The indicator shows the area of land prepared for irrigation, irrigated areas and water consumption for the purposes of irrigation in Slovenia in the period 2000–2019, as well as the share of irrigable area in the total utilised agricultural area in the European Union (EU) in 2000, 2010 and 2016. The indicator does not provide direct information on environmental acceptability of irrigation, but indicates the irrigation-related pressure on the environment.

Agriculture is increasingly facing longer droughts, so the irrigation at key stages of growth can effectively increase the quantity and quality of crops, and thus contribute to a lower dependency of agricultural production on natural conditions and to more stable incomes in agriculture. At the same time, irrigation is associated with certain risks to the environment. Consumption of water for irrigation can lead to overexploitation of water resources, but may also increase the risk of soil erosion, water pollution by nitrates and pesticides, soil mineralization and other negative consequences for the environment (reduction of biodiversity, habitat loss, reduction of natural and landscape diversity). This risk can be reduced by using modern and more efficient irrigation technologies and with such an extent of irrigation, that does not endanger the available water resources. For such interventions, an environmental impact assessment must be prepared, and a nature protection consent must be issued. Additionally, water permit must be issued and an analysis of the availability of a water source must be issued.

In the year 2000, 4,554 hectares or 0.9% of all utilized agricultural area was prepared for irrigation. In 2019, this area amounted to 6,673 ha, which represents 1.4% of all utilized agricultural area. The vast majority of agricultural land is ready for sprinkling. In 2012, 91.6% of land was prepared for this type of irrigation, and the remaining land was prepared for drip irrigation.

In the year 2019, 3,152 hectares of land were irrigated. The structure of land that was irrigated at least once a year is dominated by fields and gardens (in 2019 the share was 64%), followed by permanent crops (orchards, olive groves and nurseries with 17%). The most commonly irrigated crops are hops, vegetables, fruits, and corn.

Irrigation water consumption depends mainly on the weather conditions in a particular year. The average water consumption per hectare of irrigated land in the period 2000–2019 was 1,411 m3 per year, from a maximum of 3,199 m3 per hectare in 2001 to a minimum of 459 m3 per hectare in 2010. In 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2006, which were the driest, between 6 and 8 million m3 of water were used for irrigation per year (on average 6,920,000 m3 per year), while in the remaining years water consumption was lower (on average 3,042,000 m3 per year). In the year 2019 was used 1,030 m3 of water per hectare of irrigated land, which is 27% less than the long-term average and more than three times less than in the year 2001, when 3,199 m3/ha was used.

In Slovenia, the share of irrigated land in terms of total utilised agricultural area is among the lowest within the EU member states. In the year 2016, only five member states had lower share of irrigated land (below 1.0%). In the year 2016, the largest share of irrigated land was in Cyprus, Malta and Italy (over 30%), while the Netherlands had the highest share among other Central and Northern European countries (29%). Between the years 2010 and 2016, the share of areas ready for irrigation increased the most in Malta and Greece (+5 percentage points), while in Denmark it decreased by almost 8 percentage points.