Recent rains are beneficial for sugar beet and grapes

The rains that started last night and will continue over the coming days will be beneficial for the crops, in particular sugar beet and grapes, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov told Info-Prim Neo. The Minister said that in north the rain would help the sugar beet, soy and sunflower crops, while in the center and the south, it would be good for wine grapes. Besides, the rains are very important for the pastures which were almost burnt by the heat wave. This year’s drought and the heavy rainfalls that followed caused damages of nearly 900 million lei. According to estimations, the wheat output is 25% lower than planned, while the rape crops have been almost entirely damaged. Farmers remained without corn as they had to cut it green to feed livestock. Because of the lack of pastures, many households sold their cattle, the numbers of which fell by 30%. Prime Minister Vlad Filat promised that farmers who suffered considerable damage because of the drought and the heavy rains would receive aid from the state. The Weather Service forecasts rains until Monday, August 13, and temperatures between 18 and 25 degrees Celsius.