From teleSUR

Rice production will only meet 60 percent of the amount required to satisfy national consumption due to the drought.
Over one million people are being affected by a severe drought in Cuba, causing a major drop in rice production, experts said Wednesday.

More than 70 percent of the Caribbean island’s territory is affected by what is being labeled either “severe” or “extreme” dependent on location. It is the worst drought in 115 years, according to a study by the National Center of Climate.

“This has been a tough year for farmers, especially for rice, whose aims to deliver more rice to the economy and substitute importations depend on rainfall and stored water,” said Lazara Diaz, director general at Agroindustrial Group Grains of Minag.

According to Minag estimates, rice production will only reach 60 percent of the amount required to satisfy national consumption.

For the second year in a row, droughts triggered by the El Niño weather phenomenon have also severely reduced crop output in the greater Central America region this season.

In Central American “dry corridor” countries such as Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, drought conditions have exacerbated already fragile food security.

Historic drought conditions in other parts of the Caribbean are also causing huge losses for farmers as the region suffers the driest conditions in more than five years.

“This has been a tough year for farmers, especially for rice, whose aims to deliver more rice to the economy and substitute importations depend on rainfall and stored water,” said Lazara Diaz, director general at Agroindustrial Group Grains of Minag. | Photo: EFE

Agencia Cubana de Noticias

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