State Initiatives

1) Call for government to set minimum prices on some agricultural products

May 25th, 2020, https://agrosmart.net/2020/05/25/krkobabic-drzava

Minister without Portfolio Milan Krkobabic has stated that the government should take measures to ensure that farmers are able to sell their products at a profitable price. The Minister spoke mostly in relation to raspberry prices, which producers have said have been too low to be profitable in recent years, but also mentioned that that several other agricultural products might need to be protected in similar ways. The Minister also spoke to the importance of farmers organizing into cooperatives as a way of gaining more bargaining power and protecting their own interests.

2) Directorate of Agrarian Payments adopts new incentive rulebook

May 24th, 2020, https://www.ekapija.com/financing/2887822

The Directorate for Agrarian Payments has adopted the Rulebook on Incentives for Improving the System of the Creation and Transfer of Knowledge through the Development of Technical, Applied, Developmental and Innovative Projects in Agriculture and Rural Development. According to the Rulebook, incentive measures include those related to: (1) the implementation innovative projects in agriculture and rural development, (2) the development of forecasting and reporting activities in the field of plant protection and (3) the improvement of milk quality.

3) Call for applications for investment fund announced

May 20th, 2020, http://rs.n1info.com/Biznis/a601516/Poljoprivrednicima-Srbije-700

The Directorate for Agrarian Payments has announced a call for applications for incentive funding for the procurement of agricultural machinery for primary crop production. A total of RSD 700 million is available under this call. Eligible applicants are those that have fully realized their investments since the beginning of the year. Funds will be awarded in amounts of no more than 50% of the total cost of the investment and no more than RSD 1.5 million. Applications will be accepted between June 1 and June 15.

4) Novi Sad International Agricultural Fair set for mid-September

May 18th, 2020, https://agrosmart.net/2020/05/18/poljoprivreda-pokazala-vitalnost-tokom

The Novi Sad International Agricultural Fair, originally scheduled for May, is set to take place in midSeptember, albeit on a much smaller scale than originally planned. Organizers are hopeful that, despite the crisis and its impact on businesses around the world, the Fair will still attract foreign exhibitors and be as important for supporting Serbian agricultural businesses as it has been in years past. At the same time, representatives of the Business Association of Importers and Exporters of Agricultural Machinery, whose stands typically occupy the largest part of the open space at the Fair, are pushing for the Fair to be further postponed, at least until mid-October, as current conditions make it unlikely that they will be able to procure imported machinery in time.