A large irrigation project is being developed in the Homiel Region. The plan was described on CTV by the head of the regional executive committee, Ivan Krupko.
At a recent meeting on the development of Polesia, Alyaksandr Lukashenka mentioned the use of “Dnieper–Bug canals.” He said he had instructed Krupko to assess the necessary costs.
“The idea itself comes from the past. When there was a huge country called the Soviet Union, a large reservoir was built — the so-called Dnieper–Brahyn Reservoir.
There is water, and the reservoir is there as well. The issue lies with the unfinished canals.
The idea was as follows: to take water using pumping stations during snowmelt, when the Dnieper rises, pump it into a large reservoir, and then irrigate the land. In fact, the project began around 1989–1990. A major station was built, and a 50-million-cubic-metre reservoir was constructed. And it is operational,” Krupko said.
He noted that an inspection has already been carried out, but the canals are still incomplete. According to the head of the regional executive committee, the project must be finished.
“Once every 10 years, Homiel Region experiences serious flooding. Four times in five years, there are major droughts: in May–June and from late July to early August. In fact, applied fertilisers, seeds and farmers’ work are negated when there is not enough moisture.
Fifty-five million cubic metres of water makes it possible to irrigate between 11,000 and 15,000 hectares of land. If we compare it with this year, relatively even moisture made it possible to double, and in some areas even triple, grain yields.
This concerns Loieu District, Brahyn District and Rechytsa District. Farms and land in all three districts are involved. Therefore, we have worked out preliminary documentation and determined that the cost of the project is around 175 million Belarusian roubles,” he continued.
Krupko added that the plan envisages using Chinese experience. One of the provinces has “significant expertise in managing water resources, taking into account soil moisture, creating moisture in the soil for specific crops, and correctly distributing it.” A videoconference with representatives of China is planned this week.
According to Krupko, the development and design of the full project will take around 36 months.