Romania is suffering from the effects of one of the worst heatwaves in the country’s history.
In July, temperatures exceeded 40C and that extreme heat is still causing issues for many, not least farmers, especially those who grow sunflowers and corn.
July’s heatwave destroyed the majority of many of these farmers’ crops. Now they say they are expecting losses of around 90%.
“If in a good year, let’s say, we made somewhere around 2500-3000 kilograms per hectare this year we hope to reach 1000 kilograms, although from what we can see here, we will certainly not reach that,” Dumitru Bita, a farmer from the village of Castranova, told Euronews.
His village is in Dolj County, Oltenia, in the south of Romania.
Farmers in Oltenia were forced to start harvesting sunflowers three weeks earlier than in previous years.
The plants can no longer be left in the fields because they are drying out due to the drought. In fact, some farmers have seen their crops completely compromised.
“It’s a disaster. It hasn’t rained… I don’t even know if I will be able to cover the costs,” says farmer Iulian Groza from the village of Leu in Dolj .
According to agricultural authorities, about 65% of all sunflower crops in Dolj county have been affected by the drought.
Romania’s National Meteorological Administration is now warning that severe and extreme drought will persist.
“Approximately 300 applications have been registered regarding the crop calamities for flowers and corn,” Adela Apostu of the Agricultural Department explained. “Crops are affected, people are dissatisfied with the existing situation and are still submitting applications.”
The devastation comes as an ongoing heatwave in Romania has led to severe drought in some parts of the country, which has seen a number of lakes drying up and countless crops dying or being damaged.
In the country’s southern Galati county it hasn’t rained for three months, causing the Talabasca lake to be almost entirely deprived of water.
In July, Romanian agriculture minister Florin Barbu announced that farmers will receive compensation of between €200 and €250 per hectare of damaged crops.
Romania’s national news agency Agerpres reported that the total estimated funds for drought compensation range from €500 million to €600 million.
They also revealed that the government plans to request financial support from the European Commission to aid affected agricultural sectors.
Efforts are also being put in place to help alleviate financial strain on agricultural companies, including potential measures to delay loan repayments.
