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The federal government is preparing a package of measures to be announced in the coming days to help small and large producers in Rio Grande do Sul face the severe drought that is once again affecting the state.
The Minister of the Presidency's Communication Secretariat, Paulo Pimenta, even said on his Twitter account that the measures would be announced by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva this Thursday.
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However, sources told Reuters that measures have not yet been defined, which should happen at a new meeting on Friday. Pimenta deleted the post.
The financial loss due to the drought in soybean crops in Rio Grande do Sul in the 2022/23 harvest was estimated at 28.38 billion reais, according to a survey involving 21 cooperatives and released by FecoAgro/RS this Thursday.
According to sources heard by Reuters, a meeting this Thursday between the ministries of Agriculture, Civil House, Finance, Regional Development and Agrarian Development defined that a package will be needed to try to minimize production losses in the State, and each of the ministries will present alternatives at Friday's meeting.
One of the measures that had already been studied is the inclusion of Rio Grande do Sul in the Water for All program, for the construction of cisterns, which will be resumed by the government.
Created during the first Lula government and abandoned during Jair Bolsonaro's mandate, Água para Todos was centralized only in the Northeast region.
However, with the consecutive years of drought faced by Rio Grande do Sul in the summer, the government has been evaluating that small producers in the State can benefit from the cisterns.
According to data from the Rio Grande do Sul government, Rio Grande do Sul also faces problems in the production of corn, vegetables and milk production, due to high temperatures and little rain in most of the state.
Source: Lisandra Paraguassu | Notícias Agrícolas