The Ministry of Agriculture is expected to declare a drought year in the Western Negev and the Beit Shean Valley, amid a decrease of approximately 501,000 tons in the wheat harvest this year compared to last year.
Uri Naamati, CEO of the Field Workers Organization, said that this year's harvest reached about 75,000 tons, compared to about 130,000 tons in 2013. "This winter was absolutely crazy," said Naamati. "We started it in December with record rainfall that was concentrated in the southern part of the country. Then the rains stopped completely for two months. Although the Negev and the southern region received amounts of rainfall that corresponded to the multi-year average, in the north, the amounts of precipitation were less than the multi-year average, which led to a severe drought. The drought was recorded mainly in the north, in the Beit Shean Valley and in the eastern parts of the Jezreel Valley. There has not been a drought in northern Israel for over a decade. Generally, drought is recorded in the Negev. There were also areas in the Negev that were affected by drought, but to a lesser extent.".
Wheat growing areas in the State of Israel are estimated at about one million dunams. This is about a third of the cultivated areas in the country. As mentioned, Na'ami expects this year's wheat harvest to be only about 75,000 tons. The State of Israel also has about 50,000 dunams of barley, which is used mainly for animal feed.
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