Tempering of risks in agriculture by irrigation - one of Agriculture Ministry’s top priorities

The tempering of risks in agriculture by irrigating the agricultural land is one of the main priorities of the Agriculture Ministry, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Anatolie Gorodenco said during a working meeting at the Government, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the minister, who was quoted by the Government’s press service, the irrigation of an area of minimum 300,000 hectares will enable to ensure the country’s food security even during the droughty years and to double productivity in the agricultural sector. The extension of the irrigated fields up to 500,000 hectares is an ultimate objective. Veaceslav Iordan, the head of Moldova’s Water Agency, said that 32,000 hectares were irrigated in 2007, a large part of this land being irrigated two or three times. In order to fulfill the irrigation system rehabilitation programme, steps must be taken to restore damaged irrigation networks covering an area of about 145,000 heaters and to build new networks. The necessary resources will be allotted from budgetary funds, foreign financing and private investments. Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev said that the irrigated areas during the next two years (2008-2009) must be at least doubled. In the shortest space of time, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry in concert with Moldova’s Water Agency are to work out the plan for restoring the irrigation networks.