Drought devastates corn and sunflower fields in Romania

This article was originally published in English

Romania is suffering the effects of one of the worst heat waves in the country's history.

In July, temperatures exceeded 40 degrees Celsius and this extreme heat continues to cause problems for many people, especially farmers, especially those growing sunflowers and corn.

The July heatwave destroyed most of these farmers' crops, and they now expect losses of around 90%.

“If in a good year, let's say, we get about 2500-3000 kg per hectare, this year we hope to reach 1000 kg, although from what we can see here we certainly won't get there,” Dumitru Bita, a farmer from the village of Castranova, told Euronews.

His village is located in Dolj County, Oltenia, in southern Romania.

Oltenia farmers were forced to start harvesting sunflowers three weeks earlier than in previous years.

Plants can no longer be left in the fields as they dry out due to drought. In fact, some farmers have seen their crops completely compromised.

“It's a disaster. It didn't rain… I don't even know if I'll be able to cover the costs.”says Iulian Groza, a farmer from the village of Leu in Dolj.

According to agricultural authorities, about 65% of sunflower crops in Dolj County have been affected by the drought.

The Romanian National Meteorological Administration is now warning that the severe and extreme drought will persist.

“About 300 requests have been registered regarding the calamities of flower and corn crops”explained Adela Apostu, from the agricultural inspection. “Crop is affected, people are not happy with the current situation and continue to make demands.”

The devastation comes as the ongoing heatwave in Romania has caused severe drought in parts of the country, leading to the drying up of several lakes and the death or damage of countless crops.

In the southern county of Galati, it has not rained for three months, leaving Lake Talabasca almost completely devoid of water.

In July, Romanian Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu announced that farmers would receive compensation of between 200 and 250 euros per hectare of damaged crops.

The Romanian national news agency Agerpres reported that the total amount of funds estimated for drought compensation is between 500 and 600 million euros.

She also revealed that the government was considering asking the European Commission for financial support to help affected agricultural sectors.

Efforts are also being made to ease financial pressure on agricultural businesses, including measures to delay loan repayments.