According to Epagri's survey, rural areas in Santa Catarina recorded 49,2 properties affected by the October rains, with losses exceeding R$1,6 billion. The biggest losses were recorded in temporary crops, with emphasis on tobacco crops – with an estimated R$429 million in losses, and onions – with an estimated R$286,4 million in losses.
To date, 162 municipalities have recorded losses. The most affected regions, with the highest number of establishments affected and the highest loss values, were the regions of Alto Vale do Itajaí and Planalto Norte Catarinense.
These numbers are estimates. The president of Epagri, Dirceu Leite, highlights that many losses are still being determined, since the effects of intense rains persist and some areas, such as in the municipality of Rio do Oeste, remain flooded to date. “Furthermore, in several communities, access is still restricted, making a more accurate survey difficult,” he says.
The survey also identified losses with animals, machinery and equipment, horticulture, stock, milk, pasture and orchards. All of this data will serve as a basis for the Government of Santa Catarina to construct public policy proposals to recover or mitigate the losses of rural producers.
The rains are causing negative impacts in the most diverse ways on agriculture. One of them concerns the delay in sowing times for summer crops. Another problem is in crops that are in full development, as there are cases in which plantations were completely submerged. Another consequence is the delay in harvesting winter crops, which can result in losses in the quantity and quality of harvested grains.
The lack of light, characteristic of these rainy periods, causes a reduction in plant growth. But what draws the most attention is the occurrence of erosion in crops, slopes and roads in general, which causes furrows to open on the surface and take part of the coverage with it.
The state manager of rural extension and fishing, Hoilson Fogolari, comments that many crops in Santa Catarina have managed to minimize the effects of erosion by adhering to conservationist production practices recommended by Epagri, as is the case with the Vegetable Direct Planting System (SPDH) and terraces . “The terraces regulate the quantity and speed of runoff so as not to cause erosion, promote infiltration or direct it to specific areas for storage and subsequent flow. We work to increasingly encourage these actions”, points out Hoilson.
In the period from Friday to Saturday (October 27th and 28th), very significant volumes of rain are expected, with accumulations ranging between 120 and 160mm in areas of West Santa Catarina and part of Planalto Sul and Planalto Norte, close to the border with Paraná, with values that may be higher. In other areas of the State, the accumulations are between 80 and 120 mm, with the lowest accumulations occurring on the South Coast.
In the period from Friday (27) to Saturday (28), the risk is high for floods, flash floods and flooding in the river basins of the regions of the North Coast, South Coast, Vale do Itajaí and Grande Florianópolis and very high for floods, floods and flooding in the river basins of the Grande Oeste, Planalto Norte and Planalto Sul regions.
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