Tiraspol, 22 March. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. Russia has increased funding for the reconstruction of Pridnestrovie's reclamation infrastructure. The final cost of the project will total 8.9 billion Russian roubles. Its implementation will restore irrigation in the area of 67,000 hectares, agricultural minister Efimiy Koval said during a press conference in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of the PMR.
«The project documentation has been completed. In June, we start the reconstruction of the reclamation network. Russia will allocate further 6.5 billion roubles, which will bring water to the area of 67,000 hectares," noted Koval.
It should be noted that the initial plan, which was presented last year, provided for investments of 2.4 billion Russian roubles. It was planned to increase irrigation areas to 26,800 hectares. The Russian Federation, interested in the growth of the Pridnestrovian agricultural sector and the development of its processing food industry, was ready to take the cost of the project. However, after the initial assessments, it was decided to expand the project, and Moscow has additionally allocated 6.5 billion roubles. Thus, the budget of the project has risen to nearly 9 billion roubles, which will restore reclamation in almost all areas where irrigation networks have been preserved.
It should be noted that in the second half of the 20th century there existed a powerful irrigation infrastructure in Pridnestrovie with a total irrigation area of 100,000 hectares, with the total area of agricultural land in Pridnestrovie amounting to 282,264 hectares. As of 2014, the wear and tear of the country's reclamation networks exceeded 70%. An inventory conducted by the agricultural ministry has found that the potential of Pridnestrovie today is 67,000 hectares of irrigated land (instead of 100,000 hectares during the USSR). But even this area is not irrigated today. The resources of the state are sufficient to irrigate only 10,000 hectares.
The reconstruction of main stations and water networks will be carried out as part of the Russian-Pridnestrovian project, and agrarians will have to purchase reclamation equipment on their own, through a system of cheap loans. The government is currently working to enhance access to this system. Dubossary's company Agroklimat also provides services to restore inter-farm networks. In agreement with land users, the company carries out works to distribute farm networks, procures new irrigation equipment, conducts preparatory work to organise irrigation and connection to state irrigation systems.
With the arid climate of Pridnestrovie, the modernisation of the irrigation system is a strategic issue. According to the agricultural ministry, the total losses of the agricultural complex amounted to $1.5 million in monetary terms in 2015. Therefore, the development of the Pridnestrovian reclamation system is vital today, underscored participants of the conference «Prospects for the development of agricultural exports of Pridnestrovie». The Russian-Pridnestrovian project will increase the area of irrigated land, which will optimise the irrigation tariff for agrarians. This will also result in production growth as reclamation increases productivity without increasing financial costs. According to experts, in irrigated land, yields are 30−40% higher than in rainfed land.
