Russia’s government declared a state of emergency in six more crop-producing regions due to the worst drought in at least
a decade, bringing the total to 23.
Farmers harvested 17 percent of grain crops throughout the country as of today, reaping 21 million tons, or 715,300 metric tons more than at the same time last year, the Agriculture Ministry said in an e-mailed statement today. Yields averaged 2.81 tons a hectare (2.4 acres), down from 3.11 tons a hectare last year, it said.
Farmers in the Southern federal district harvested 47 percent of their planted areas, reaping 11.9 million tons of grain, it said. Yields
averaged 3.66 tons a hectare, compared with 3.3 tons a hectare last year.
The drought-hit Volga region harvested 1.4 million tons of grain, the ministry said. Yields averaged 0.93 ton a hectare, compared with 1.26 tons last year. Regions in central Russia harvested 1 million tons of grain, with yields 29 percent lower at 2 tons a hectare.
The wheat harvest stands at 15 million tons, with yields at 2.89 tons a hectare. The barley harvest came to 2.1 million tons, with yields averaging 3.24 tons a hectare.
