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GROW MORE CORN
Mentor Useinovski: Last year on this same 1 hectare plot I got 80 tons.
This year I expect to get a 100 tons.
The seed is the same as last year,
but the yield has increased because [the drip irrigation system] is great!
You just turn the valve and it does the rest on its own.
It also uses less water
and it doesn’t wash away the fertile layer of the soil like with furrow irrigation
it waters the roots directly and where the drips are falling.
The satisfaction of the farmers from the benefits of Grow More Corn initiative is based on results.
All 40 farmers from Polog and Pelagonija
have increased their yields of corn grain by 48% and corn silage by 52%, on average.
Irrigation took 5 times less man-hours than before.
Instead of the 50 hours needed for furrow or sprinkler irrigation previously,
they now only had to spend 10 thanks to drip irrigation.
Their incomes and savings have also increased,
creating an incentive for further development.
All this is thanks to the idea put into action in February 2013
when the USAID Small Business Expansion Project
considered the strengths and weaknesses of corn feed production [in Macedonia].
The first drip irrigation systems were installed in Polog in May 2013.
A total of 14 demonstration plots were set up in this region, generating huge interest.
The same was done on 27 plots in Pelagonija a bit later in the month.
Nuredin Abduli: I’m expecting a much greater yield this year because I had a drip irrigation system installed.
I already harvested that field and was very satisfied.
I got almost 13 tons [of grain] per hectare on that plot.
I also harvested another corn field that was irrigated with a drip system with the new harvester I bought this year.
That one yielded 15 tons per hectare, according to my measurements.
I irrigated a total of 14 times, once every 3 days.
I took me 5 hours of work and I spent about 70 tons worth of water in total.
I also used the system for fertigation with a water-soluble fertilizer with a 20-20-20 composition.
That worked great as well.
I was assisted by the USAID Small Business Expansion Project,
but now I plan to expand because I can see a lot of perspective and a lot of tons!
The field I’m harvesting now was not irrigated with a drip system and you’ll see that it will only yield between 8 and 10 tons per hectare,
while my drip irrigated field yielded almost 13 tons per hectare.
That’s where the profit is!
I grow the corn both for the grain and for the silage.
The one for silage was harvested on August 25 while the plants were still green.
Now I’m harvesting the 5 hectares of corn I planted for the grain.
Petar Matovski: I salute this initiative because the whole world is moving towards saving and efficiency of water usage.
USAID offered us a drip irrigation system for 1 hectare.
We cultivated the corn on that 1 hectare by following all their instructions and the results are something else.
We got a fantastic quantity!
We use the corn for silage for feeding our cows, so we planted the corn for that reason.
We’re very satisfied, so I’ve already talked to the Project about assisting our expansion,
with the equipment or with the science.
I’m very interested in expanding the system on some of my dryer surfaces
where I couldn’t grow food before, but I think the drip irrigation will allow me to do that.
Veli Veliu: I got a drip irrigation system with the help of USAID and the yield is, of course, better.
As I’ve compared to previous yields, this plot really got better yields.
You just turn it on and it does the rest
it requires almost no work in the field itself.
Veli Veliu: We used the corn for cow feed.
Naturally, if we want more cows, we also need to produce more feed.
Goran Pavlovski: The drip irrigation system is better than furrow or sprinkler irrigation by 30% to 40%.
Those methods are also harder and just don’t do the job as well.
They wash the fertile layer of the soil away, which doesn’t happen with the drip system.
I got 8 hectares of corn, half for grain and half for silage,
and I plan to expand on 2 more hectares next year.
This year I won’t be selling any of the corn because I increased the number of cows in my herd and I need all the feed I can get.
Juksel Sulejmani, Ideal Shipka dairy: With these methods, our contracted farmers will be able to increase the production of livestock feed on their land
and will in turn be able to increase the size of their herds, but also to improve the quality of the raw milk they sell us.
Naturally, the benefit for us is the better quality and quantity of milk, so our consumer products will also improve.
I’m very glad USAID started this project and it is our intent to help where we can.
As many farmers as possible should learn about this method of growing corn and apply it,
so we’d like to help the farmers who got a drip irrigation system for 1 hectare to expand over more hectares.
We’d also like to help more of our contracted farmers to install such a system next year,
expanding this technology across more of the Pelagonija region so that we as a dairy also see a positive result in the end.
Stevo Pivkovski, Mayor of Mogila: This initiative fits into the Municipal Development Plan,
so I hope USAID will support us further next year and include more farmers from Mogila and Pelagonija in the initiative.
The time has come to distinguish the good practices form the bad.
We can see the difference on these two neighboring fields - one is drip irrigated and the other is not.
I think that even the skeptics have been convinced.
It is a reality now, the results are visible, and I see a lot more interest in this technology within my municipality.
Ivan Postolski, Magan-mak: We were installing the drip irrigation system in the field and also provided the farmers with technical assistance,
meaning all the protocols and production advice during the year.
Here we can see two fields, one is drip irrigated while the other is not,
and the difference is more than obvious.
We were very successful here because the farmer followed all our instructions.
The drip irrigation system can lead to extraordinary results on almost any plant.
That was the point of this project
- to show that the system enables 95% of the water and fertilizer to be absorbed by the plant.
Word of the success of the initiative for increasing corn production is spreading.
It has proven that the 60,000 ton corn deficit in Macedonia can and should be lowered.
The government of Macedonia is following through on their responsibility to support the development of agriculture
by supporting successful initiatives.
Zoran Konjanovski, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Macedonia: We analyzed this project that was being implemented in Polog and Pelagonija and,
of course, we want to support good ideas.
It was implemented by USAID, together with other organizations like the Pelagonija Regional Development Center.
They selected good farmers, they gave them drip irrigation systems and the results were fantastic!
If the good corn producers were getting yields between 5 and 6 tons per hectare with furrow irrigation,
drip irrigation enabled them to get between 12 and 17 tons on that same hectare - that’s 2,5 times more.
Also, they got about 120 tons of silage per hectare.
Those results were fantastic, so we decided
to include this production approach in the National Rural Development Program for next year.
All corn producers that apply to us for aid will receive such aid.
Specifically, the Ministry will subsidize 50% of the cost of the drip irrigation systems for the corn.
If the system costs 1000 euros, we’ll give 500 euros to the farmers.
If it costs 2000 euros, we’ll give 1000 euros to the farmers.
The success of this project is also reflected in other areas.
Initiatives exist, but they have to be taken advantage of.
Economic growth will be stimulated, jobs will be created and more food will be produced while spending less money.
Agriculture will be modernized, the villages will spring back to life, and water and land will be used rationally.
The micro, small and medium enterprises that make up the agriculture industry in Macedonia can achieve this and so much more!