How do ministries work on the "cemetery park" principle... Ivaylo Tonev before FACTS

The irrigation system for agriculture in Bulgaria must be restored. The way in which dams are managed in the country must also be rethought. How many times have we heard that… And what kind of work was done, and who was able to do what… Ivaylo Tonev, former manager of “Irrigation Systems” spoke to FAKTI. EAD - branch Haskovo.

- Mr. Tonev, in FACTS we commented several times on how Bulgarian water irrigates lands in Turkey and Greece, and in our country agriculture is suffering. We now have a new directorate “Hydromelioration“ in the Ministry of Agriculture. Does it work…
- In this month, two media appearances of the former ministers of agriculture, Mr. Kiril Vatev, and of ecology, Mr. Julian Popov, made a strong impression on me. Both commented on the topic of “Irrigation and irrigation systems”. But what were they talking about… It seems incredible how they can do nothing while they are in power, and when they no longer occupy the warm ministerial seats they start talking about the topic and making findings like “we have found the hot water”. And in reality, they didn't lift a finger about these things, as long as something depended on them. Comments of this type, in my opinion, are insulting to all Bulgarian farmers who are deprived of irrigation.

- As we all know, to do agriculture, we need to have land and water. We have water, but we don't use it. Why?
- Agriculture as a branch is managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, and they are also the owners of 181 dams built for irrigation. Water - underground and surface, which is a public resource, is subordinated to the Ministry of Environment and Water.

The state of irrigated agriculture in the country, which in the 1980s reached 13 million acres, will reach a modest 280 thousand acres in 2023.

And this is a responsibility entirely within these two ministries. As is clear from these interviews of former ministers – they just pass the ball to each other, and we have the feeling that the institutions in question work on the principle of a “graveyard park” - i.e. initiative and help from within to solve the problem cannot be expected. Regarding irrigation, so is the situation in the chambers of agriculture, where the “grain lobby” dictates the processes, because the per acre subsidies for cereals apparently completely suit them.

- And where is the role of the state. Can we even talk about one?
- Our country is currently unable to feed the population with its own production, if we exclude cereals, where it relies entirely on imports, which puts national security at risk. In this regard, last month, a report was sent to the National Tax Agency and with a copy to the Acting Prime Minister, Mr. Dimitar Glavchev, about violations and facts sabotaging the restoration and development of irrigated agriculture in the country, namely:
1. Refusal to implement a sectoral strategy adopted by a Decision of the Council of Ministers.
2. Utilization of targeted funds provided for “Protecting nature from the harmful effects of water”, for the salary fund of “Irrigation systems” EAD.
3. Expenditure of BGN 5 million budget funds for the inventory of irrigated areas, since the same data is available in “Irrigation systems” EAD.
4. Losses of natural resources and financial resources in particularly large amounts.
5. Intentional non-use of the river outflow of the country in favor of countries that are outside the EU.
6. Implementation of projects with European funding, but without economic justification and not as intended.
7. Free and indefinite provision of energy facilities owned by the trading company “Irrigation Systems” EAD, of “NEK“ EAD.
8. Neglect by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of all working proposals and signals.

- You write a lot of signals, but do you have feedback…
- At the moment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food - in the person of the new minister, Mr. Georgi Tahov, and the newly formed Directorate “Hydromelioration“ - in the person of Mr. Nikolay Karafeziev, remain deaf to the working proposals made. I am not talking only about those of us, but also about the people who have irrigated millions of acres, as well as the experience of our neighboring countries at the present time.
What we need:
1. Conversion of “Irrigation systems“ EAD in the “Meliorations” Agency, which will put an end to TRADE in irrigation water.
2. The adoption of the “Law on Hydromelioration“ and the restoration of the “Amelioration Fund”, which will ensure the financing of the sector.
3. Subsidizing 100% of irrigation water - water for production (as in Romania and Greece), because this will bring the agricultural industry to light.
4. Provision of the “Ameliorations“ possibility of construction and licensing of boreholes for irrigation water.

- We are currently in an election campaign. Has any party included similar things in its program…
- I have a desire during the election campaign, because I am not alone, and there are other experts on the subject who are ready to help, to familiarize the parties that are fighting for the votes of the Bulgarian citizens with this huge problem. I hope that in their person we will find people who are ready to actually implement the necessary actions, and not just share impressions, like the gentlemen, from the time when they were ministers.