Russian Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut urged people to go to church and pray for rain as the persistent lack of precipitation puts the sowing of winter wheat at risk.
“We plan to sow 20 million hectares, like last year. But we are sowing practically in sand in the hope that it will rain,” Interfax cited Lut as saying. In many winter crops growing regions it hasn’t rained “since about April,” she added.
“It is very necessary to go to church and light a candle to Elijah for rain. Everyone, please,” Lut said, referring to the patron saint of thunder, rain, harvest and fertility in Russian folk tradition.
While several Russian regions have declared a state of emergency because of the prolonged drought, central Ukraine and the Central Region of Russia have received some rain this past weekend, with more on the way, according to forecaster Maxar Technologies Inc. The precipitation could help boost soil moisture and help the winter wheat crop.