BUENOS AIRES, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Argentine President Cristina Fernandez on Friday declared a state of emergency in five provinces hit by a months-long drought.

    The government also granted 25 million pesos (over 8 million U.S. dollars) in aid to the five provinces of Cordoba, Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, La Pampa and Chaco.

    The presidential decree came after the provincial governments launched a bail-out program to defer some obligations and credit payment of grain producers in the region.

    The drought, the worst in 50 years, has left 10 percent of the farm land in the five provinces sterile and 400,000 livestock dead.

    President of the Agrarian Federation (FAA) Eduardo Buzzi had appealed for a government aid of 500 million pesos (about 160 million dollars) to help affected grain producers avoid going bankrupt.

    "The national government should prove that it not only seeks to be partner of the producers when they are profitable, but is also present during their losses," Buzzi said.