Farmers Seek Interior Ministry's Help Due to Prolonged Water Shortage
In response to feedback from agricultural producers, the National Chamber of Agriculture (NAK) and the Federation of Hungarian Farmers and Agricultural Cooperatives (Magosz) have initiated the declaration of a prolonged period of water scarcity at the Ministry of Interior.
Under such conditions, it is possible to use water for emergency irrigation purposes once without a water rights permit, following notification. Additionally, agricultural producers are not required to pay a water conservation fee, NAK states in its press release, highlighting that these relaxations contribute to mitigating the effects of drought through irrigation.
The initiative is backed by so-called drought mapping, and data from NAK and Hungaromet, which show that there is a water deficit in the soil across the entire country. While this does not yet signify a drought the water content of the middle soil layer is still satisfactory the surface near soil, especially on the Great Hungarian Plain, has been critically dry since mid-March, posing a serious problem for agriculture. Significant additional rainfall is also desperately needed in Transdanubia, as the soil is currently too dry for seedbed preparation and sowing, according to the chamber.
Regarding possible actions during such periods, emergency irrigation water use is defined as the extraction of up to 120 mm/hectare (1200 m³/hectare) of water from direct surface sources, using temporary pump stations for irrigation purposes on areas not exceeding 100 hectares, for a continuous period of up to one month. Possible solutions include the use of tractor-driven mobile pumps, installation of quick-connect irrigation pipes and flexible hoses for transport conduits, as well as deploying mobile and reel irrigators, irrigation consoles, flat hose irrigation tubes, and quickly deployable drip tape irrigation systems on the farmland, the statement details.
NAK emphasizes that emergency irrigation water use must be reported in writing to the territorially competent water authority (the county disaster protection directorate), which must also include the consent of the surface water manager (territorially competent water directorate).