02/2018
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29 S e r b i a Agriculture Bulletin RSD 825 million for agricultural cooperative development 223 applications made for IPARD II agricultural funds Future of Serbian meat exports
RSD 6 million in grants for agricultural projects
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Contents State Initiatives ........................................................................................................... 2 1) 2) 3)
Program for animal health measures adopted ............................................................................... 2 RSD 825 million for agricultural cooperative development ............................................................ 2 Government opens invitations for grant funds ............................................................................... 2
Foreign Aid ................................................................................................................. 3 4)
223 applications made for IPARD II agricultural funds .................................................................... 3
Private Sector.............................................................................................................. 3 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10)
Apiculture a developing sector in Serbia ......................................................................................... 3 Experts recommend planting various hybrids ................................................................................. 3 Future of Serbian meat exports....................................................................................................... 3 Serbian raspberry losing battle in world market ............................................................................. 4 Agricultural exports down in 2017 .................................................................................................. 4 RSD 6 million in grants for agricultural projects .............................................................................. 4
Note: The Agriculture Bulletin presents a monthly roundup of headlines and news stories related to Serbia’s agricultural sector. This bulletin is prepared by Business & Finance Consulting—a Swiss-based development finance consulting company. Currently, BFC is implementing “Development of Financial System in Rural Areas in Serbia” programme for KfW. Read more »
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BFC Agriculture Bulletin
State Initiatives 1)
Program for animal health measures adopted
February 21st, 2018, http://www.agrosmart.net/vesti/donet-program-mera-zdravstvene-zastite.html
The Ministry of Agriculture has adopted the ‘Ordinance on the Establishment of Animal Health Measures’ program for 2018, which prescribes specific health animal measures to be taken as well as details regarding their implementation, including deadlines, responsible entities, funding sources and control measures. The program is designed to prevent the occurrence and spreading of infectious disease through early detection, monitoring and suppression/eradication efforts. Measure include: animal marking and registration, active and passive monitoring of animal health, owner education, immune-prophylactic measures and various diagnostic tests and examinations.
2)
RSD 825 million for agricultural cooperative development
February 21st, 2018, http://rs.n1info.com/a366331/Biznis/Krkobabic-Ove-godine-podrzavamo-i-osnivamo-70-zadruga.html
Regional Development Minister Milan Krkobabic has announced that the government plans on investing RSD 825 million this year for the development of cooperatives, four times the amount spent last year. This should enable the establishment and development of 70 cooperatives, including five complex cooperatives capable of higher-stage processing. The Minister also announced that, in total in the next three years, the government will invest EUR 25 million for this endeavor. Last year, cooperatives that received state support purchased agricultural equipment and machinery as well as made investments in modern irrigation systems, helping increase quality by up to 50% and quantity by up to 30%.
3)
Government opens invitations for grant funds
February 14th, 2018, https://www.danas.rs/ekonomija/subvencije-u-poljoprivredi/
Serbia has opened four public invitations regarding the allocation of incentive funds in the fields of apiculture, livestock, fruit and vegetable growing and the procurement of agricultural machinery. The allocation of funds is based on the ‘Support Measures for the Implementation of Agricultural and Rural Development Policies’ program for 2018. The RSD 20 million allocated for apiculture is intended for the purchase of new beekeeping equipment and is limited to RSD 65,000 per beneficiary. The RSD 50 million for livestock development is intended for the purchase of domestic or imported quality heifers and the breeding of sheep and goats, with RS 300,000 available to each beneficiary. RSD 50 million has also been made available to fruit and vegetables producers for the installation of drip irrigation systems.
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BFC Agriculture Bulletin
Foreign Aid 4)
223 applications made for IPARD II agricultural funds
February 26th, 2018, https://www.ekapija.com/news/2043137/stigla-potvrda-ek-za-ipard
The European Commission has declared that Serbia has fulfilled the conditions for the implementation of the IPARD II programs for farmers. In total, Serbian farmers made 223 requests for the use of EUR 175 million in IPARD pre-accession funding for agriculture, including 172 requests for the procurement of tractors and 51 requests for the procurement of other agricultural machinery. These requests were received via two open calls for the submission of applications. IPARD funding for the agricultural sector is aimed at improving the competitiveness of the agricultural sector as well as increasing processing capacities and food safety in Serbia, including by harmonizing Serbia’s agricultural sector with European Union (EU) standards. Funds are provided to cover the cost of 60-80% of the cost of agricultural equipment and can be used for the purchase of new machinery, equipment and tractors as well as for general costs. Each applicant was eligible to apply for EUR 5,000700,000, with milk and meat producers eligible to apply for up to EUR 1,000,000.
Private Sector 5)
Apiculture a developing sector in Serbia
February 21st, 2018, http://www.politika.rs/scc/clanak/398762/Devizni-priliv-od-izvoza-meda
Apiculture has become a booming business in Serbia, with an estimated 1 beehive to every 5.9 inhabitants and annual production ranging from 6,000 tons to 10,000 tons. Moreover, Serbia’s annual honey exports to the European Union (EU) amount to approximately 2,000 tons on average, creating a foreign exchange inflow of roughly EUR 15 million per year. The biggest problems for Serbian beekeepers to overcome if they are to continue to develop this sector, however, are climate change issues, bee diseases and pesticides. Climate change issues can cause flowers not to nectar and bees to not be able to collect it in sufficient quantities. Bee diseases and pesticides used on some cereals are also causing bee populations issues. In the EU, Serbian honey currently commands a price of EUR 25 per kilogram and sometimes as much as EUR 16 per 250 grams, if packaged correctly.
6)
Experts recommend planting various hybrids
February 20th, 2018, https://www.danas.rs/ekonomija/hibridi-razlicite-duzine-vegetacije-podizu-prinose/
With climate change causing more extreme climate conditions, it is becoming an increasingly important factor to consider in agricultural production. As such, experts such as Professor Dragana Latkovic of the Department of Field and Vegetable Crops at the Faculty of Agriculture in Novi Sad are recommending that farmers opt to plant several hybrids of varying growth cycle length and quality in order to give them greater security in terms of yield. Moreover, modern mechanization makes this more efficient by allowing for a better organization of works as well as for sowing to occur in fewer steps than in traditional systems.
7)
Future of Serbian meat exports
February 13th, 2018, http://agrovizija.rs/Index.php?id=3672
There has been little progress in the development of Serbian meat exports despite increasing opportunities for the industry appearing on paper. This is mostly due to there not being enough livestock in the country to fill existing demand and sustain growth, even if obstacles are being removed Page 3
BFC Agriculture Bulletin
and there are export opportunities available in countries like China, Russia and Turkey. Experts note that it will take at least five years of serious investment into breeding programs if the industry is to start to return to a place where meat exports can realistically develop and that there needs to be long-term (510 year) agreements made with partners to justify such expenditures. Moreover, the logistical costs of exporting meat to distant locations require producers in Serbia to effectively organize in order to ensure that the cost of delivery does not become overly prohibitive. If Serbia can properly energize its meat production industry, however, it could serve as a catalyst for increased development in the rest of the agricultural sector as well.
8)
Serbian raspberry losing battle in world market
February 12th, 2018, http://www.agrosmart.net/vesti/srpska-malina-gubi-bitku-svetskom-trzistu.html
Serbia’s raspberry industry is suffering from a world raspberry market that has low prices and is overlysaturated. Experts believe that the Serbian raspberry is also suffering from a lack of identity, with consumers wanting just raspberries and not a specific kind of raspberry. Such a trend benefits a country like Poland, which is able to produce lower quality berries in a mechanized way, and harms a country like Serbia, which produces higher quality berries but processes everything manually.
9)
Agricultural exports down in 2017
February 8th, 2018, http://www.politika.rs/scc/clanak/398016/Pao-izvoz-svih-najznacajnijih-agrarnih-proizvoda
In 2017, the exports of most leading Serbian agricultural products fell, including maize (down to USD 72 million) and frozen raspberries (down to USD 15 million). Despite this, total exports for agricultural and food products amounted to USD 3.2 billion in 2017, only a 1% year-on-year drop. This was mostly due to record-breaking export numbers for early vegetables in the first half of the year and a number of fruit products entering into European Union (EU) markets. At the same time, agricultural and food product imports rose 15.4% last year. This includes imports of frozen pork meat increasing by more than 50% and imports of eggs and dairy products increasing by 33%. Experts are predicting that 2018 will not be a particularly bad year for agricultural exports but also noted that Serbian agriculture, while meeting domestic demand, does not have a lot of room for drastically increasing a wider range of products for export unless it makes a conscious decision to place an emphasis on the production of goods with higher added value — i.e. fruits, vegetables, industrial plants and livestock products — at the expense of cereals.
10) RSD 6 million in grants for agricultural projects February 3rd, 2018, http://www.agrosmart.net/vesti/sest-miliona-dinara-unapredenje-poljoprivrede.html
Delta Holding and Delta Foundation, in cooperation with Trag Foundation, are conducting a competition to support the development of agriculture in Serbia as part of the ‘For the Future’ project. A total of RSD 6 million will be donated (in amounts of RSD 120,000-850,000) to social enterprises who have three years of experience in the field of agriculture for projects that focus on improving primary and/or secondary agricultural production in one or more of the following areas: vegetable farming, pig breeding or fruit growing. During implementation, grantees will also receive expert support in improving the sustainability of their operations. The final decisions will be announced during a specially-organized public event in April 2018.
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Prepared by Business & Finance Consulting (BFC) www.bfconsulting.com Articles are taken directly from local sources without any fact-checking; they are provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only. Business & Finance Consulting (BFC)’s editing is limited to providing a short summary in English of the texts, highlighting the main points of the original articles. All rights reserved by the authors. BFC takes no responsibility and does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, or assume any responsibility whatsoever for the content, accuracy, and reliability, or completeness of any of the articles.