STUDY ON THE AREAS ARRANGED FOR IRRIGATION, AS WELL AS THOSE ACTUALLY IRRIGATED, AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL

This paper presents the evolution of the land arranged with irrigation works and of the irrigated agricultural areas, at national level, over a period of 26 years, namely, from 1997 to 2023. The area equipped with irrigation systems was 358,000 hectares in 1944, gradually increasing to 3.2 million hectares by 1989, which represented about 1/5 of the agricultural area and 1/3 of the arable land, with the systems being managed by the state. After 1989, many of the irrigation systems were left in disrepair, the privatization process and the economic transition leading to a dramatic decrease in irrigated areas, dropping to less than 300,000 hectares in the early 2000s. In 1997, the agricultural area equipped was 3,089,065 hectares, which decreased after 20 years to 3,045,177 hectares, resulting in a reduction of 43,888 hectares. However, in recent years, the agricultural area equipped with irrigation systems also recorded a decrease compared to 1997 by 28,473.20 hectares. On the other hand, it has registered an increase compared to 2017 by 15,414.80 ha. The arable land that was irrigated with at least one watering recorded an increase compared to 1997 of 189,609 ha after 10 years, of 83,213 ha after 20 years, and by 300,813.2 ha, compared to the average of the years 2019-2023.