Imre Hubai: new irrigation development sources will open up for farmers in September

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At a press conference held at one of the structures of the Eastern Main Canal, Imre Hubai emphasized that in September, both projects under 200 million forints and between 200 million and 5 billion forints, which will support irrigation development and sustainable water management communities, will be continuously announced. The politician, who holds the position of head of the drought protection operational team, reminded that the government has already published calls for tenders to help adapt to climate change, of which nearly 170 billion forints of funds have been committed in the past year alone. Of this, 116 billion forints is already drawn down and accounted for development support for farmers, and a further 66 billion forints of irrigation development resources are under decision this year, he added. “We trust that farmers will take advantage of the application opportunity and use the non-refundable subsidies while we have the opportunity to do so,” said Imre Hubai. He noted that Brussels is preparing to take away these subsidies; neither on the basis of area nor in the interest of enforcing rural development goals and convergence, it would not like to provide such a large amount of resources for Hungarian agriculture. This would cause Hungarian agriculture to suffer a loss of resources that – irrigation here or there – would make Hungarian farmers uncompetitive in any case, the State Secretary stressed.

Hubai Imre reminded that approximately 4.7 billion forints are available for the water sector to implement the drought protection action plan

This amount will definitely cover tasks that can be carried out immediately until the end of August this year, such as dredging canals, tidying up reservoirs, filling backwaters or pumping works. More than a thousand people are involved in this work, their work is necessary for the maintenance of protective structures and structures, the operation of pumps, and for carrying out additional work beyond daily maintenance – he said.

Hubai Imre mentioned that, at the proposal of Minister of Agriculture István Nagy, irrigation water will be free of charge this year as well

This means that farmers have received nearly 12 billion forints of coverage so that the water sector can provide them with irrigation water free of charge this year as well. Thanks to this, more than 1,300 water users engaged in irrigation activities receive free irrigation water, and in addition to arable land irrigation, the water resources necessary for rice cultivation and the operation of fish ponds are provided to farmers free of charge, the state secretary explained. Regarding the reconstruction of the Eastern Main Canal, the politician said that thanks to the Environmental and Energy Efficiency Operational Programme Plus, not only the water withdrawal structures and the Tiszalök dam, but also the main canal itself can be renewed for about forty kilometers, all the way to Balmazújváros. By restoring the condition of the riverbed, the regional water management directorate is helping to increase the canal’s water storage and water discharge capacity, since currently only about 24 percent of the main canal can be utilized for this purpose, he added. Vinnai Győző, the Fidesz MP for the region, called the renewal of the main canal a very important issue at the briefing, emphasizing that ensuring long-term water supply and preventing drought is a big challenge for local farmers.

MTI