The Noise Exceeds the Damage Significantly: Kerobyan on the Irrigation Water Situation

The Acting Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan addressed the situation in the irrigation water sector caused by the hot weather. In a conversation with reporters after the government meeting, Kerobyan noted that June of this year has been a record hot month, with temperatures exceeding the norm by 3 degrees. This has led to an unprecedented difficult situation.

“The Water Committee is operating normally. The issue is that there is a need for irrigation in dry areas, which has endangered the harvest of dry lands. Another problem is that farmers are essentially providing incorrect information to the Water Committee and are planting different crops that have different water needs. For instance, potatoes require more water. Nevertheless, this issue requires a radical solution, and two days ago, we agreed that we need to start water reform and change the system in a way that transitions to a new efficient system,” Kerobyan said.

Regarding the observation that transitioning to drip irrigation is expensive and not all villagers can afford it, the acting minister stated, “The government will assist. If we say that it is hot this year, there is no guarantee that it will be cool next year. The world is warming.”

When asked why they did not anticipate such a situation and why the reservoirs were not filled, Kerobyan mentioned that he could not answer that question as they are not dealing with reservoir issues. According to him, no actions have yet been taken regarding compensating for the farmers’ losses, but that will be done. “There has been no drought insurance for agricultural products. The term drought should not be used; we are talking about water scarcity. In any case, the noise should be compared to reality. Typically, the noise exceeds the amount of damage significantly,” highlighted the acting minister.