18.7 MEuro contract signed for drip irrigation schemes powered by photo-voltaic installations.

The European Union and the State of Eritrea have today committed to continue and strengthen cooperation on development projects. A further major milestone of the EU's program in "Support to Agriculture/Food Security in Eritrea" has been met: on Thursday 08 September 2016, the Ministry of National Development and the Israeli contractor " Naan Dan Jain Irrigation LTD'' signed a contract worth 18.7 MEuro for the supply and installation of drip irrigation systems for 16 irrigation sites in two out of six regions in Eritrea.

Chargé d'Affaires of the European Union to the State of Eritrea, Pierre Philippe, remarked that ''Since June 1st 2013 to the current stage the European Union in partnership with the Government of the State of Eritrea has been supporting the agricultural sector of the country through the 10th EDF programme to enhance the agricultural production and productivity of benefiting farmers".

Deputy National Authorising Officer Mr. Samsom Berhane stated that "This project will have an important contribution to the Government of Eritrea's endeavour for Food Security through modernised irrigation systems in 16 project sites implemented in the Central and Southern Regions supported by Solar Energy".

Southern region will cover nine irrigation sites and Central region seven irrigation sites in down streams of the arable lands. The selected dams for agricultural development have adequate water in the reservoirs and down-stream which enable the application of appropriate irrigation scheme techniques to cultivate targeted farms throughout the year. The foreseen contract will cover a total of 635 ha in selected potential agricultural regions of both Debub and Maekel. It will introduce a drip irrigation technique and a total of 2.6 MW renewable photovoltaic source of energy will be installed, which in turn will enable targeted farmers to improve their capacity to produce at least 2 harvests per year.  The contract will be take effect as of September 12, 2016 for a maximum 18 month implementation period.

Upon signing the contract, a company representative expressed satisfaction about the agreement: "In our Company we measure ourselves the success of our projects by the smiles of happy farmers who got benefited from the project. These benefits of higher yields and incomes from our modern sustainable irrigation solutions help in the economic upliftment of the farmer beneficiaries in the project".