The foundation purchased German components after outages disrupted radar operations and data transmission. A separate programme is planned to replace the ageing equipment.
Argentina’s ArgenINTA Foundation bought €150,000 worth of German spare parts to maintain weather radars operated by the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA), La Nacion reported. The purchase covers maintenance components, not complete radar systems.
The acquisition was requested by INTA’s Natural Resources Research Centre. It is part of the foundation’s support to the institute, expected to total about US$2.5 million this year for equipment and infrastructure. ArgenINTA also allocated US$20,000 for three weather stations to be placed in Patagonia, northern and central Argentina.
Two of the three German-made radars originally installed by INTA with the National Meteorological Service are operating. The Anguil unit in La Pampa had been waiting for a specially made replacement component. Oro Verde’s radar in Entre Rios was also taken offline after a part exceeded its service life. INTA reported in February that the radar near Paraná had returned to service after parts arrived. The required part in Anguil was replaced, though technicians were still working to restore the system after a recent storm caused further faults.
The Anguil and Oro Verde METEOR 600C dual-polarization radars had been operating for 18 years. The older Meteor 360C in Pergamino was installed 20 years ago. INTA said the units could run around the clock but needed regular maintenance and replacement components. Administrative procurement delays and budget limits slowed repairs, while specialist parts took time to manufacture and inspect.
A longer-term replacement is planned under Sinarame, a project overseen by the Economy Ministry’s Secretariat of Water Resources, with contracts to be handled by Invap. Data will feed into a computing node at the National Meteorological Service. INTA says radar information is important to the early-warning system ahead of a summer expected to bring rain and storms.
The foundation’s wider spending includes an HVI machine to assess cotton-fibre quality, equipment for Bariloche’s fibre laboratory, a cannabis and wheat-flour testing project in Marcos Juarez, laboratory supplies, forestry equipment in Corrientes and equipment for an animal nutrition centre in Balcarce.