The ongoing drought has already caused so much damage that it will be labelled natural disaster, Agriculture Minister Dejan Židan said on Monday as he visited the north-eastern region of Pomurje. There is no doubt disaster will be proclaimed, as damage has already exceeded 0.3% of budget revenue.
Židan met today numerous farmers and agriculture experts as he visited the region that strongly depends on agriculture and where virtually all main crops have been affected.
In such conditions technological guidelines intended to mitigate the effects of drought - including irrigation - do not work, he said.
Nearly half of Pomurje's farmland has been affected by drought and the level of damage is mostly between 20% and 50%. However in some cases damage will reach up to 90% of expected revenues, according to Franc Režonja, the head of regional Agricultural and Forestry Institute.
He said that 40% of cornfields have been affected, with the damage ranging from 20% to 50%. Moreover, 50% of potato fields have sustained damage ranging from 20% to 50%.
50% of pumpkin fields have also been hit by drought and the damage is estimated at between 50% and 70%. Half of the fields with grass crops have sustained a damage estimated at 50%-90%.
Significant damage is also estimated in vineyards and orchards. 80% of surfaces with vegetables have also been affected, according to Režonja.
"There is damage and in such cases a country that values food production helps," said the minister. He added that damage compensation for last year will be paid out faster than expected - some 5,000 farmers will get a total of EUR 5.6m in September.
The minister moreover said the funds planned for irrigation remained unused. Last year EUR 10m were available but only EUR 4.5m were phased. He believes the problem is that the projects are too big for municipalities and Slovenia needed regions to coordinate such undertakings.
He said the next big project for the region in the EU's 2014-2020 budget will be to provide water for irrigation.
Source: Slovenia Times
