Brazilian farmer who lost everything in the floods recalls the fury of the waters May 26, 2024
- Ana Cunha-Busch
- May 25, 2024
- 3 min read
By AFP - Agence France Presse
Brazilian farmer who lost everything in the floods recalls the fury of the waters
Travesseiro (Brazil) (AFP) - It was six o'clock in the morning when Brazilian farmer Vernei Kunz heard the roar of the waters as the Forqueta River overflowed its banks and washed away most of his 5,000 pigs.
Kunz, 60, has worked for 42 years in the town of Travesseiro, one of the hundreds devastated by weeks of cataclysmic floods that killed more than 160 people in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
“The sows and piglets were all in the barns,” he told AFP on the morning of May 2.
“We opened the doors to let them out. We managed to catch some that were swimming in the water. We got them out and took them to the road, where they were safe.”
Kunz and his employees managed to save around 700 pigs, he said. The slaughterhouse he works with has collected them and is sending them to other farms in the region.
“The rest drowned,” said Kunz, pointing to piles of rubble that used to be concrete and metal sheds.
A foul smell fills the air, a poignant reminder of the pigs still buried under the mud three weeks later.
'Burn everything'
The river, about 500 meters from Kunz's property, increased in volume with the torrential rains that hit the region at the end of April.
Finally, it burst its banks with force, sweeping away practically everything in its path, including the bridge to Travesseiro.
Today, only the two ends of the almost 20-meter-high bridge remain, suspended in the air.
Kunz fired his 12 employees on the same day, with severance pay, he said.
Without any insurance cover, he estimates his losses at between 10 million and 15 million reais (2 million to 3 million dollars).
Overall, the agricultural sector - the engine of the region's economy - lost around 430 million dollars, according to the National Confederation of Municipalities.
The association of pig farmers in Rio Grande do Sul, one of Brazil's largest pork producers and exporters, said that the devastation had affected between 25 and 28% of production.
“I'd already been through big floods in 2010, but nothing like this,” said Kunz.
“That time, we were able to rebuild. This time, the water destroyed everything.”
Experts say that the intensity of the floods is linked to climate change.
“You can't go against nature,” said Kunz, still wearing wellies.
His property, which extends over several thousand square meters, is littered with twisted metal, aluminum sheets, pieces of walls, and tree trunks.
“I'll have to burn it all. What else can I do?” he said.
His son, Eduardo, 34, explains that the farm used to be a modern operation, including the use of artificial insemination to breed animals with the best characteristics.
“We had very expensive machinery. It would be difficult to get that back,” he said.
Eduardo, his wife, and their two-year-old son share a small house with his parents on higher ground along the road, where the water didn't reach this time.
Starting again from scratch
The family plans to stay in Travesseiro, a quiet farming town of 2,000 inhabitants.
Mayor Gilmar Southier estimates that 80% of the local population was affected by the floods.
He said that the priority is to rebuild the bridge, the main link between the town and the main cities in the region.
Kunz, for his part, plans to start again. But instead of pigs, he wants to grow corn and soybeans.
“If I lose everything again, it will cost less to start from scratch next time.”
He expects his first harvest to be in August 2026. Until then, he said, he will have to find loans to get back on his feet.
© 2024 AFP
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