31 March 2021

Workshop “Water Management and Water Prices in Serbia”

The workshop was organized within the project “Support to the Development of Irrigation Strategy in Serbia” implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN FAO) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), to support the Government and relevant institutions in developing the Irrigation Strategy and a five-year action plan. The aim of numerous studies and activities within this project is to identify specific preconditions and investment options that will increase the productivity of agriculture, enable sustainable development and resilience to climate change by improving irrigation infrastructure.

Director of the Republic Water Directorate, Natasa Milic, opened the workshop and stressed the importance of drafting a national Irrigation Strategy, a five-year Action Plan and Investment Plan, as well as cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management and the UN FAO and the EBRD. The workshop aimed to present the management structure of irrigation and water management in the country, as well as a description of possible scenarios for optimization and development of irrigation, which would gradually allow the determination of fees at a level that guarantees cost recovery and financial and environmental sustainability in the water sector. Steve Goss, a specialist in irrigation policy and Bojana Tomic, a legal expert, presented “Water Management in the Republic of Serbia,” followed by a presentation of Milos Milovanovic, a specialist in agricultural policy and Zoran Knezevic, a national specialist in irrigation, “Water price in the Republic of Serbia”.

The workshop gathered almost ninety participants interested in irrigation who discussed the topic in detail with lot of questions and comments. This was the first in a series of workshops held within the development process of the Irrigation Strategy of Serbia.

A video of the workshop is available at the link: