In four large regions of Spain, wheat and barley crops may not produce a harvest due to the country's drought, a leading farmers' association has warned, BTA reports.

Spain's prolonged drought is causing "irreversible losses" to more than 3.5 million hectares of crops, the coordinator of farmers' and livestock producers' organizations said in a new report, with some cereals "written off" in the most fertile regions of Andalusia, Extremadura, Castile La Mancha and Murcia, which cover much of southern and central Spain. 

Walnuts and vines are also experiencing problems, and olives will be severely affected if no rain falls in the next few weeks, the report added.

And it added that the drought has also affected farmers' ability to irrigate corn, sunflower, rice and cotton, which is likely to result in reduced planting of those crops in the summer.

Russia expects grain production to reach 120 million tons this year

Three years of very little rainfall and high temperatures have put Spain officially in a long-term drought, the country's weather agency said last month.

Last year was the sixth driest in Spain.

And the hottest since records began in 1961.

Water levels in Andalusia's dams have reached 30 percent.

The regional capital of Seville could face drinking water restrictions until the summer if not enough rain falls.

Livestock farmers will struggle to feed livestock due to parched pastures, the farmers' association further warned in its report.

This will be the third consecutive season without honey for the beekeepers, as there are no blossoms for the bees to feed on in the mountains due to a lack of water.

Spain

harvest