BFC. Agriculture Finance Bulletin.
Private Sector 13) Ninth NLB Organic Competition announced May 27th, 2020, http://www.agronews.rs/deveti-konkurs-nlb-banke-milion-i-po-dinara-za-zdrave-ideje/
NLB Bank Belgrade has announced the Ninth NBL Organic Competition, under which it will award the top three projects with a total of RSD 1.5 million. The competition is open to registered farms that are certified organic producers or in the process gaining organic certification. Project applications will be accepted through July 31.
14) The rise of “patriotic agriculture” likely to reduce Serbian exports May 27th, 2020, http://www.agronews.rs/jacanje-patriotske-poljoprivrede-smanjuje-izvoz-iz-srbije/
The COVID-19 crisis has caused a dramatic shift in the way countries think about their agricultural production, causing a rise in the idea of “patriotic agriculture”. In other words, the closure of borders has caused many countries to start to examine how to produce for their own and drastically reduce their reliance on imports. For example, Russia is investing huge amounts into creating its own orchards so that it can substitute many imports with domestic products. While the impact of this might not be immediately felt as it takes time for such investments to come to full fruition, Serbian producers and exports should work now to boost the quality of their products to ensure they still have a place in future markets.
15) Repatriates encouraged to invest in poultry farming May 26th, 2020, http://www.rtv.rs/sr_ci/ekonomija/aktuelno/nacionalni-tim-za
The National Team for the Revival of Serbian Villages has called on repatriates and other interested citizens to invest in poultry farming as it has tremendous promise in Serbia. The main advantage of poultry production is that it can be established relatively quickly and can be easily organized. Moreover, there is tremendous room for the growth of the poultry industry within the country, especially as poultry imports exceed those of exports. In fact, Serbia imported over 11,800 tons of poultry worth EUR 13.8 million in 2019. To support investments in poultry farming, the state has expressed its willingness to organize visits to successful poultry farms for interested parties. Additionally, incentive funds are available under the 500 Cooperatives in 500 Villages program.
16) Only 12% of cultivated land is insured May 22nd, 2020, http://www.politika.rs/scc/clanak/454662/Poljoprivrednici-i-dalje-izbegavaju-da-placaju-osiguranje
According to the latest data, only 12% of the total agricultural land in Serbia that is cultivated is covered by insurance, far lower than the European Union (EU) average of 50%. Although there have been increased state incentives to encourage farmers to purchase agricultural insurance, this has had little effect in overcoming farmers’ resistance to invest 1.5-3.0% of the total cost of production to protect their harvests. The reasons for the reluctance of farmers are many, but the most predominate include poor prior experiences with insurers, ignorance about what insurance really offers and state incentives being only available to those with registered farms. It is clear that much work needs to be done in bridging the gap between farmers and insurers and that solutions need to be evaluated toward this end, be it making insurance a requirement for receiving other state subsidies or making insurance compulsory for all farmers.
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