And now these farmers’ investments have gone to waste.
Rodney Dyck
“The inputs, most of it come through loans from banks. That is how we finance it, normal interest rates. We can go to the local Co-op but that is also on interest, nine to fourteen percent of interest on the inputs.”
Hipolito Novelo
“At what point do you lose hope?”
Rodney Dyck
“Probably when the banks start calling and they take away all hope. That is how it stands with most farmers here. The banks, once they come there is nothing else you can do.”
Climatologist Ronald Gordon says that the future weather may return to a neutral state with average rainfall.
Ronald Gordon
“That is good and bad news for us. For us, in the forecasting area, is a bit of bad news because when you have neutral conditions it means that there is less signals for us to determine what the future will be like. So there is more uncertainty. But if you have it weakening then the intense dry will also reduce. So for us the forecast is that we are expecting a return to normal rainfalls by the end of September and maybe in November we might see lightly above rainfall for the country.”
..but even so, it will be too late for these farmers. Reporting for News Five, I am Hipolito Novelo.
