Farmers are calling for a state of emergency to be declared due to drought - Zemnieku Saeima

RIGA - Farmers are calling for a state of emergency to be declared by the government due to the current drought, the deputy chairwoman of the Latvian farming association Zemnieku Saeima (The Farmers' Assembly) Maira Dzelzkaleja-Burmistre told Latvian Television this morning.

"Farmers in Latvia are also asking the government to declare a state of emergency," said Dzelzkaleja-Burmistre.

She pointed out that there has been an unprecedented drought in the entire territory of Latvia this year and all agricultural sectors have suffered.

At the same time, Dzelzkaleja-Burmistre noted that declaring a state of emergency is still being decided, and the industry is still collecting the pros and cons that such a situation would bring.

The deputy chairwoman of Zemnieku Saeima also noted that the losses of farmers are measured in hundreds of millions of euros, for example, the potential yield of grain, which is the largest agricultural export product, has already been lost by 50 percent.

Dzelzkaleja-Burmistre added that in such a situation, farmers will not be able to cover this year's investments, not to mention the fact that it will be necessary to find loans in order to be able to sow next year's crop.

At the same time, the representative of Zemnieku Saeima admitted that there are few farmers who have insurance against drought in summer, and such insurance is also very expensive. Basically, farmers insure against winter risks, as well as hail and storms.