Owing to the scarce precipitation this autumn, grain harvest next year will decrease essentially. The wheat and other winter crops sprout with difficulty due to the insufficiency of water in soil, Vasile Mârzenco, executive director of the National Farmers Federation, stated for IPN.

According to him, the wheat only started to develop, but should have formed a green carpet already. The grain harvest in 2021 was very good, but can be comprised next year owing to the shortage of water. The situation is alarming and can worsen further if it does not rain in spring. The state will have to take measures to ensure the country’s food security.

“We must have grain reserves so as to provide the country with wheat for baking and should not export more than is necessary. The farmers should be supported in such situations. Wheat reserves should be formed for at least two years. Even if the grain harvest was large in 2021, the money earned by the farmers goes to purchase fertilizers and spare parts whose price doubled. The price of diesel fuel also rose. Agriculture can this way face a financial crisis next spring and summer, before harvesting,” stated Vasile Mârzenco.

He noted that the situation is much the same globally owing to the weather conditions. “In some parts it rains excessively, while in other parts it does not rain at all. The international organizations warn about a possible food crisis in the near future. We should be therefore careful about exports. The state reserves of wheat should be doubled first so as to increase the country’s food security.”

Contacted by IPN for a comment, Viaceslav Grigorița, division head at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, said the harvesting of grain crops started with a delay of two-three weeks owing to the meteorological conditions and the sowing of winter crops, such as wheat, rape and barley also began with delay.  The conditions for sowing are not optimal as the level of humidity in soil is insufficient. Nevertheless, over 55% of the planned areas were sowed with winter wheat. The farmers could sow again the fields that didn’t sprout well in the near future or next spring. Irrigation should also be used so as to help the crops to develop.

The State Hydrometeorological Service forecast rain in the northern districts for this weekend and for next Monday and in central and southern Moldova for next Tuesday.