Poland seeks more EU funds to prevent droughts: agriculture minister

In an interview with news channel TVP Info, Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski said on Wednesday the funds would go to water retention projects and incentive programmes centred on irrigation.

He said: “It’s an entire programme aimed at improving soil moisture, restoring water holes, which have often been thoughtlessly destroyed by farmers.”

Ardanowski told TVP Info that Polish farmers have so far received PLN 1.5 billion (EUR 350m, USD 400m) to help mitigate the effects of this year’s drought.

He said: “It’s an unprecedented amount of money.”

Some 260,000 farmers have filed for aid, which is expected to total PLN 2.2 billion, Ardanowski said.

Public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news service reported in September that the drought that hit Poland this year amid scorching temperatures caused farmers losses of over PLN 3.6 billion by the end of August.

(aba/gs)

Source: IAR