More than 1,200 tons of food stopped arriving in Surabastos in March due to the El Niño Phenomenon. Although the supply decreased, the Neiva supply center assures that there has been no shortage.
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The harsh reality of the drought and the El Niño Phenomenon have not gone unnoticed in Surabastos, the largest supply center in the southern Colombian region. Germán Peña González, General Administrator, indicated that more than 1,200 tons of food did not enter the plant during the month of March, compared to the same period in January. This decrease in supply, especially of fruits and vegetables, has raised concern in the community and the commercial sector.
“We see that this situation was due to the critical economic situation that we are going through and the strong summer that is being experienced in the region,” explained Peña González. However, he reassured the population by ensuring that, despite the decrease in supply, there has been no shortage of products in Surabastos.
Although the outlook looks challenging, Surabastos authorities emphasize that the supply chain has never been broken. “That was the situation that occurred in the month of March, taking into account the month of January 2024 as a reference point,” said Peña González.
Germán Peña González, Administrator of Surabastos, explained that the decrease in the entry of food to the supply center was due to the drought and the El Niño Phenomenon.
Among the most affected products are fruits, such as mandarin, pineapple, blackberry, guava and mango. The absence of regular demand from schools and children’s homes during January, which are usually large consumers of these foods, has also contributed to the decrease in supply. With the resumption of activities in March, demand has increased, exacerbating product shortages.
The value of food has experienced an increase due to low supply, particularly in fruits, while vegetables such as potatoes, cassava and onion have maintained relative stability.
However, hope lies in the arrival of winter, which could alleviate the situation. According to Peña González, although at the beginning of winter an improvement in production is expected due to the previous drought, the advance of the rainy season could complicate the situation, since the fruits could fall from the trees, affecting production.
In addition to the drought, the poor conditions of the tertiary roads have made it difficult to transport products from the farms to Surabastos, which has contributed to making food more expensive and making it difficult to reach the market.
There was no food shortage: MinAgricultura
For its part, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Jhenifer Mojica, presented a positive balance of the agricultural sector during the El Niño Phenomenon season, highlighting the actions implemented to guarantee food production.
Mojica described the management carried out as an articulated and unprecedented effort to confront the El Niño Phenomenon in the country. Anticipatory measures, clear and continuous communication, as well as economic support for agricultural producers through direct deliveries or lines of credit, were highlighted. These actions were fundamental to avoid catastrophic effects in the Colombian countryside.
Minister Mojica offered reassurance regarding the situation of the agricultural sector, ensuring that the El Niño Phenomenon did not significantly impact food production. It was noted that during the first quarter of the year the supply increased in all supply centers, and that there was no risk of shortages anywhere in the country.
The readiness plan to face this climate phenomenon began in March 2023 with the forecasts provided by Ideam that warned of the arrival of a strong El Niño. For this reason, entities in the agricultural sector focused their efforts to mitigate the impact through prevention and preparation.
From then on, the ministry designed, as a first measure, lines of credit for small and medium-sized producers to make investments in irrigation and drainage, soil adaptation, planting, infrastructure and machinery, among others.
With 250 credit operations, investment projects valued at $12,494 million were leveraged, focused on the prevention and mitigation of effects caused by El Niño. The Government of Change provided an interest rate subsidy worth $1,176 million, which facilitated the delivery of these resources to small and medium-sized producers, guaranteeing the financial inclusion of this population group.
78% of these credits were allocated to irrigation and drainage projects so that agricultural producers had adequate water management during the period of greatest intensity of El Niño.
In the financial line, the activation of the Access Fund to Agricultural Inputs, FAIA, for coffee growers and agricultural producers also stands out. With a purse of $124.2 billion, the purchase of fertilizers for crops and balanced feed for animals was supported.
“Of that amount, we allocate $58.7 billion to coffee growers, which is equivalent to 47% of the resources. The financial aid programs that we deliver have to do with reactivation due to climate impacts, a measure that we adopted to try to mitigate the economic effects of El Niño on productions such as coffee.“said the minister.
Coordination with the governorates
After the declaration of a disaster by the competent authorities due to the climate phenomenon, the agricultural sector took significant steps forward. The installation of the Unified Command Post (PMU) allowed the departmental Secretaries of Agriculture to present reports on the effects in their respective territories.
With the collaboration of the entities attached to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, an application was developed so that territorial entities can monitor the impact of El Niño in their regions, with the participation of the Carabineros Police.
This information is crucial for emergency response, since it provides concrete data on the effects in the sector. For the distribution of aid, the impact on the crops of essential products, the areas affected by the lack of rain and the prioritization of areas with the greatest number of animals affected by the dry climate were considered.
The minister highlighted that aid is delivered daily, but depends on the activation of the emergency and the verification of the effects.
The agricultural equipment includes a water storage tank, sprinkler cannons, hoses, motor pumps, foliar biofertilizers and hydroretainers. Meanwhile, the livestock supplies include storage tanks, hoses, motor pumps, waterers, sugar cane honey and a mixture of soy and corn.
So far, 3,831 of these devices have been delivered, and another 3,213 are expected to be distributed in the coming days.
The minister concluded by highlighting that, thanks to these actions, there have been no shortages in the first three months of the year. Additionally, she noted that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has decreased, in part thanks to the agricultural sector and food producers, who provide 60% of the country’s food.