Paprika farmer Peter Szabo from Batya, a village by the Danube in central Hungary, had battled against worsening drought for years until he found a natural method to drastically reduce his crops’ need for irrigation. “We should build reservoirs to prevent all that water flowing down the river Danube and Tisza and keep that water in the country,” he said. Batya, where traditional hot paprika is the main produce, is doing that, albeit on a small scale. As part of a European Union funded climate adaptation project, the village channels all rainwater via trenches into a reservoir.
A former clay pit was dug out and deepened to create a reservoir and a natural water retention wetland. The rainwater preserved this way helps refill ground water levels. The project cost 64 million forints ($204,140), with 60% funded by the EU, 30% by the government and 10% by the municipality and the World Wildlife Fund.
WWF expert Matyas Farkas said the aim is to empower municipalities and show them that hydrological problems and climate change can be fought on a small scale. With precipitation getting increasingly uneven, farmers face periods of intense flooding and droughts. According to the European Environment Agency the frequency and severity of droughts has increased in most parts of Europe, and the increase is greatest in southern Europe.
Source: Reuters
Global site 
Finnish site