AgriMin Oros: Agricultural area affected so far by drought - 1.1mln ha

The agricultural area affected so far by drought amounts to 1.1 million hectares, the largest being registered in Constanta County, 416,000 hectares, while the irrigated areas at national level have reached 222,121 hectares, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Adrian Oros said on Tuesday in a press briefing.

"So far we have the centralized situation related to the declarations of the disaster areas and related to the farmers' declarations. The disaster area is 1.1 million hectares. (...) The counties with the largest disaster areas are Constanta, which has 416,000 hectares, and the irrigated area now 13,000 hectares, and Tulcea, which has a disaster area of 129,000 hectares, and here 13,000 hectares are irrigated. Ialomita with 123,000 hectares affected, and the irrigated area 25,000 hectares, Braila, with 97,000 hectares affected, and the irrigated area 100,000 hectares, Buzau - 75,000 hectares affected and 7,000 hectares irrigated, and Galati County 61,000 hectares affected and an irrigated area of 27,000 hectares. Today, a total of 222,131 hectares are irrigated around the country, the water being introduced on 2,100 kilometers of canal," specified Oros.

He stressed that it is expected for all data to be centralized in order to know the exact area affected by the severe and extreme drought.

According to the specialized forecast, published by the National Meteorological Administration (ANM), between May 12 and 18, in the autumn wheat crop, the water content on the soil profile 0-100 cm will be within low and particularly low limits, the pedological drought being moderate, strong and extreme, in Dobrogea, Muntenia, Banat, Crisana and Transylvania, most of Oltenia and Moldova. Isolated in the north of Oltenia and Maramures, in the east of Moldova, the soil moisture reserve will present satisfactory values.

According to ANM specialists, in Maramures and Oltenia, most of Banat, locally in the north, west, south and southeast of Muntenia, north, northwest, center and south of Transylvania, northwest, east, center and south of Moldova, the soil moisture reserve will present satisfactory values up to close to optimal and optimal.