BRIEFS. agriculture

Summer rains wash away harvest

Heavy rains in the province of Los Santos last December have resulted in the loss of thousands of pounds of onions worth thousands of dollars. The exact extent of the losses has not yet been determined. "We never expected so much rain in December," said Aracelis Azcárraga, a producer in the area.

In Azuero, each hectare of onions usually yields 800 quintales (1 quintal >100 lbs.) of the pungent bulb, but this season farmers have been harvesting only around 30 quintales per hectare. There are twelve onion growers in Los Santos province with as many as 15 hectares under cultivation. Some of them have lost their entire crop.