Sergio Urribarri, the Governor of Entre Ríos, and Alfredo De Angeli, the president of the Argentine Agrarian Federation (FAA) in Entre Ríos, today became the latest public figures to have called for government intervention as Argentina faces its worst drought in the last 50 years.

They join Daniel Scioli, the Governor of Buenos Aires, who last week declared: “Rural producers are right to demand that the government takes actions to alleviate the ravages of the current climatic phenomenon.”

The national drought, caused by low rainfall in 2008 which still persists, has worst affected Entre Ríos, Chaco and La Pampa.

In Entre Ríos alone, economic losses due to the drought are estimated to cost the public $30m.

So far, the national government has not acted.

Calling for everyone from politicians to workers to take responsibility in desperate times, Scioli also denounced the government’s inaction by casting an eye back to the ‘Campo Crisis’, saying: “This time, the farmers are right.”

De Angelini, a recognised challenger of the Kirchner government, labelled the situation “extremely critical” and said it “should reveal the exploitation to dairy and cattle farmers that exists in Argentina.”

However, comments made by Urribarri, normally a great ally and supporter of President Kirchner, are the most surprising and have mounted the most pressure upon the government to act.

The Governor of Entre Ríos, declaring a state of disaster until the 30th June whereby paying taxes and debts is not obligatory in the province, said: “I have declared emergency and agricultural disaster because it has to be done.”

In response, Head of Cabinet Sergio Massa, today promised that the government “would make the maximum effort and would not leave the agricultural producers unaided.”

However, the financial effect of the drought is already being felt globally. Today, the prices of corn around the world rose on the speculation that Argentina’s corn industry, the second largest in the world after the USA, will suffer from crop damage. This was most noticeable in the South African Futures Exchange where the cost of white corn and yellow corn for sale in March increased by 1.2% and 1.6% respectively.

Meanwhile, in Rosario, the Archbishop José Luis Mollaghan has called for: “men and women of all religions to create a chain of prayers, asking God to bring rain upon our towns and fields”, such does he gauge the severity of the situation.

The people of Argentina wait for the weather to break.