Corn and sunflower crops, "destroyed in 8 counties"

Drought effects become more serious.

Corn and sunflower crops are destroyed by up to 80 percent in eight counties, including Iasi County, Covasna and Sălaj and farmers associations from Brăila and Vrancea require the declaration of emergency, broadcasted the radio Romania News reporter, Cristina Grecu.

Some specialists in agricultural departments in the country talk about a drought as in 1946.

Executive Director of the Department of Agriculture Covasna, Csaba Koncz, said for Mediafax, that very high temperatures and lack of rain from this summer seriously affected the crops in the county.

According to Csaba Koncz, 30 percent of agricultural land - over 172,000 hectares of land - crops, mostly potatoes and cereals are affected by drought.

In Sălaj, all agricultural land planted with corn, potatoes and sunflowers is affected by drought, while 30 percent is completely destroyed.

Deputy Director of DARD Sălaj, Dascălu Nicholas, said for Mediafax, that the whole agricultural area of the county cultivated with corn, potatoes and sunflowers is partially affected by drought, but the situation will worsen, leading to totally compromised crops if it will not rain in the next ten days.

Also in Arad county the most damage are at maize crops, where on 830 hectares, the production is compromised one hundred percent.

In Hunedoara, more than half of the cultivated areas are affected by drought, the biggest problem being in Deva, Brad and Hațeg, where the population is facing also the water shortages after wells and rivers have dried up.

"Cultures of medicinal plants are 80 percent affected. Drought compromised crops on 40 hectares of the 68 medicinal plants.

"Big problems are at corn, potatoes, vegetables, wheat, soybean, sugar beet, fodder, sunflower and rapeseed crops, which are affected between 50 and 60 percent of the area.

"For instance, at maize crops we have affected 15,120 hectares of the 22,148 hectares and at potato are affected 4360 hectares of the 7843 growing", said for Mediafax .Doinel HenTrandafir, advisor in the Directorate for Agriculture and Rural Development Hunedoara.

In Brăila county, the Agricultural Producers Association, which brings together hundreds of manufacturers with over 150 000 hectares of land, require to agriculture ministry the declaration of state of emergency.

Also the Manufacturers Association of Cereals and Technical Plants Vrancea asks the Ministry of Agriculture for the state of emergency in the county, because of their high damaging crop affected by drought in recent months.

In Buzău, corn, wheat and sunflower crops have been compromised by drought, and in some cases farmers have given up threshers as the price of this operation was higher than the yield obtained.

Interim Director of Department for Agriculture and Country Iași, Magneriu Jalbă, told the press on Tuesday that nearly 45 percent of cultivated land in the county are affected by drought, the most difficult situation occurring in wheat and corn crops.

Magneriu Jalbă said that people still work on records coming from the territory, but the situation is worrying.

Farmers point out that the field situation will worsen even more if within some days it will not rain.

Heat until Friday

For Thursday and Friday, meteorologists issued a yellow code of heat which will affect Muntenia, Dobrogea, southern and eastern Moldova and most part of Oltenia.

According to this warning, thermal highs will reach 38 degrees.

In western and southwestern regions, the atmospheric instability will be enhanced and isolated quantities of water will exceed 30 liters per square meter.

At the end of the week, hot weather will persist in most of the plains and plateau areas, meteorologists say.

Compensation from the government

The drought has affected crops in the counties of south, southeast and east of the country, and after harvesting, the Ministry of Agriculture will determine the amount of compensation for farmers - announced on Tuesday at a press conference Minister Daniel Constantin.

Government will reduce tariffs on water used for irrigation by 50 lei per thousand cubic meters and will provide additional 25 million for irrigation projects.

"Short-term measures: reduction of energy tariffs, urgent investments are made by the beneficiaries through the National Rural Development of irrigation infrastructure.

"We have available a government decision, a significant amount of budget allocated for compensation of two categories of farmers," said Daniel Constantin.

The official also announced that the Ministry of Agriculture shall establish, in partnership with several banks, a credit fund for farmers with preferential interest.

Daniel Constantin said that compensation will be granted after the harvesting campaign for small and medium enterprises whose production was affected by at least 30 percent, their income being supposed to be offset relative to previous years, with 80 percent of loss registered this year because of drought, and farmers who do not fall into the category of SMEs, they will benefit from individual support of 7500 euros.

Translated by Alexandra-Diana Mircea
MTTLC, Bucharest University