Concern grows among Azuero producers as water troughs begin to dry up

Water troughs are beginning to dry up in Panama’s Azuero region, leaving farmers and ranchers uncertain about how they will sustain agricultural activity as rain remains scarce. Producers say the effects of El Niño are already visible in shrinking water sources and reduced pasture.

Roberto Delgado Girón, a producer from Herrera, called for a rapid short-term plan. “The climate situation is very worrying, and it is affecting us enormously. There is great concern in the agricultural sector because of the shortage of water and pasture. We need to put together a rapid, short-term plan to mitigate the situation,” he said.

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The climate situation is very worrying, and it is affecting us enormously. There is great concern in the agricultural sector because of the shortage of water and pasture. We need to put together a rapid, short-term plan to mitigate the situation.

Delgado Girón proposed cooperation between producers and the Ministry of Agricultural Development, known as MIDA, to produce cut pasture, store harvested rainwater and build reservoirs. Other ranchers said they need immediate help before the problem becomes more difficult to manage.

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The water sources are already drying up. We will see whether the government helps us. We need machines to drill deep wells, and we still have time.

“The water sources are already drying up. We will see whether the government helps us. We need machines to drill deep wells, and we still have time,” said Agustín Hernández. Julio César Girón, a rancher from Monagrillo, said the region had gone more than a month without rain. The limited rainfall in some areas had not been enough, he said, because troughs failed to fill and the water that remained evaporated in high temperatures.

“The troughs have not stored water, and what little there is has evaporated because of the high temperatures. We are waiting for the government’s response or assistance because this is getting out of our hands. It is an extraordinary situation,” Girón said. The Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology of Panama has warned that El Niño could intensify in November, potentially coinciding with the dry-season months and deepening the damage to agriculture.

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The troughs have not stored water, and what little there is has evaporated because of the high temperatures. We are waiting for the government’s response or assistance because this is getting out of our hands. It is an extraordinary situation.