Drought Cuts La Paz Dairy Production by 20%

Fedelpaz said the drought had reduced output across La Paz’s dairy sector by one-fifth. Producers also faced 47 days of road closures, which disrupted the movement and sale of raw milk.

During the disruptions, farmers said they had to ration feed and reduce the amount given to their animals. They attributed those measures to difficulties in maintaining normal operations. Fedelpaz estimated that the resulting economic losses reached as much as 58%.

The decline is reflected in deliveries to the processing industry. Affiliated producers are currently sending about 45,000 litres of milk a day to PIL Andina, compared with 62,000 litres per day specified in their existing agreement.

The shortfall is 17,000 litres a day, or roughly 27% of the volume set out in the agreement. Lower deliveries have coincided with the difficulties of feeding livestock and the effects of water scarcity.

Fedelpaz said production costs had also moved above the price received by farmers. Producers reported a cost of Bs 6.34 to produce one litre, while the payment they receive is Bs 5.05, leaving a difference of Bs 1.29 per litre.

The federation proposed using about Bs 77.54m from the accumulated balance of the Fondo Pro Leche. It said the money could finance balanced feed and seed purchases, the drilling of deep wells and the installation of irrigation systems.

Producers also asked the central government to speed up the approval of new wells and to build water-channel and storage infrastructure using small reservoirs known as atajados. Fedelpaz said restoring access to water and feed was necessary to address the production decline and support the sector’s operations.