Speaking at the House of Councillors' question time on the state of spring crops, Sadiki said that the average cumulative rainfall has reached 237 mln so far, a similar level to that of the same period in the past year (237 mln), and a decline of 33% compared with the average of the last three decades (355 mln).

The minister noted that the March rainfall had ‘‘a very positive impact’’ on the sowings of the main spring crops, especially those of chickpeas, corn, sunflowers, dry beans and vegetables, specifying that the total cultivated area during spring crops reached  about 144,000 hectares so far, 89% of the intended objective (161,000 hectares).

Achievements of the spring vegetables program reached 57,000 hectares at the end of May, 83% of the planned program, said the minister, stressing that the production should cover consumption needs for the summer season.

Concerning the cultivated varieties, the achievements underscore that onion is the main variety with approximately 15,540 hectares, followed by potato (8,807 hectares) and tomato (4,308 hectares), according to the minister who estimated that  "spring crops are currently in satisfactory vegetative condition”.