Forty-four thousand hectares of corn have been ruined by drought statewide, while the Farmer's Association in the Sierra Gorda reported calculated losses of 100,000 pesos (US93,000) in tomato, tomatillo and chile crops due to severe rains.

The unusual precipitation, which drenched land and caused rivers to overflow, was a side effect of Hurricane Wilma which hit the Gulf coast the hardest, but had repercussions in the central region as well.

Emiliano Guerva Landaverde, president of the Farmer's Association, said that 70 percent of crops in the Sierra Gorda region are unsalvageable. The losses exceed the amount invested in planting, and as a result tomatopicking personnel had to be laid off, he added.

In the town of Colón, in the semi desert zone of Queretaro, mayor Leobardo Vázquez Briones said the drought is "deeply worrying." The water reserves used for cattle are about 30 percent full, he said, and will last no more than 100 days.

Furthermore, Briones said an experimental crop of oat fodder, promoted by the Agricultural Secretariat, didn't take hold and stored supplies will likely run out by February 2006.

Queretaro's Agriculture Secretary, Héctor Samuel Lugo Chávez said that affected farmers will be given the equivalent of 3,000 pesos (US280) in seeds to mitigate their losses.

The states of Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Durango, Chihuahua and Coahuila are also suffering a drought and their respective governors have asked the Chamber of Deputies to allocate funds to repair the damage.