FAO/EBRD host irrigation webinar for Serbia
Videos
Briefs
The Brief was prepared to support the development of the Irrigation Strategy of the Republic of Serbia. It addresses the governance structure around irrigation and water management in the country, and provides a detailed analysis of the national and international policy framework concerning: (i) water use and management such as catchment management plans and the objectives of the European Union Water Framework Directive; and (ii) climate change adaptation needs and strategies reported in the National Adaptation Plan and the Nationally Determined Contributions.
Price of Water for Irrigation in Serbia
The Brief was prepared to support the development of the Irrigation Strategy of the Republic of Serbia. It provides elements for a discussion around the legal framework on the price of water for irrigation and drainage in Serbia and it aims to serve as a starting point for developing a discussion on the price of irrigation water with various stakeholders in Serbia. It provides basic information on common approaches to irrigation water price formation and compares them to the legal approach and common practice in Serbia. It also compares prices of irrigation water in some European countries so as to discuss the extent to which water prices across Europe actually reflect water supply recovery costs as stipulated in the WFD.
Water Availability & Irrigation Water Requirements
The Brief was prepared to support the development of the Irrigation Strategy of the Republic of Serbia. It addresses the availability, distribution and accessibility of water resources in the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Serbia is not classified as a country with lack of water resources, but on the other hand there is a problem of unfavourable temporal and spatial distribution of available water. Aim of this brief is to determine prospects of irrigation development in Serbia in terms of natural water related factors, namely Irrigation water requirements (IWR) and Irrigation water availability (IWA)…
Economic Opportunities, Value Drivers and Key Risks of Public and Private Irrigation Investments
The Brief was prepared to support the development of the Irrigation Strategy of the Republic of Serbia. It gives an overview of the potential economic value of the key irrigation development opportunities in the Republic of Serbia and attempts to identify the key value drivers, rational and major risks of a range of underlying investment options. It first considers changes that can lead to improved irrigation in the Republic of Serbia, provides an explanation of investments, considers value drivers, emphasizes the importance of mapping investment opportunities, then considers and proposes scenarios and main variables to be…
The Atlas contains a geospatial analysis and mapping of agricultural areas with potential for irrigation development.
The Brief gives a spatial and temporal presentation of the following parameters: topography (Section 1), land coverage and land use (Section 2), soil types and soil moisture content (Section 3), demography (Section 4), water resources (Section 5), irrigation practice (Section 6), followed by climatic parameters: validation and acclimation of data of basic climate variables (Section 7), basic climate variables (Section 8), temperature threshold indices (Section 9), precipitation variables (Section 10), water deficit (Section 11), snowfall index (Section 12), number of days with an average above 10 ℃ (Section 13)…
The Brief was prepared to support the development of the Irrigation Strategy of the Republic of Serbia. It describes the technological aspects and needs of irrigation infrastructure in the service of sustainable and profitable irrigation development in the Republic of Serbia. Less than 3% of arable land in the Republic of Serbia is irrigated, and the need for irrigation will grow as the growing impact of climate change is expected. Section two analyses the current situation in Serbia, while Section three discusses the investment options of irrigation technologies and infrastructure.
Overview of the Legal Framework related to Irrigation in the Republic of Serbia
The Brief was prepared to support the development of the Irrigation Strategy of the Republic of Serbia. For the purposes of implementing the project to support the development of the strategic framework for irrigation in the Republic of Serbia (hereinafter: the Program), the drafted document contains an overview of the legal framework related to irrigation currently in force in the Republic of Serbia, including legal requirements for investment in irrigation systems.
The Brief was prepared to support the development of the Irrigation Strategy of the Republic of Serbia. It addresses the gender characteristics of agricultural holdings and their operators, which analyzes the structural characteristics of farms by sex, the profile of women holders, and gender aspects of irrigation. The document also discusses access to irrigation and participation in decision-making, more precisely analyzing the legislative framework, access to budget incentives for irrigation, and women’s participation in political decision-making. The aim of this report is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the gender characteristics of agricultural holdings in the Republic of Serbia, with a particular focus on access to irrigation and measures that incentivize investments into irrigation.
The Brief was prepared to support the development of the Irrigation Strategy of the Republic of Serbia. The Brief “Irrigation in Serbia” describes the technological aspects and needs of guidance infrastructure in the service of sustainable and profitable development of guidance in the Republic of Serbia. In the Republic of Serbia, less than 3% of arable land is stated, as the growing impact of climate change is expected, and the need for guidance is growing. The summary includes a detailed analysis of the costs and benefits of irrigation at the farm level, but also analyzes available data and policies from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Republic Water Directorate, the Bureau of Statistics, Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN), the Farm Register and international a source such as FAOSTAT, which are important for the preparation of this technical document.
The Brief was prepared to support the development of the Irrigation Strategy of the Republic of Serbia. The aim of this brief is to present drainage in Serbia and prospects of irrigation development in the areas that are covered with drainage systems having in mind the possibilities of multipurpose and multi-criteria water management.
Environment and climate change
The Brief was prepared to support the development of the Irrigation Strategy of the Republic of Serbia. It addresses the strategic assessment of social, environmental and climate reasons for irrigation development in Serbia, citing the risks of climate change to sustainable development. It also addresses the development of climate change mitigation measures to ensure that investments take into account water resource sustainability, water quality, and climate change without adverse impacts on biodiversity, natural resources and the community, i.e. it addresses potential environmental impacts of irrigation and options for better adaptation to climate change, guided by existing European Union regulations and directives.
Documentation in preparation and will be made available soon
Strategy
Investment Atlas
The Investment Atlas, which is to identify and map priority irrigation investments, is also being drafted in the process of development of the Irrigation Strategy of the Republic of Serbia for the period 2022-2031. The document will map all relevant private and public stakeholders. The mapping will include a clear description of stakeholders’ typology, roles and spatial distribution, and present their main strengths and weaknesses. The aim is to help identify priority investments to upgrade irrigation infrastructure with a view to increasing Serbia’s agricultural productivity, environmental sustainability and climate resilience.
Document in preparation
Irrigation strategy
Agriculture plays an important role in Serbia’s economy, representing around 9% of gross domestic product (including food processing) and about 17% of employment. The Vojvodina region accounts for 47% of the country’s agricultural land, 60% of irrigated areas and 80% of farms over 50 hectares. Fruit orchards are located in the Šumadija region and western Serbia (55%) and south-eastern Serbia (26%).
Although Serbia boasts favourable conditions for agricultural production, vulnerability to climate change threatens productivity of its main crops. Serbia has more than 20,000 m3 of available freshwater per inhabitant per year due to an important river network and a good level of average annual precipitation (ranging from 600 mm to 800 mm in the plains to over 1,500 mm in the mountains). The country ranks well above the European Union (EU) average, and has much higher freshwater availability than the six most populous EU member states, which have current annual levels below 3,000 m3 per inhabitant.
Investments in irrigation infrastructure have lagged behind, and irrigated areas are still a low share of total agricultural land. To date, only around 120,000 hectares are equipped with irrigation facilities. Currently, the actual irrigated area is about 70,000 hectares, including over 58,000 hectares in Vojvodina. The main irrigated areas are predominantly in the flatlands of Vojvodina and were developed under the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In 2019, about 60% of Serbia’s harvested area was dedicated to field crops – maize, wheat, sunflower, soybeans, barley and sugar beets.
Inadequate irrigation is one of the major constraints hindering the country’s transition to higher value-added crops. Increased crop yields and the expansion of cultivated areas stemming from access to irrigation water would have a positive impact on Serbia’s gross agricultural product and exports. Climate change, evolution of demand from agricultural water users and current levels of underinvestment underscore a pressing need to strengthen and modernize Serbia’s irrigation system.
This strategic document will lay out irrigation development directions. The Strategy is accompanied by seven briefs in the following areas:
- Water resources availability, distribution and accessibility, including a SWOT analysis of irrigation development potential;
- Governance structure around irrigation and water management in the country, including a detailed analysis of the national and international policy framework. This brief will include a comparative analysis of the Serbian situation with successful institutional and governance set-ups in similar contexts (e.g. in specific European countries and Turkey). It will also include proposals for improvements and capacity development;
- Water pricing practices in Serbia, including the description of possible scenarios to optimize and develop irrigation pathways progressively allowing cost-recovery tariff levels and financial and environmental sustainability in the sector;
- Geospatial analysis and mapping of agricultural areas with potential for irrigation development. The analysis will be based on, among others, comparative advantages and competitiveness potential;
- Key risks, economic opportunities and value drivers of public and private investment in irrigation for select value chains – tentatively cereals, berries and fruit trees in Serbia. The brief will include a section dedicated to the financing of irrigation development at farm level (existing options and proposals);
- Technology and infrastructure needs for sustainable and profitable irrigation development in Serbia. The brief will include a section related to the use of digital technologies to improve water management and irrigation practices, enhance water conservation and climate change adaptation and reduce operation/maintenance costs for both public and private actors; and
- Strategic assessment of social, environmental and climate considerations of irrigation development in Serbia and development of mitigation measures to ensure that investments consider sustainability of water resources, water quality, climate change and do not negatively affect biodiversity, natural resources and communities.
Document in preparation
Action Plan
The Irrigation Strategy of the Republic of Serbia will be accompanied by a five-year Action Plan for its implementation, to guarantee a demand driven approach to irrigation development and identify the necessary reforms.
Document in preparation
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