Moldova needs 2 billion euros to restore irrigation systems, - Veaceslav Ionita
This was stated by the economic policy expert of the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) Viitorul in the latest episode of the program "Economic Analysis with Veaceslav Ionita". According to him, unfavorable weather conditions have a strong impact on agricultural production. If in 2021, gross agricultural production amounted to 48.4 billion lei, in 2022-2024 - 41 billion lei, then in 2024, 45.3 billion lei is projected. "Farmers have already said that they have not had a year as good as 2021. I think that they will not have one in the near future. This year was predicted to be good, but, in my opinion, the situation will be quite difficult this year too. In 2024, gross agricultural production will be about 90% of the 2021 level. The factors influencing this are drought and other climatic conditions," said Veaceslav Ioniță. Analyzing the average annual precipitation, the expert said that in 2002-2004, 570 mm of water fell in the northern part of the country, and 436 mm in the south. In 2020-2023, 520 mm fell in the north, 423 mm in the south. "In Moldova, over the past 10 years, there has been 10% less rain than 20 years ago. In the south, the amount of precipitation is 20% lower than in the rest of the country," the expert stated. At the same time, he believes that the problem is not so much in the weather conditions as in the underdevelopment of irrigation systems. He recalled that in 1980, Moldova had 280 thousand/ha with irrigation systems, in 2000 – 302 thousand/ha, in 2010 – 228.3 thousand/ha; in 2023 – 216.1 thousand/ha. According to his estimates, today only 10% of agricultural areas with irrigation systems are irrigated, which is about 1% of the country's agricultural land. Moldova uses 5% of the 800 million cubic meters of water consumed annually for irrigation. Analyzing the regional context regarding the annual volume of water used in agriculture, the expert also reported that Moldova uses 28 cubic meters per hectare, in Romania this figure is 276 cubic meters per ha, in Ukraine – 90 cubic meters. "In Moldova, where the climate conditions are worse than in Romania and Ukraine, given the amount of precipitation that falls annually, the intensity of water use for irrigation is 3 times lower than in Ukraine and 10 times lower than in Romania," the expert says. At the same time, he cited statistics on water consumption in other countries, which show that in some southern countries, water consumption for irrigation in the agricultural sector is 100 times higher than in Moldova. Speaking about government subsidies for irrigation, the economist noted that in 2013 they amounted to 12.7 million lei, and by 2023 they increased to 48.5 million lei, and 55 million lei is projected for 2024. Herewith, farmers requested 13.1 million lei in 2015, and the authorities provided 8.2 million lei, in 2023 - 73.8 million lei and, accordingly, 20.2 million lei. "After several years of drought, the need for irrigation has exceeded the government's ability to provide them. This year, 55-60 million lei will be allocated," said Veaceslav Ioniță. The expert believes that Moldova should strengthen its capacity to collect and use the available water in order to increase the intensity of its use in agriculture by 20 times, and 2 billion euros are needed for the rehabilitation of irrigation systems, not the 20 million euros that the authorities invested. // 27.09.2024 — InfoMarket.
