Drought in Chile

In the more arid parts of Chile droughts are produced when there are low amounts of snow accumulation in the Andes.

[5] In Coquimbo Province 70% of the wheat from non-irrigated land was lost while in irrigated areas the harvest loss was of 20%.

[7] The area affected by the drought spanned from Atacama Province in the north to Ñuble in the south.

[7] In 1969 farmers received support of several financial institutions and state agencies including tax exemptions and a line of credit to buy forage.

[8] Chile many farmers decided to not cultivate in early summer due to this and to the known fact there was almost no snow in Andes.

[8] Later in summer the rivers did grow due to glacier ablation, causing many farmers to repent albeit it was too late to cultivate.

[10] The energy shortage was worsened by problems in the Nehuenco Power Plant driven by natural gas.