Ecuador’s rural farmers, communities struggle amid worst drought in six decades: Video

With rivers running dry and water sources dwindling, farmers and communities are struggling to sustain their livelihoods, the AFP reports. 

Manager of Research and Monitoring at the public company TAPA-EP, Rigoberto Guerrero reports that the water flow in key rivers such as Tomebamba, Yanuncay, and Tarqui has dropped to critically low levels, with flows of less than one cubic metre per second. 

He noted, “To date, there have been 73 days of hydrological drought. And for the time being, the first effects are being felt in the rural water treatment plants, since they are much smaller than the urban ones. In the case of the urban plants, there have already been announcements of possible rationing if the lack of rainfall continues.”

The drought has led to drastic water rationing. According to Luis Gustavo Nivicela Shagui, Chairman of the Regional Water and Sanitation Administration Board, water access has been reduced to only three to four hours every two days. “We went from 70 litres per second to 20 litres per second,” he stated.

In Cuenca, a rural region, families have been living under water rationing for over 70 days, with farmers like 57-year-old Maria Mercedes Morocho Lojano saying, "We are really screwed because we can't grow anything." 

The crisis has also affected tourism and its related activities. Alfonso Chimbo, owner of La Mano Morlaca, a local tourist attraction in the Mirador el Calvario-Turi community, said, "Tourism has decreased a lot due to lack of water. We can’t prepare food or provide basic services like bathrooms because we don’t have water."