PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Marie K. Thompson
DATE: June 27, 2001
"Seeing
is Believing" for Kosovar Farmers
 Kosovar
farmer, Ibush Krasniqi, can believe his eyes. He is seeing for
himself the impact of modern agricultural technology on his field in
Bardh te Vogel, Kosovo. Krasniqi’s farm was selected as one of the
sites for demonstrating the potential yields that can result when
the right mix of crop varieties, fertilizer, water, etc., is applied
in the right quantities and at the right time. Representatives from
the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Kosovo
Dealers and Agri-Inputs Assocation (KODAA), and the International
Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) recently visited the Kosovar
farmer’s field to see the results of the research being conducted
by IFDC. "The extension experts have told me that I can expect
a yield of 4-5 tons per hectare from my wheat field," Krasniqi
says. "This will be of great benefit to me and my family."
Wheat yields in
Kosovo usually average a low of 2-2.5 tons per hectare, which falls
far short of satisfying the needs of the country’s population.
With funding from USAID, for the past 20 months IFDC has been
working in Kosovo to assist in the development of agribusiness and
agriculture in that country.
"The extension
unit of the IFDC project has organized demonstration fields, like
the one on Krasniqi’s farm, to find better crop varieties that
will produce higher yields for the farmers," says Richard
Hicks, Chief of Party, IFDC/Kosovo. "On these fields are
planted 25 different varieties from Albania, Mexico, Turkey,
Hungary, and the United States. We are trying to determine which
varieties are more sutiable for the agroecological conditions in
Kosovo; after the completion of the research, the most favorable
varieties will be offered to the country’s farmers."
The IFDC extension
experts are following a process of preparing the land, planting—using
high-quality seed, and fertilizing with appropriate fertilizer
products. Farmers in the region are very curious about what is going
on around them. Almost every day they visit the demonstration fields
to see for themselves the results of the research. More than 2,000
farmers and agricultural experts from Kosovo have visited the
demonstration farms. The tremendous difference between these
demonstration fields and the traditional farms surrounding them is
obvious to the farmers; they are anxious to try the new technology.
Seeing is truly believing, after all.
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