The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry will request the Commission for Exceptional Situations to declare a state of emergency in the agricultural sector. According to Minister Vladimir Bolea, the declaring of a state of emergency is necessary due to this year’s severe drought. The wheat harvest is lower than projected, while the corn harvest was fully compromised, primarily in southern Moldova, IPN reports.
The minister said that even if the harvesting process is not yet over, preliminary data show a modest harvest will be obtained this year, compared with last year. Even if the drought compromised a large part of the harvest, there are no preconditions for a food crisis.
“We speak about drought that caused extensive damage mostly in the south of the Republic of Moldova - Căușeni, Ștefan Vodă, Basarabeasca. The wheat harvest is not the expected one. It is of 2 to 4 tonnes per hectare according to preliminary data as harvesting in the northern districts goes on. The harvest is much lower than last year, but this does not mean that we will have a food crisis. In the southern districts, the corn is in a bad state and cannot be saved even if it rains tomorrow. Only the sunflower can be saved if it rains,” Vladimir Bolea stated in the program “Common Objective” on TVR Moldova channel.
The minister said that to overcome the critical situation in agriculture, the functionality of the irrigation systems needs to be restored and the farmers’ access to surface waters should be increased. A state of emergency in agriculture is needed for identifying prompt solutions.
“In the next meeting of the Commission for Exceptional Situations, the Ministry of Agriculture will suggest declaring a state of emergency in agriculture. This will facilitate small-scale irrigation and access to water sources. The paradox is that we have the Nistru River where the level of water is low, but we yet have water there. However, the land nearby is dry. In this connection, we discussed with the U.S. Embassy and other donors to identify countries that would want to invest, as under the Compact Program, in the rehabilitation of centralized irrigation systems,” said Vladimir Bolea.
On July 19, the State Weather Service issued an orange and red alert for hydrological drought in Moldova’s rivers and a yellow alert for the Nistru River. The water flow in the Nistru is by 30-40% under the multiannual average for July, in the Prut – by 15-30%, while in small rivers - by 10-20%.
