December 24 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said it is investing 15 million euro ($16.6 million) to finance irrigation infrastructure projects in Serbia's less developed regions.
The lender will finance the construction and rehabilitation of the primary irrigation infrastructure in the towns of Negotin and Svilajnac and will also provide more than 1.2 million euro in grants for technical assistance, including for the development of Serbia’s first irrigation action plan, to be implemented with the assistance of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the bank said in a press release on Monday.
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“The EBRD investment will finance the construction of primary irrigation infrastructure, which will enable the use of efficient irrigation technology, including a switch to sprinklers and drip irrigation as well as measures to reduce the vulnerability of irrigation infrastructure to weather-related disruption,” the bank said.
Serbia’s agricultural infrastructure, which has suffered from severe floods and droughts in recent years, will become more resilient to climate change thanks to the investment supported by the EBRD, the bank noted.
In addition to strengthening the resilience of agriculture to climate change, the project will also provide more economic opportunities to people in less developed regions, the EBRD regional director for the Western Balkans, Zsuzsanna Hargitai, said.
The agricultural and food-processing industry plays a vital role in the Serbian economy, the bank said, adding that the sector provides 9% of gross domestic product and 17% of employment.
“However, the sector suffers from underinvestment and outdated technology, while water supply systems are often vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as droughts, floods or exceptionally harsh winters,” the EBRD noted.
($ = 0.90212 euro)