Project Reference in the Field of Agriculture and Irrigation Irrigation Programme in the Southern VARDAR Valley Client Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy, Skopje Financing Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) Macedonia Costs of Project 17,000,000 EUR Duration of Services 2001 - 2002 Lead Partner GFA TERRA SYSTEMS GmbH Services provided by CES § § § feasibility study survey on irrigation in infrastructure engineering design of irrigation infrastructure improvement/ rehabilitation measures and cost estimates § § operation and maintenance concept proposal for irrigation programme implementation Description of Project In all regions of Macedonia rainfall is insufficient to produce high yielding crops and this is particularly the case in the Southern Vardar Valley. The old irrigation systems have considerably deteriorated due to deferred maintenance and due to institutional constraints. Due to insufficient water services, high water losses and a complicated billing system, the cost recovery rates of the Water Management Organizations (WMO) are very low. The overall objective of the irrigation programme is to improve the standard of living of the people in the programme area through sustainable use of the natural resources and the irrigation infrastructure. The programme area covers four irrigation schemes with a net irrigation area of about 2,500 ha. The longterm improvement of the irrigation water supply will require the restructuring of the irrigation sector. Water User Associations (WUA) will be promoted and established during programme implementation being responsible for the O&M of the irrigation systems, mostly consisting of sprinkler and drip irrigation facilities. Surface water from the tributaries of the VARDAR River as well as River Rine groundwater will be utilized for irrigation. The proposed irrigation programme will be implemented in three phases : Phase I Phase II pb_e.doc programme preparation programme implementation Phase III operation and maintenance