American farmers are suffering, and some say it’s because Mexico not keeping his end of the bargain. It’s not money that farmers need, it’s water.
“This is the first year I’ve been without irrigation water,” said Brian Jones, who has farmed near the border for nearly 40 years. He notes a considerable drop in harvests due to the lack of irrigation water.
Under a treaty dating from the 1940s, Mexico agreed to donate a certain amount of water to the Lower Rio Grande region. Farmers in the region say the Mexican government is not meeting its obligations.
“I only have half of my farm planted. And the other half is unused right now, because we don’t have water to take care of the crops,” Jones said. Luis Ribera, a professor and extension economist at Texas A&M, helped create a report on the potential losses to the United States if there remained no irrigation water in the region.
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Economic impact of lack of irrigation water from Mexico to the United States (Olivianna Calmes)
“The direct impact for producers will amount to nearly $500 million… and more than 8,500 jobs depend on it. on agriculture production and distribution and everything. So we’re talking about big numbers,” Ribera said. Jones said the sugar mill right next to his home was the only one in the state. It closed this year because it didn’t have enough water for production.
Jones said it was sobering to see the plant closed and a reminder for his own farm.
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Rio Grande Valley sugar producers close their doors (Olivianna Calmes)
“We pray that Mexico will start doing what they’re supposed to do, what they said they would do,” Jones said.
Due to lack of water, farmer Brian Jones says he has much less harvest than he should have. (Olivianna Calmes)
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Professor Ribera believes that if the problem is not resolved, it could eventually drive up the price of food products.
