Catastrophic floods in southern Brazil will have long-lasting impacts for agriculture, with soaked soils making it harder for farmers to plant crops including rice and wheat for next season. Growers in Rio Grande do Sul will likely be forced to shift away from their traditional crops and into new cultures, according to Silvia Massruhá, head of agricultural research agency Embrapa. Wheat output, already forecast to drop 4.3% in the state in the season that was supposed to start this month, could be even lower after the floods.
“There will be a need for rearranging agriculture and feedstock activities in that region,” Massruhá told Bloomberg. “The soil has soaked up a lot of water, so we don’t know what share of rice or wheat farmers will be able to plant the next crop or if they will need to plant something else before until the soil recovers.”
Embrapa plans to send researchers to the affected areas to run soil analysis and diagnose the crop situation when water levels drop.
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