BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 5
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
According to the Ministry of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, as a result of the projects implemented over the past seven years, the area of irrigated land in Georgia has increased by 2.9 times, Trend reports with reference to EastFruit information and analytical platform.
As reported, at the end of 2019, the area of irrigated land in Georgia amounted to 130,000 hectares. The area of drained agricultural land over the same period increased by 2.8 times - up to 39,500 hectares.
According to the report, in 2019, within the framework of rehabilitation projects carried out by state LLC “Reclamation of Georgia”, 58 km of irrigation and 77 km of drainage canals were modernized.
During the operations, 1,860 km of canals and 2,700 of various hydraulic structures were repaired. In addition, pumping stations were put into operation, with the help of which water began to be supplied to the villages of the municipalities of Signagi, Gurjaani, Dedoplistskaro and Akhaltsikhe.
Deputy Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia Giorgi Khanishvili noted that active work on the development of land reclamation infrastructure in the country will continue.
“In a few years, we were able to increase the area of irrigated land to 130,000 hectares, but the demand is much greater, especially for the land where pistachios, almonds, olives and other crops are planted,” he said.
The state budget of Georgia in 2020 for the modernization of reclamation systems in the country provides 75.70 million lari ($26.2 million).
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