Belgian drought gets official status

The months of April, May and June have been labeled as exceptional by the RMI. That is a redeeming word for farmers and municipalities. They have until September 8 to report damages. Municipalities must then provide a preliminary determination to the damage committee, writes Felt. Farmers must take the initiative themselves, but the municipality will arrange the final implementation. A final harvest estimate is carried out just before harvest.

Agricultural disaster or not?
After receiving the damage estimate, the Flemish agricultural administration makes an estimate of the total damage amount. If this amount exceeds €1,24 million, the situation is classified as an agricultural disaster. The average claim amount per file must also be €5.580 and the proceeds must be at least 30% below the average.

Wallonia is also dry
West Flanders has the dubious honor of being the driest part of Belgium, but the RMI also estimates that in 259 of the 262 Walloon municipalities it has been too dry this spring. According to Flemish Agriculture Minister Schauvliege, approximately 150 municipalities in Flanders have been affected by the drought. In Wallonia too, the damage is now being estimated by farmers and experts. The same deadline applies to them.

Text continues below the photo

The Netherlands is now also served with sufficient rainfall in the dry areas. It remains exceptionally dry in Belgium.

Potato yield 7% lower
2016 also had many extremes in Belgium. Ultimately, that year was not recognized as an agricultural disaster. Bureau FPS Economy published July 24 figures on the final crop yields. This shows that the yield of potatoes is more than 7% lower. The wheat harvest is even a quarter lower. Those of barley 19% and beets are harvested 10% less.

The average potato yield of ware potatoes for storage is calculated at 38,78 tons per hectare. That was 48 tons per hectare a year earlier and even 2014 tons per hectare in 52,64. Seed potatoes actually scored higher in 2016. The early potatoes yielded an average of 5,5 tonnes per hectare less compared to the 2015 harvest. The total Belgian harvest for storage potatoes is therefore just over 3 million tonnes on 77.553 hectares.

Germany a lot of rain
Belgian farmers have also received little rain in July. Precipitation has fallen, especially along the border with the Netherlands. There the counter exceeds 90 millimeters, while along the coast it is sometimes only 20 millimeters.

It is also dry in Wallonia, and it is not much better across the French border. Germany has been showing a different picture throughout the growing season. It's raining quite a bit there now too. Sufficient rainfall has fallen in the important potato growing areas and more is planned.

Germany has been well supplied with precipitation throughout the season. Especially in the important potato growing areas. There is also sufficient precipitation now.