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Agriculture: Environment Ministry invested up to 10 million lei in degraded land in Romania
Romania has at least 500,000 ha of degraded land and the Ministry of Agriculture, Waters and Forests announced on Wednesday it can invest up to 10 million lei in degraded land in Romania, and in fighting desertification. “I said it often: Romania has at least 500,000 ha of degraded land. If it were all afforested we could obtain the biggest forest fund extension of the last 30 years. But in Oltenia the effect of afforesting the 100,000 ha could decide on the fate of other hundreds of thousand hectares and tens of thousand people. We have the money for that: 10 million lei this year alone, from the Melioration Fund. I expect the mobilization of local authorities and the determination of private owners in the area,” said Costel Alexe, the minister of Environment, Waters and Forests who was recently in Dolj county, one of the most affected areas by desertification.
“We have solutions with which we can prevent desert extension in Oltenia. We must apply them as soon as possible since 60% of people there work in agriculture and 1,000 ha of fertile soil are annually swallowed by desert. In less than 50 years Oltenia risks to be covered by sands,” declared Costel Alexe.