Armenian government considering release of additional irrigation water from Lake Sevan

YEREVAN, July 1. /ARKA/. The Armenian government is considering release of additional water from Lake Sevan for irrigation purposes, acting Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan told reporters today after a Cabinet session.

Last week farmers in Armavir and Shirak regions staged spontaneous protests, blocking roads and demanding irrigation water for their drying fields.

According to the authorities, abnormally high temperatures across the country have caused irrigation problems and can cause significant damage to the crops.

"We are very concerned about the current situation; record high temperatures were recorded across Armenia this past June, which led to such a difficult situation," Kerobyan said.

He said the problem is caused partly by the need for irrigation of earlier non-irrigated lands. Another problem, he said, is that farmers sometimes provide incorrect information to the Committee of Water Resources, regarding their land areas under crops. For example, watering potatoes requires more water than others crops.

According to him, the problem needs a fundamental solution, and that was why a few days ago it was decided to switch from traditional irrigation systems to alternative ones, including the drip irrigation.

He said these systems are very expensive for farmers, but the government will possibly provide assistance.

"It is necessary to modernize the systems as quickly as possible so that it meets the requirements of farmers," Kerobyan said.

He also said that the government is considering the possibility of increasing the release of water from Lake Sevan by 50-70 million cubic meters. --0--