Catumbela – At least 37000 tones of various products, such as cereals, fruit, legumes and vegetables, have been lost due to heavy rains that have poured in Benguela province since October 2023, ANGOP has learnt.
According to the director of the Provincial Office of Agriculture, Farming and Fisheries, José Gomes da Silva, the volume of products lost corresponds to nine percent of the first season of the 2023/24 agricultural year in the region.
The official revealed that 9,347 hectares cultivated with various products have been destroyed due to the flooding.
José Gomes da Silva, who disclosed the information following the first ordinary meeting of the Benguela Provincial Government held on Monday, added that the rains also destroyed 15 motor pumps and 1,700 crop irrigation hoses in various municipalities.
He added that at least 57 head of cattle died due to electrical discharges, a recurring phenomenon in the inland municipalities, especially in Ganda, Chongoroi and Balombo.
The expectation, Silva said, was to harvest around 420,000 tones of produce in the first season of the 2023-24 agricultural year, which runs from September to January, while the second season generally begins in February and lasts until May.
He regretted the fact that the sector’s forecast was not met as a result of excessive rainfall damaging more than 37,000 tones.
"The rains started in October and at first we were cheering, thinking that we were going to have a very fruitful season," said José Gomes da Silva, emphasizing that "nature betrayed us because it has been raining heavily since October until now".
As for the annual volume of rainfall in Benguela province, Silva said that, at the moment, rainfall has reached more than 6,200 millimeters, compared to the 1,600 millimeters forecast.
He recognizes that the fact that the volume of rainfall is three times higher than forecast has negative effects on agricultural productivity, such as the destruction of cultivated areas due to a phenomenon called "leaching".
According to him, soil leaching causes a decrease in nutrients such as nitrogen in the roots, affecting plant growth and sometimes rotting them. JH/CRB/AMP
