Tearce, 20 July 2022 (MIA) - Works for the construction of a mini-irrigation system were launched Wednesday in the Municipality of Tearce, which will cover an area of 330 hectares of arable land, owned by 150 farmers. An estimated EUR 1.75 million was provided through EU's IPA funds. The system will include a 25-kilometre secondary network and water will be provided from Bistrica river overlooking Tearce in the northwestern part of the country. All ecological norms as well the river's biological minimum will not be harmed, pledged the project's constructor. The project will help exhaust the farming potential, said Julian Vassallo, Deputy Head of EU Delegation to North Macedonia. The EU, he added, plans to allocate additional EUR 4.8 million as part of IPA III for the construction of small irrigation systems. The construction of this mini-irrigation system will mean a lot to the farmers in the Polog region and will contribute to increasing yields, which have been reduced due to lack of water, according to municipal mayor Nuhi Neziri. "Although it is a small irrigation system, to us it is a big one because it will serve the farmers themselves. This is a successful model for the Municipality of Tearce and we want to see it in other settlements. To do so, we put all capacities and funds we have at disposal," he stated. The program is very important for us, said Agriculture Minister Ljupcho Nikolovski. "The Agriculture Ministry is already investing over EUR 10 million in EU grants in small irrigation systems. The projects in Tearce is one of the largest out of the dozen projects. The irrigation system will be managed at local level," stated Nikolovski.