September 2022
Within the finalization of the “Irrigation and Drainage Program in the Republic of Serbia from 2023 to 2032“, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of Serbia in cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN FAO), organizes a series of trainings for representatives of Serbian Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services. The trainings will be executed by the Institute for Science Application in Agriculture for 150 participants from 34 cities in Serbia, in four days from September 26 to 29, 2022.
The participants of the trainings are advisors in the fields of arable farming, fruit and vegetable production, viticulture, land reclamation, organic production, plant protection, as well as agricultural producers and the private sector, involved in irrigation and drainage. The topics included in the training program are:
• Cost and benefit analysis of the of irrigation
• Selection, design, maintenance and operations of the irrigation systems on the farm
• Irrigation record keeping, analysis and performance improvement
• Typical costs and benefits of irrigation for different crops
• Sources of investments financing in irrigation systems
• Gender aspects of access to agricultural resources in the Republic of Serbia
At the third meeting of the Working Group, held in July this year, the draft of the Irrigation and Drainage Program was presented, with a five year Action Plan. This was the result of two years work by experts within thematic working groups. The documents, including 9 technical briefs preapred within the technical working groups, are available and accessible on the following website: www.navodnjavanje.info . The main goal of this Programme is to enhance agricultural production by further improving water usage in irrigation and drainage and identifying and mapping priority investments in the next ten years.
The “Programme for Irrigation and Drainage of the Republic of Serbia for the period 2023-2032” provides guidelines for public investment in irrigation and drainage and the adequate management and financing of publicly-owned systems. Also, the Program establishes an appropriate legal and institutional framework for the development of individual on-farm irrigation, promotes efficient and profitable irrigation practices on agricultural farms, and ensures that public investments, policies and regulations adequately take into account climate change.
The program is accompanied by a five-year Action Plan, which determines specific activities to be undertaken during the period 2023-2027 in relation to legislation, water resources management, irrigation and drainage fees and investment in public irrigation and drainage systems. The action plan includes the responsible unit and budget support needed for investments in farms for irrigation and drainage purposes, as well as other support measures, such as research, extension, monitoring and evaluation. The action plan will create capacities and mechanisms that will enable future investments to be properly selected, financed and monitored.
