To combat the drought, the government expands its fleet of water tanker trucks.

Leonardo Lucena_PE247 – The Ministry of National Integration will increase the fleet of water tanker trucks in the Northeastern Sertão region by 30%, bringing the total to six thousand trucks, to help deliver water to the population affected by the drought, considered the worst in the region in the last 50 years. Throughout the semi-arid Northeast, more than 3,5 million people are served by water tanker trucks in 763 municipalities. In Pernambuco, there are already 826 such vehicles circulating in 92 of the state's 184 cities, benefiting 578.943 people.

This measure is being implemented in parallel with several other emergency actions recently announced by President Dilma Rousseff (PT) to mitigate the effects of the drought. At the meeting of the Deliberative Council of the Superintendency for the Development of the Northeast, on the 2nd of this month, the head of the federal Executive branch announced a package of R$ 9 billion, which was added to the R$ 7,6 billion already invested by the government.

In the case of water trucks, for example, R$ 71,5 million will be invested per month. The government also announced the installation of 750 cisterns, with 130 by June and 240 by December 2013. Regarding well drilling, the federal government aims to drill 1,1 new wells and rehabilitate another 1,4.

Regarding financial aid to farmers, R$ 85 million will be invested monthly for the duration of the drought. Families will receive monthly payments between R$ 140,00 and R$ 155,00. Approximately 769 farmers in 1.015 municipalities are covered by the program. As for the Drought Relief Program, families will continue to receive R$ 80,00, which will require an investment of R$ 87,7 million per month.

In the case of corn supply, the main source of energy for livestock, 340 tons will be distributed in the months of April and May. The government had already distributed 370 tons from January to March of this year, benefiting 113 farmers.

With the goal of helping those affected by the drought, the government announced an expansion of credit lines by R$ 350 million, bringing the total to R$ 2,75 billion to be disbursed gradually. Until then, the funds corresponding to the credit line amounted to R$ 2,4 billion, with 293 operations contracted.

Furthermore, each of the 1.415 municipalities suffering the effects of the drought will receive a backhoe loader, a water tanker (part of a 30% increase in the fleet), a dump truck, a motor grader, and a front-end loader. In this regard, the investment will reach R$ 2,1 billion, with R$ 1,46 million for each city.