Veaceslav Ioniță
According to the expert, the nominal area of irrigated land in Moldova in 1990 was almost 290,000 ha, in 2000 – 302,000 ha, in 2010 – 228,300 ha, in 2020 – 222,200 ha, in 2025 – 217,5 thousand hectares. However, in reality, approximately 30–40 thousand hectares are currently under irrigation. That is, around 1.6 per cent of the country’s agricultural land.
The drastic reduction in the area of irrigated land and the number of irrigation systems actually in use is also reflected in water consumption statistics. For example, in 1990, Moldova used around 898 million cubic metres of water for irrigation; in 2000 – 50 million; in 2010 – 43 million; in 2020 – 50 million; and in 2025 – just 21 million cubic metres of water. Consequently, water consumption for irrigation has fallen by a factor of approximately 40 over the last 35 years.
It is also interesting to look at comparative statistics on water use for irrigation in countries across the region. For instance, Moldova uses around 28 cubic metres of water per hectare of irrigated farmland, whilst Romania uses 276 cubic metres and Ukraine 90 cubic metres.
The expert emphasises that Moldova is heavily dependent on water resources coming from abroad. This accounts for approximately 87 per cent of all water resources from renewable sources. These are mainly rivers originating in Ukraine, with tributaries in Romania.
The main problem is low water use efficiency
According to the expert, all this points to “one of the main vulnerabilities of Moldovan agriculture”. In this context, the development of the irrigated agriculture sector in the face of climate change is a priority for the Ministry of Agriculture.
Viacheslav Ionita is convinced that “the problem lies not only in the (extremely limited, LP) availability of water resources, but also in the limited capacity to utilise them in agriculture”.
According to the analyst, Moldova has approximately 6.3 cubic metres of water from renewable sources per hectare, compared with 5.1 cubic metres in Ukraine and 23.5 cubic metres in Romania. Nevertheless, Moldova utilises only around 0.4 per cent of its renewable water resources, whilst Ukraine utilises 1.7 per cent and Romania 1.1 per cent. In European countries where agriculture is heavily dependent on irrigation, this figure is significantly higher: 17 per cent in Spain, 11.9 per cent in Greece, 8.9 per cent in Italy and 3.1 per cent in Bulgaria.
Note from Logos Press: It is also interesting to note that, according to foreign expert assessments, a very significant proportion of water for irrigation in countries such as Spain comes from rainwater collected from roofs and other sources by resourceful farmers. Moldova also has experience in this area – gained through a small donor-funded project.
Also, in the context of irrigation, the glaring problem of the unprecedented shallowing of the Dniester, the Prut and virtually all the country’s small rivers is striking. It is clear that using these water sources even as a supply of drinking water now appears, to put it mildly, to be a rather unreliable strategy. There is not enough river water in Moldova not only for intensive irrigation, but also, in principle, for the survival of the population and ecosystems.
Groundwater is a separate and highly contentious issue. Environmental experts and soil scientists agree that, in terms of quality, around 80–90 per cent of groundwater is unsuitable for irrigation without additional and extensive ‘treatment’. That is to say – bringing it into line with regulatory standards (which, incidentally, also need to be updated and harmonised in accordance with EU standards). In this context, it is also worth mentioning the acute shortage of another resource – qualified agronomists and land improvement specialists – in the local agricultural sector. And how many are currently being trained by educational institutions in Moldova?
Given all the ‘shortcomings’ listed above, it is high time to ask: what is the solution? There are experts in the country who believe that high-tech irrigation systems could be the answer. Not even surface drip irrigation, but, for example, subsurface (intra-soil) pulse irrigation. These systems require significantly less water to operate reliably and highly efficiently. However, such systems are financially out of reach for the vast majority of Moldovan farmers. Therefore, according to Veaceslav Ionite, 3 billion euros will save Moldova’s irrigated agriculture. No less.
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