Mirjana Popovic, Public Information Assistant in the Belgrade Office, offers this story.

Unlike many farmers in Serbia, 34-year old Ivan Milović is well aware that better management of animal waste benefits the land, so he is willing to invest in it.

Before Ivan started to manage the manure his cattle produce on his farm in northwest Serbia, surplus ran off, contaminating groundwater that flows into the Danube, and polluting the river. When excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus from livestock farms run into the Danube and its tributaries, the water becomes polluted. It smells and it is not advisable to drink it or bathe in it. Runoff from livestock waste is responsible for the majority of Serbia's part in polluting the Danube and the Black Sea.

Ivan and his brother Vladimir own a 180-hectare farm with 160 dairy cows. They grow corn, wheat, soybeans and sunflowers. The brothers invested 160,000 Euros of grant money and their own funds to build an underground tank and a large concrete platform on which they pile the manure so it doesn't leach into the ground. They also bought a manure mixer and spreader to use the waste as fertilizer once the harmful nitrates it contains have been neutralized.

"We expect a full return on our investment in 8-10 years. Farming is a lot of hard work, and the economic crisis does not help. But without this project I could not get the working conditions and equipment we now have, perhaps ever," says Ivan.

Ivan Milovic

Ivan is one of 105 farm owners in Serbia's Danube Basin with lots of livestock and resulting pollution—who have invested in good manure management. He, and other farmers were able to run cleaner farms thanks to the World Bank-supported Serbia Danube River Enterprise Pollution Reduction Project, implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture. The project's goal is to reduce the basin's considerable levels of pollution resulting from improper discharge of manure and slurry from cattle and pig farms, and animal waste from slaughterhouses and rendering plants. These methods are not compliant with European Union standards.

Each of the participating farms received a grant of up to 140,000 Euros through a competitive process. They had to match it with at least a 30% investment. The project got US$9 million from the Global Environment Facility (GEF)/World Bank Investment Fund for Nutrient Reduction in the Black Sea/Danube Basin and US$5.5 million from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). Participating farmers contributed US$5.2 million.

Most manure management uses simple, inexpensive technology, but the investment of time and money has to make sense to farmers if they are to spend their own money.

The Obradovićshas grow corn, alfalfa and barley and raise 20 dairy cows on their 13 hectare farm. The family invested 5,000 Euros, matched with a 10,000 Euro grant, to buy a manure spreader, loader and a slurry tanker.

Dejan Obradovic

"This project changed my life. I loaded manure myself onto a tractor trailer before. Imagine how my back used to hurt! We used to pay people to help me spread this manure in the field," says Dejan Obradović. ''Now I can collect and spread 260 tons of manure on my own within a couple of days. Manure is more evenly distributed in the field and we have halved the use of fertilizer, lowering further the cost of farming."

The 105 farms with new manure management practices have significantly reduced how much they pollute the soil and water—175 tons of nitrogen compounds a year.

Through the project, many farmers also developed fertilizer management plans with assistance from local advisory teams. Farmer Field Days were organized so farmers could swap experiences. Agriculture specialists and farmers devised a Code of Good Agricultural Practices and made the manual available to farmers in print and video. And environmentally friendly farming practices are being taught at seven agricultural schools.

Another big source of nutrient pollution is the agro-industry. Three slaughterhouses and two rendering plants received grants to separate, transport, and treat animal waste.

Farmers and enterprises in Serbia are interested in meeting domestic and EU environmental standards in order to export their products. Yet they need to increase productivity. At a time when Serbia's development needs to shift from mainly consumption-led growth to a more export-led one, better agricultural practices compliant with EU environmental standards can lead to both higher productivity and more exports. And it can keep the Danube's waters cleaner!