“The situation has been evolving favourably and the current levels of water in the soil, according to the map recently released by the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere, are already high in most of the country”, revealed an official source from the Confederation of the Farmers of Portugal (CAP), in response to Lusa.

However, difficulties persist in some regions in the extreme south of the country, namely in the Algarve and on the Alentejo coast.

In these regions, the drought continues to be felt and the impacts are being assessed.

The effects on crops in the medium and long term will only be known after the traditionally rainy months.

CAP hopes that the new Government, which will be led by Luís Montenegro, will have “all the commitment and attention” to this problem.

“This is a structural issue, which requires large investments and which will not be resolved suddenly, but political will and the beginning of the investment process are the first steps towards effective management of water resources, and this is undoubtedly the change which we expect immediately”, highlighted the confederation led by Álvaro Mendonça e Moura.