According to Igor Salecki, head of the Moldovan representative office of Lidea, one of the largest sorghum seed suppliers in Moldova, the overall sorghum harvest in the country will almost certainly be lower than last year’s. This summer the temperature regime was more gentle than last year, but there was less precipitation in most regions. In some areas of southeastern Moldova, only 25-35 mm fell during the whole summer – many times less than the norm.
Under such conditions, all crops – both corn and the more drought-resistant alternative, sorghum – were severely affected. Nevertheless, where corn was completely burned, farmers will still harvest some minimal sorghum crops. In the Priprut zone of the south and center of Moldova, the harvest prospects are better, in the north of the country – even better. However, it is difficult to judge the biological yield of sorghum, unlike maize, before the start of harvesting. It starts in the southern regions at the same time as the mass harvesting of corn – at the beginning of the last decade of September.
According to expert estimates, in 2025, the area under sorghum in Moldova decreased by 10-15% – up to 7-8 thousand hectares. At the same time, this year, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization FAO joined the process of popularizing the production of this crop. In particular, with the assistance of this organization, about 280 agro-farms received 600 sorghum seeds to organize production and demonstration plots of this promising crop.
