JERUSALEM, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Over 40 square kilometers of wheat sown in November in Israel have been destroyed due to the recent severe drought in the country, Israel's state-run Insurance Fund for Natural Risks in Agriculture (Kanat) said in a statement on Wednesday.
The damage was caused mainly in the country's northern valleys and several southern regions, according to the statement, which added that the total damage is estimated at millions of shekels, and is expected to increase significantly during the harvest period, starting in April next year.
Kanat explained that in most areas of the country, wheat crops rely on rainfall for growth, as they are typically unirrigated. However, in the wheat-growing areas to the north and south, only a few millimeters of rain have fallen since the crops were sown in November.
In some agricultural fields, the planted wheat began to germinate after the late November rains, but the growth zones soon dried out, causing the crops to wilt.
Last year, Kanat compensated wheat growers with a record annual amount of about 30 million shekels (8.2 million U.S. dollars), mainly due to natural disasters such as severe drought and flooding. ■
