Pashinyan says weather is favorable for accumulation of irrigation water

YEREVAN, February 18. /ARKA/. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said today that the country in all likelihood will not have irrigation water problems in summer as weather conditions are favorable for reservoirs to accumulate it.

Nonetheless, he said it is necessary to improve the way the irrigation water is distributed among farmers, so that they are not forced to raise their protest in hot summer by blocking roads.

According to him, the day before, during a meeting with farmers in Aragatsotn region, his attention was drawn to the fact that the authorities often remember in May that agricultural work begins in March.

“There are areas where work begins even earlier, taking into account the weather conditions, and I hope that the irrigation issue will be in the spotlight. For this, it is necessary to work with the communities in advance in order to know about their problems and work to resolve them,” Pashinyan said.

In this regard, Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Suren Papikyan noted that sometimes farmers demand a cut on the price for irrigation water or want irrigation water for land that was not irrigated even in Soviet times.

He said farmers need to write applications for water use in advance, and not to complain about its absence. Considering that greenhouses and new types of crops have recently appeared, the need for irrigation often arises earlier and water user companies can solve the problem, but for this it is necessary to establish cooperation with them,” Papikyan said. -0-