Regarding the press release "Performance Audit: Combating the Effects of Climate Change in Romanian Agriculture Affected by Deficiencies," published by the Court of Accounts of Romania, the Press Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development makes the following clarifications:

The conclusions of the audit carried out by the officials of the Court of Accounts, covering the period from 2000 to 2021, as presented in the mentioned press release, do not take into account some essential aspects, as follows:

Romania has a NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE, a project developed by the Ministry of Environment, Waters, and Forests in collaboration with all institutions with responsibilities in this field, including the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Through the "National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change for the period 2023-2030 with the perspective of 2050" (SNASC) and the "National Action Plan for its implementation" (PNASC), the revision and continuation of the "National Strategy for Climate Change and Economic Growth based on low carbon emissions for the period 2016-2020," approved by Government Decision No. 739 of October 5, 2016, and published in the Official Gazette No. 831 of October 20, 2016, are ensured.

We reiterate that the Ministry of Environment, Waters, and Forests is the institution of the Romanian state authorized to manage strategic documents regarding measures to combat climate change in their entirety. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development provides full support, through its specialists in this field, in generating public policies based on its legal responsibilities.

In this regard, MADR requests the experts of the Court of Accounts to show more rigor in understanding and comprehending the responsibilities of the institutions of the Romanian state and the level of involvement of each in its area of competence.

Moreover, Romania has a strategy regarding the development of agriculture, including the area audited in the Court of Accounts' report, concerning the fight against desertification and soil erosion. The document called "Strategic National Plan 2023-2027" is endorsed by the Romanian Parliament and accepted by the European Commission.

This strategic document contains concrete actions and financial allocations for the medium and long term for the sustainable development of Romanian agriculture, in line with European policies in this field. These actions include the establishment of forest belts near agricultural land, the development of secondary irrigation infrastructure, crop rotation, the use of varieties and hybrids resistant to climate change, and other investments contributing to soil quality improvement, increased productivity, and environmental protection.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, through the National Agency for Land Improvement, carries out an extensive National Program for the Rehabilitation of the Main Irrigation Infrastructure, based on a clear strategy for increasing Romania's potential irrigable area.

This Program was adopted by the Romanian Parliament in 2017 and updated in 2022 concerning irrigation, drainage, and reclamation components, with an allocation of 1.5 billion euros by 2027 for irrigation system investments.

As a result of the investments already made under this Program, Romania's irrigable area has reached approximately 2 million hectares, and Romanian farmers benefit from free water through 2,600 km of irrigation canals, which contributes to higher crop yields. This information is also available in reports from the National Institute of Statistics (INS) and Eurostat on Romania's cereal production trends.

Additionally, Romania has a strategy applicable in combating extreme weather phenomena and stimulating increased precipitation through the National Anti-Hail and Precipitation Enhancement Program, adopted in 2010. As a result of investments made through this Program, the total protected area of Romania is currently 2.5 million hectares, through 99 anti-hail rocket launching sites.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development clarifies that all this data was made available to the officials of the Court of Accounts during the audit process, and the Ministry remains committed to providing all necessary information to clarify the raised issues and implement appropriate measures.