Four irrigation systems will be installed along the Vardar river basin, covering 13.000 hectares of agricultural land.

New irrigation systems will be installed in Straiste, Lisice, Konsko and Pepeliste, which will cover 13.000 hectares of agricultural land. The Lisice hydrosystem will cover farmers from Veles and Čaška and provides irrigation for 3 hectares, the Pepelište system covers 650 hectares in Negotino and Demir Kapija, the Straište system covers 3 hectares in Valandovo and the largest, Konsko, covers 000 hectares in the area of ​​the municipalities of Gevgelija. , Bogdanci and Dojran.

The investment, worth over 100 million euros, will be realized through the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management. Seventy percent of the funds are support from the German KFV bank, an 80 million euro loan and a 2,8 million euro grant to support farmers and agricultural cooperatives in the areas covered by the hydro systems, while the remaining 30 percent is from the state budget.

Before today's signing of the Agreement with the international consulting company CES, Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski stated that the implementation of this program is part of the efforts to create modern agriculture, along European lines.

The activities envisage the construction, rehabilitation and expansion of four irrigation systems and the construction of small hydropower plants in Lisice and Konsko. These systems will increase hydro potential and the volume of agricultural production, but will also reduce economic losses, Kovacevski said.

The Minister of Agriculture, Ljupco Nikolovski indicated that this is historically the largest program in water supply in an amount that will exceed 100 million euros.

The four systems are part of the North Macedonia Irrigation Program and stretch along the Vardar river basin, we are constantly working on the modernization of the irrigation systems, building new ones and reconstructing the existing ones, said Nikolovski.

German Ambassador Petra Drexler pointed out the importance of the fight against climate change.

The contract signed with the consulting company weighs 9,1 million euros and provides for the preparation of main projects for the construction of the four systems, preparation of documentation, announcement of the construction procedure, supervision and implementation. Feasibility studies have already been prepared, and an assessment of the ecological impact of the systems has been made.