The drought is already visible in the fields of the northeast Algarve and is threatening the water and food reserves that agricultural and livestock activities should consume in the summer, warned this Thursday, May 3, the mayor of Alcoutim.
Speaking to Lusa, Osvaldo Gonçalves refers that the situation in that area of the Algarve foresees great difficulties for the rest of the year, since water reserves that should only be consumed during the dry season, in summer, are already being used.
«We are advancing the consumption of these reserves and, perhaps, jeopardizing some of these reserves for the future, which will deplete, both in terms of aquifers, and in terms of animal feed, permanent meadows and spontaneous vegetation, which at the moment it is dry», warned the mayor.
The mayor of Alcoutim made a portrait of the drought, where the effects of the lack of rain and water are already visible because «the field is completely dry» and «there is no moisture in the soil», a situation identical to as if he had already the month of June arrived.
«I have some fruit trees in my backyard and this year I don’t have any fruit, because the heat itself – and I associate this with the heat at flower height – killed everything», he exemplified, stressing that he has no scientific data to support this evaluation, based on "what is in everyone's eyes".
Osvaldo Gonçalves observed that, in Alcoutim, there is not a great deal of pressure in terms of irrigated agriculture or intensive herds, especially cattle, which consume the most water, and noted that, even in sheep and goats, the pressure is not very relevant, because «unfortunately there have been many more herds than there are at the moment».
Livestock producers and farmers who still exist in the municipality are already facing difficulties caused by the lack of rain and the drought, which is considered severe in some areas of the east Algarve, warned the mayor.
«These people are starting to feel at this moment a concern regarding what is the present, which are the permanent meadows that should be maintained until, at least, until the end of the month and that, meanwhile, are already becoming completely deteriorated», justified.
The fodder that was sown was born, but did not progress, the seeds only grew and everything that was planted to ensure subsistence in the coming months "did not mature, did not even spike", he added.
The same source underlined that the herds are probably already being fed using hay and straw, when they should only be consuming pasture, a reality that obliges livestock farmers to pay additional expenses to meet the needs of the animals.
«And what is being heard is people's concern for the future, because the reserves that are being consumed were those that should have been used in the summer», he concluded.
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