As drought devastates crops, Hungary fails to tap its lifesaving water reserves
As climate change continues to dry out Hungary, the country’s agriculture sector has largely failed to embrace the potential of irrigation. Over the past decades, periods of drought have become more frequent and intense, yet the proportion of irrigated land has remained nearly unchanged.
This is particularly striking given Hungary’s natural conditions, which are generally suitable for water retention and utilisation. In practice, however, only a fraction of this potential is used.
This situation is especially worrisome because the lack of water is already causing serious damage to agricultural output, and experts warn that severe drought years will become even more common in the future. The question is clear: why isn’t Hungary irrigating, especially when the need is more pressing than ever?
Drought is no longer just a summer issue
The effects of climate change in Hungary have become increasingly dramatic in recent years. Drought is no longer just a seasonal summer problem—it often extends to other parts of the year. In recent years, a lack of precipitation during the winter months, along with reduced snow and meltwater, has resulted in extended dry periods.
These trends align precisely with the warnings climate researchers have been making for decades. Hungary’s climate is gradually shifting toward drier, more drought-prone conditions. On top of that, more frequent heatwaves are further depleting soil moisture.
Ironically, even as the country suffers from water scarcity, there are recurring periods when large quantities of water enter Hungary, whether from upstream flood peaks or heavy spring rains. However, much of this water simply drains away instead of being retained and put to use locally.
The state of agricultural irrigation in Hungary
According to Agrárszektor.hu, despite more than a decade passing, the size of irrigated farmland in Hungary has essentially stagnated. Between 2011 and 2023, irrigated acreage hovered steadily between 100,000 and 120,000 hectares, with only minor fluctuations.
The sole outlier was the exceptionally dry year of 2022, when more than 133,000 hectares received at least one round of irrigation. Even then, it was a reactive measure to extreme drought.
It’s important to note that this figure includes all land that was irrigated at least once within the year. The proportion of land that is irrigated consistently is even lower. Altogether, only about 2-3% of Hungary’s total agricultural land receives irrigation: a figure that has long drawn criticism from both domestic and international experts.
Plans to combat drought risk
The Hungarian government has acknowledged the severity of the drought threat and recently announced several commitments to expand infrastructure for water retention and irrigation. A representative of the Ministry of Agriculture declared plans to dramatically increase the size of irrigable land over the next three years.
Under these plans, the country’s current water retention capacity of 200 million cubic meters could be expanded to 3 billion cubic meters within three years. This would enable a jump in irrigable area from the current 120,000 hectares to between 400,000 and 500,000 hectares.
This would mark significant progress, especially considering that, in reality, just 80,000 to 90,000 hectares are currently irrigated each year. The overall goal is to secure Hungary’s agricultural water needs over the long term.
The program includes various subsidies to encourage farmers to participate in development efforts or to invest in their own irrigation systems. The government hopes that planned investments in the coming years will lead to a noticeable improvement in irrigation rates.
While the scale of the plans is ambitious, they’ve been met with mixed reactions among agriculture experts and farmers. Many recall that promises to expand irrigation in Hungary have persisted for decades, while real investments have proceeded slowly and with difficulty.
Complicating matters further is the country’s complex water rights regulation, which imposes burdensome conditions on obtaining irrigation permits.
Moreover, it’s not enough to build reservoirs and canal systems. Sustainable agricultural irrigation also requires a long-term strategy and a stable support system that offers farmers real security. For now, it remains uncertain whether the current plans can deliver on that front.
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