An increasingly severe drought in California, USA threatens the almond industry which is worth up to 6 billion dollars.
It is known, the state in the US produces 80 percent of almonds in the world.
Quoted from VOA Indonesia, Sunday (22/8/2021) almond production is expected to decline, after decades of developing the industry. That problem can lead to price increases.
As drought continues in California, the condition of almond trees, which are in desperate need of water in the state, is threatened.
Some farmers are forced to not irrigate their fields, because they cannot get or buy water – leaving the trees there to die.
Meanwhile, some other farmers do not plant fields so that the saved water is fully channeled to almonds.
Some farmers are also prepared to dismantle their gardens years earlier than planned, if the water situation does not improve.
That’s the situation of the almond field, 180 degrees changed from the nut’s expansion period in California’s Central Valley.
The Mediterranean’s dry climate and reliable irrigation systems make it the perfect location for growing almonds, a popular nut.
according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), almond production in California in 1995 grew from nearly 168 million kilograms, and reached a record 1.4 billion kilograms in 2020.
Almond Harvest in California Expected to Decline Due to Drought
Almonds are one of the major crops, and the largest agricultural export, of California.
Almond California exported abroad also reached 70 percent. There is a very high demand for almonds from India, East Asia and the European Union.
In May 2021, the USDA projected that almond harvests there would reach a record 1.5 billion kilograms this year.
But that projection was reduced to 1.3 billion kilograms by July 2021, citing low water availability and record heat.
Jim Jasper, is the owner of Stewart & Jasper Orchards, the company his father formed in 1948 in Newman, California.
Each year, permainan togel online terbaik Stewart & Jasper Orchards process approximately 27 million kilograms of almonds produced from more than 80 square kilometers of orchards, including about eight square kilometers of its own gardens.
Some of his neighbors have stopped irrigating their almond groves.
“We’re going to see the number of almonds from California going down a bit. The world is going to start experiencing a decline in almonds,” Jasper said.
California Water Impact Network board member Tom Stokely said the state should ban water-hungry crops, such as almonds, in areas that lack adequate water supplies.
“With climate change, drought and heat waves, things are going to change very quickly or we’re going to see the state collapse. We need to do something about it,” Stokely added.