Free irrigation water provided to farmers is a key element in the fight against drought

(Photo: Pixabay)

Imre Hubai said that the lack of precipitation in the watershed is causing a decrease in the Tisza’s water flow. The water management directorates concerned are prepared to replenish the scarce supplies in the summer, he added. Thanks to the 650 million cubic meters of water accumulated and stored in the Upper Tisza, Lake Tisza, and the Tisza-Körös Valley Cooperative Water Management System, state main works and irrigation canals from March to the present, in addition to satisfying the population and ecological water needs, farmers can also fully meet their agricultural water needs on schedule, he stated. The irrigation water provided to farmers free of charge is a key element in the protection against drought, he stated. He added that the hot, dry and rainy weather will continue, as a result of which the water yield of the Tisza and the water balance of Lake Tisza are currently showing a decreasing trend. Thanks to previous government measures, the water retention that has been going on since March, and the implementation of the Drought Protection Action Plan, a surplus of 178 million cubic meters can be expected, so despite the extraordinary drought, 650 million cubic meters of water, equivalent to one third of Lake Balaton, are available in the reservoirs, main canals and backwaters, he said. This amount is more than enough to meet the water needs of the population, as well as for ecological and agricultural water supply, he noted. Imre Hubai said that the preservation of supplies and the scheduled satisfaction of needs will continue at both Lake Tisza and the Upper Tisza. The cooling and precipitation weather forecasted by hydrometeorology is cause for optimism, which is expected to alleviate the excruciating water shortage from the first half of next week – he said. The aim of the Ministry of Agriculture is to continue water retention in Hungary this autumn and winter, so that by the summer of 2026 the water reserves stored in the landscape and soil will reach 1.5 billion, and by the end of 2026 already 3 billion cubic meters – he said, noting: it will be used to replace the missing amount of precipitation, which will mean retaining a water volume equivalent to one and a half Lake Balaton. Imre Hubai highlighted: the government will provide all assistance to farmers so that they can provide an appropriate response to the challenges posed by climate change. A thousand people and more than two hundred machines are still working without interruption in the fight against drought – he reported. He stressed that the government has allocated 4.7 billion forints of emergency funds for the implementation of the Drought Protection Action Plan, for filling reservoirs, backwaters and canals, restoring their water storage capacity, and gravity and pump water replenishment is being carried out at several hundred intervention points – he informed. This year, the fee for water taken from state-owned works has also become free, and 10 billion forints are available to cover this – he announced. Imre Hubai called it outrageous that during this year’s extraordinary drought situation, Brussels and the Tisza Party “silently” voted against the free water fee, which would make Hungarian farmers struggling with climate change even more cruel than the drought. The Tisza Party representatives are once again bringing up Brussels’ expectations and openly declaring: the worse it is for Hungarian farmers, the better it is for the opposition, and the better it is for the Tisza Party – the state secretary announced. The Hungarian government is not looking at this indifferently, and beyond that, they are using every means to help farmers ensure that their yields are secure, their income is stabilized, and thanks to state interventions, irrigation development tenders, free water service fees and accumulated water resources, they can effectively defend themselves against damage caused by extreme weather – the Secretary of State stated. Attila Lovas, Director of the Central Tisza Region Water Management Directorate (Kötivizig), said that water resource management is carried out with great attention, and they try to distribute water resources in the most equitable way so that everyone gets it. He highlighted the importance of cooperation with each participant and water user. Gábor Gyula Fazekas, Chairman of the Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County Assembly, was also present at the event.

MTI