April 23, 2020 – Parliament voted in the final reading, legislative amendments that reduce the number of documents necessary to obtain the right to use water from water bodies for irrigation purposes.

The new amendments stipulate the exclusion of certain acts for obtaining environmental authorization for the special use of water from ponds for irrigation of agricultural land. The adoption of these legislative amendments took almost two years. In the first reading, the document was voted in 2018, after which several debates were held on improving and promoting the draft, including with the participation of the Economic Council.

The topic of farmers ‘ access to water from lakes for irrigation came to the attention of the members of the platform in 2017, at the request of the business community. A series of debates were organized, in which representatives of business associations had the opportunity to discuss the topic with relevant ministries and agencies, following which they made recommendations for the normative framework related to the topic of access to water for irrigation.

The Secretariat of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister is supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, funded by the UK Government’s Good Governance Fund, and the International Finance Corporation’s Investment Climate Reform Project funded by the Government of Sweden’s International Development Agency.

The Secretariat of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister is supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, funded by the UK Government’s Good Governance Fund.