One of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in rural areas of the country is the decrease in income during the months of confinement, warns a survey by the United Nations Fund for Food and Agriculture (FAO) ) and the Ministry of Agriculture.
The pandemic maximized the problems of the countryside, at the national level, in which almost half of its population (48%) survived with a monthly income of less than USD 84, in December 2020; almost a third, 27.5%, lived on less than USD 2 a day (USD 47 a month).
79% of rural households received lower income during the pandemic, which would have an impact on fewer crops. 29% of the surveyed households expect a reduction in the area planted this year, due to the lack of money to finance the crops and crops.
The lack of access to technology is added. “As the mobilization was affected, then the use of a tool such as the internet was essential, but most do not have access,” claimed Eiter Lozano, a 51-year-old rice farmer from the Santa Lucía canton, in Guayas.
The impact was felt before the pandemic, with the increase in production costs, due to the government provision that led to the gradual rise in the price of diesel, after the protests in October 2019.
“It increased almost 25%, which makes the job more expensive. A 55-gallon diesel tank was worth USD 60, now it costs USD 81. In irrigation pumps, tractors and truck transport that are diesel, USD 300 is spent per hectare. With the subsidized fuel, up to USD 220 was spent, ”Lozano protested.
The mobility restrictions from 2:00 p.m. affected the production cycle, because the harvesters entered the rice fields from 6:00 p.m., after the wet grain dried during the day. “The machines lost their work and part of the production was lost,” he says.
The price of its products was lower than normal last year compared to the same period in 2019, according to 37% of the households surveyed.
The rice growers sold at an average of USD 30 per quintal between April and October 2020, but the price fell and fluctuated from November to January 2021 from USD 22 to USD 25. “We have to sell above USD 25 to pay the debts. and win, that is why there is a support price that the State set at USD 31.5, which already generates profitability, but it is not respected, ”said Lozano.
Another problem is intermediation, which affects the consumer, since the drop in prices is not evident in the cities, where a pound of rice is sold between USD 0.35 and USD 0.45; that is, at USD 35 or USD 45 per quintal. “The intermediation claims that freight rates go up.”
The closure of the public silos to store the grains, by the National Government, obliges the peasants to sell their production to private piladoras, at the price that is available at that time, which generates lags in the economy of rural families .
The fall in income also affected livestock production, limiting access to animal feed, veterinary services and the purchase of inputs that had higher prices.
The peasants assume debt with fixed interest rates and terms, without knowing what they will finally get for their products. They can’t even plan to pay off a debt. It is a cycle that leads them to lend to chulqueros, when they are in default and are no longer subject to credit in financial institutions, or to migrate to the cities.
Be the first to comment