Crops on 1.1 mln ha in Romania damaged by drought

The agricultural area affected in Romania so far due to the drought amounts to 1.1 million hectares.

The largest affected surface is in the eastern county of Constanta, 416,000 hectares, minister of agriculture Adrian Oros announced in a press briefing on May 12, Agerpres reported.

Only 222,121 hectares of farmland are currently irrigated in Romania - out of which 13,000 ha in Constanta county, he also said.

Tulcea county, also in the eastern part of the country, reported 129,000 hectares of damaged crops, and only 13,000 hectares irrigated.

The Agriculture Ministry's experts have surveyed the damaged areas so that the farmers can sow other cultures and get compensation from the state at the same time.

The level of water in the soil varies across the country, according to the reports revealed by the ministry. While there are regions with moderate drought and water levels barely sufficient, the ministry says that "the crops will develop fairly normally during the May 12-18 forecast period." However, the cultures might suffer damages toward the end of the period due to lack of water.

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