Electricity supplies along with farming is being hit hard from the lack of rainfall and drought conditions in Serbia, with the country heavily dependent on hydroelectric power.

Like many countries across Europe, Serbia is suffering from drought conditions that have been influenced by climate change and the low water levels in rivers is having an impact on its electricity supply.

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Serbia's electricity grid is facing a serious challenge as it depends on hydroelectric power which requires water from rivers at normal levels and that is not happening at the moment due to a lack of rainfall.

It's not just the drought in Serbia which is causing the problem, but also nearby countries from where the rivers flow. 

Dragan Stankovic from Electric Power Industry of Serbia told CGTN: "The production on Djerdap One, our biggest hydro-power-plant, in July is 40 percent lower compared to July last year. 

"Just Djerdap One in the previous three months produced 500 gigawatt-hours electricity less compared to the same period last year. Rivers in Serbia are at the biological minimum.”

Once a large exporter of electrical energy, Serbia is now forced to import it from as far away as Azerbaijan, as there is none available in Europe. 

It means that a country, which is already seriously in debt, is now forced to purchase electricity for market prices that are getting higher by the day.

Electricity is just one area of the country's economy that is being affected by the drought. Food production is suffering as crop fields in some areas across the country have been devastated.

At this time of year corn plants should be over two and a half meters tall with their cobs big, strong, and full of seeds but instead, many hardly reach 1.5 meters. 

Farmers in the village of Duzine on the border with Romania, some 110 kilometres north-east of  the capital Belgrade, are being affected like elsewhere in Serbia.

Dusko Tasevski explains that  there has been little rainfall over the past three months, and with 110 cows on his dairy farm, he wonders how he's going to feed them.

"The production dropped over 50 percent in the past year, and during this drought it has dropped an additional 20 percent," said Dusko. 

"Before this drought streak, we needed crops from 10 hectares for silage for cattle food. Now, the same amount of silage we get from 23 hectares."

And the quantity isn't just the problem. Silage and crops have less protein now due to the drought, hence the quality of milk is lower.

The clear message heard these days in Serbia is that citizens have to start saving energy, and prepare for some food prices to soar.

The winter ahead in Serbia could be a very challenging season.