Use of CROPWAT 8.0 Program for the Assessment of Water Demand of some Agricultural Crops in Albania

Climate change in Albania is an extremely important issue since the majority of population depends directly or indirectly on activities which are impacted by this change. Agriculture is one of the most important economic activities in Albania. Albanian First and Second National Communication to UNFCCC state that the rise in temperature may cause the productivity decrease of certain agricultural crops, water stress and slowdown of crop growth. Agriculture is one of the most significant sectors of Albanian economy, representing approximately 20.6% of GDP (2011) and about afro 58% of employed people in the country. Since the irrigation system in the region is not operational for years, farmers built their agricultural activity mainly on rainfall/precipitation and irrigation carried out on small scale by household wells opened in the vicinity of arable lands. As everywhere else in the country and all over the world, climatic change is increasingly becoming more evident. In many cases crops in the region are failing totally out of the lack of water. Even in particular cases when the failure of agricultural crops is not total, financial losses are substantial for the poor budget of households. Very frequently the expenses of agricultural crops cannot be covered by the sale of products obtained from them. As climate change is becoming increasingly more aggressive for agriculture impeding obviously its development, it is necessary that farmers should be instructed properly on how to cope with these situations, how mitigating and adaptive measures should be taken, how crops should be planted, how the accurate date of planting should be defined, etc.