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By Chris Covert
More than 30 centimeters of snow fell on the Sierra Tarahumara region of western Chihuahua state last week, seemingly to temper somewhat the drought and food crisis that has been termed a structural famine.
The snowfall commenced at 0400 hrs last February 25th and lasted until 2230 hrs that night. Snow began in the Chihuahua municipalities of Guerrero and Bocoyna, and 30 minutes later in Urique, specifically in the communities of San Juanito, Creel and the Areponapuchi Divisadero of Urique. Temperatures plunged to -11C in the village of El Vergel in Ballez municipality.
Despite the needed snowfall, the expected runoff is expected not to impact agriculture in the region, nor in regions in the lower elevations. As bad as the news has been for Mexican farmers and rancher since the drought began 20 months, conditions are expected to intensify the problems in the next six months, the driest in the Mexican growing season cycle.
And aid for the Tarahumara Indians in western Chihuahua continues to pour in from both private and public drives. One example from Sonora state was where an aid drive on the Hermosillo Camara de la Industria de la Radio y la Televisión (CIRT) a television and radio trade group raised MP $44,000 (USD $3,457.92) in cash as well as stores of staples expected to be of use in western Chihuahua such as corn, beans, rice, butter, milk powder and water. The drive lasted two days, February 23rd and 24th, and totalled more than six metric tons of aid.
Production of two main staples in Mexico, beans and corn have fallen dramatically,forcing the federal government to import food stock to at least partially make up the difference. According to a post at AnimalPolitico.com last month, losses in corn amount to about MP $9 billion (USD $705,754,800.00) and beans at MP $6 billion (USD $470,503,200.00).
A total of 100 metric million tons of white corn and another 200,000 tons of beans are due to be imported to be used for food.
To partially compensate for the loss the Mexican federal government has earmarked MP $33.8 billion (USD $2,649,920,000.00) nationwide to address the affects of the drought, which amounts to 45 percent of the projected losses so far. A small part of that budget is expected to be allocated for further developing water resources, the rest for direct aid.
The drought has affected state budgets as well, which rely on agriculture for part of their revenues.
In Tamaulipas state the Secretaria de Desarrollo Rural or Department for Rural Development, Jorge Reyes said this past week that the state had slashed its budget by 60 percent cancelling several infrastructure projects for agriculture, fisheries and cattle. In 2011, the budget was MP $400 million (USD $31,360,000), while this year the budget is MP $220 million (USD $17,248,000). Some support programs shared by both the state and federal governments have been cancelled altogether.
Additionally, three federal programs that divert resources to Tamaulipas for agricultural support have been cancelled as well, totalling MP $472 million (USD $37,004,800). The supports are part of the Mexican federal system in which revenues and costs are shared both ways and in considerable amounts relative to state budgets. The Mexican federal system is much more top-down by comparison to the American federal system.
Because of the drought and the water shortage, as well as grain shortage for cattle feed an additional 250,000 head of cattle nationwide are expected to be slaughtered in 2012. Last year a total of 200,000 head of cattle died from the drought, and this year ranchers are expected to get ahead of the problem with the new program, States most affected by the new policy are Zacatecas, Durango, Chihuahua, Coahuila and San Luis Potosi. among the poorest in Mexico.
The drought has brought a new problem for the upper elevations, especially in the sierras: forest fire. According to the Chihuahua state Secretaria de Desarrollo Rural, Octavio Legarreta, a total of 495 hectares, about 2,500 acres have burned since the start of the year. Officials with the federal Comision Nacional Forestal or National Forestry Commission and SecretarÃa de Comunicaciones y Obras Publica or Department of Communications and Public Works have worked to build 200 kilometers of firebreaks nationwide. Since March and April are expected to be without rain the danger of fire will be especially acute.
Of the MP $33,8 billion expected from the federal government, about MP $900 million (USD $70,560,000) is allocated for developing water wells. That program apparently has problems, though, according to a Milenio news daily column last week by Ismael Aguilar Benitez, a teahcer at Colegio Frontera Norte in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon.
Aguilar Benitez's complaint that current relief efforts at drilling new wells may "overexploit" the aquifer, and could affect future water availability.
For his main concern was left for the specter of corruption as moneys filter down from the federal government to the states.
"It is clear that the problems of water management will not be solved by allocating more money to politicians handle it," writes Aguilar Benitez.
The concern with corruption has been echoed last month by Catholic church leaders in the Sirerra Tarahumara as well as Non Government Organizations in the area. Stories have been retailed about officials withholding aid in exchnage for promises to vote in the upcoming elections, as well as stories about aid workers selling food packages for cash.
That last spells out just how desperate things will get over the next six months.
A story published in El Sol de Mexico news daily Saturday said that because of the lack of food and water, subsistence farmers with health problems in Nayarit are beginning to appear at rural medical clinics. To add to the problem, some clinic in the state suffer from shortages of medicines and from staff shortages.
According to the article, the mayor of El Nayar, Pedro de la Cruz Flores said about 7,000 food packages were allocated recently to about 72 locations so far.