RIGA, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Local authorities in the western Latvian districts of Ventspils and Kuldiga on Friday asked the Baltic country's central government to declare a state of emergency in the agricultural sector as farmers there have been suffering massive losses because of a prolonged dry spell, local media reported.
Representatives of the Kuldiga regional council informed that some desperate farmers had already started putting down their livestock as grass was no longer growing in the pastures that have been scorched by the sun and the animals were starving. Other farmers are feeding their cattle with last year's hay which they should be saving for the winter.
Farmers from the northwestern Latvian district of Ventspils have sent the local authority a letter appealing for government assistance in the situation where the drought, which continues since the beginning of May, is threatening to destroy almost all their harvest of spring crops.
Aivars Mucenieks, chairman of the Ventspils regional council, said the local authority had decided to ask the central government to declare a 12-month state of emergency so the farmers could easier receive the necessary assistance.
According to data from the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Center, the amount of precipitation that fell in Latvia in the second half of May was 88 percent smaller than necessary for normal growth of vegetation. Some areas in Ventspils district have not seen any rain since the beginning of May.
Although for the time being the drought is causing the greatest problems for farmers in western Latvia, soon it can start affecting also the central and eastern parts of the country, Guntis Vilnitis, head of the council for agriculturist organizations' cooperation, said on public radio Friday.
Latvian Agriculture Minister said he would call on the national crisis management council next week to consider the local authorities' appeal for assistance.
"Next Tuesday I will talk to Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis and members of the crisis management council about their position on declaring the state of emergency," the minister said.
Most likely the state of emergency will not be declared in all Latvia but only in the drought-stricken municipalities like it was the case last fall when similar emergency measures were taken after heavy raining and floods.