News Drought
Poland puts hundreds of millions in irrigation
The Polish Ministry of Agriculture will invest €234 million in the realization of irrigation projects. The plan is to start the project next year. In the short term, more than €90 million will be invested.
The plan of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is part of a complete investment program for the countryside. That writes the Dutch agricultural attaché in Poland, following an interview with the Polish Minister of Agriculture Krzysztof Ardanowski.
Affected areas first
In the first tranche, 400 million zlotys will be made available for irrigation of agricultural crops. However, the total budget is 1 billion zloty (€234 million). Municipalities that have been hardest hit by drought in recent years will be the first to act. Like elsewhere in Europe, it was extremely dry in Poland in 2018. The country is increasingly confronted with extremes.
In 2020, a 'retention program' will follow, which should prevent the exodus of young people from the countryside to the cities and make the countryside attractive again.
Irrigation pays attention
Poland is not the only country putting money into irrigation options for farmers. Last year, the German state of Bavaria made known €9 million to put into such a project. In the Netherlands, about half of the potato acreage can and is allowed rained become. However, exact figures on the area of agricultural land under irrigation are not up-to-date.
Niels van der Boom
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