December 27 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will extend a 15 million euro ($16.7 million) loan to Serbia for the construction of new irrigation systems in the Vojvodina region, in the north of the country, it said.
The funds aim to support Serbia's efforts to make its agriculture more resistant to the climate change, the bank said in a statement on Friday.
The new infrastructure will provide water to some 3,500 hectares of land, mostly orchards and vineyards, in the Ruma and Sremska Mitrovica municipalities during the peak dry season, the EBRD said.
"Building climate resilient infrastructure will allow the farmers in Vojvodina to better plan their production and with more security. Better access to irrigation services will also allow them to increase their expected crop yields and their income," Miljan Zdrale, regional head of agribusiness of EBRD's southeast Europe branch, said.
The EBRD has, so far invested more than 6.9 billion euro in 296 projects in Serbia. The project is its second investment in the country's irrigation systems. The first one, made in 2019, was also worth 15 million euro.
($ = 0.8843 euro)