In Cape Verde, after three years of drought, water has become “far too expensive” for farmers

Cape Verde, an archipelago of 600,000 inhabitants 650 kilometers from the West African coast, in the Atlantic Ocean, is experiencing one of the worst droughts in its history. Farmers are in dire need of water. Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva called for actions and commitments from the most developed countries against global warming from the COP26 platform.

It has been three years since the rain fell enough on the Cape Verde archipelago. Three rainy seasons in quick succession that only a little water falls, a few days, once or a few times a month, but all this is not enough to meet the water needs and to recharge the groundwater phreatic. They are essential in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, and represent 80% of the water resources in the country.

Manuel Amado owns a hilly area of ​​over 1,500 hectares, a few kilometers from Praia, the capital. For his animals, his cows in particular, the breeder is obliged to make provisions over a very long period.“What you are seeing is a stock of fodder that I have had since 2020, he explains amid the yellowed grasses and banana plantations. In Cape Verde, you are never sure you have water and therefore hay every year. Proof that I was right: we need it right now for animals. We can take another two or three years like this. “

“I’ve been here for 20 years and the change can be seen everywhere in Cape Verde. Semi-arid lands become arid, wet lands become semi-humid.”

Manuelo Amado, farmer near Praia

to franceinfo

With the lack of water, Manuel Amado’s plants produce six times less fruit than five years ago. “We must all be aware of this upheaval, because the degradation of the environment is obvious, he emphasizes. It is time to find new solutions. “

Farmers must find water by all means. The government provides them at a reduced rate. One of the beneficiaries, Aristides Carvalho, has been cultivating fruit tree plantations or even sugar cane in upper floors for 24 years, a few kilometers away. “Without rain, we have to buy water cans. 50 liter cans, or even 500 liters in the worst case! It costs about for this amount the equivalent of five euros per unit. C “It is impossible to continue like this. We do not have enough money. The water is much too expensive, and the yield too low.”

In all, nearly 20% of arable land has become infertile, too dry in recent years. No matter how hard the government tries to support these farmers, the problem is global.