El Niño-Linked Drought Damages Morelos Crops; Insurance to Be Activated for Farmers

About 70% of Morelos’s rain-fed crops have suffered losses of 70% or more in parts of the state, with corn production bearing the greatest impact. The damage has affected areas in the south and southwest, as well as the municipality of Axochiapan.

Margarita Galeana Torres, secretary of agricultural development, attributed the agricultural disaster to drought associated with the El Niño phenomenon. She said the state would activate catastrophic insurance for affected producers, drawing on a fund of 107 million pesos.

The policy covers agricultural and livestock losses caused by drought or hail. It will be combined with a commercial insurance scheme subsidized by the state government by up to 100%.

Technical inspection teams are assessing damage across 232 ejidos and communities. Their field evaluations were 30% complete at the time of the report. Although rain has fallen in recent days, Galeana Torres said some fields cannot recover because the lack of water has already caused irreversible damage.

In other areas, rain could still help plants develop, but production is expected to remain below normal, reaching only 50% to 60% of average yields. The communities and municipalities reporting the greatest damage include Tlaquiltenango, Cuentepec, Xoxocotla, Mazatepec, Zacatepec, Los Sauces and Tepalcingo.

Galeana Torres warned that the affected area could expand because some ejido authorities have not yet submitted damage reports. Once the information-gathering process ends and the damaged hectares are identified, officials will determine the support producers will receive through the catastrophic insurance program.