Foreign Aid

5) EUR 38 million in incentives to 32 food industry investors since 2006

December 4th, 2020, http://www.tanjug.rs/full-view_en.aspx?izb=611214

The Serbian Ministry of Economy has approved over EUR 38 million worth of incentives to 32 investors in the food industry sector since 2006. These incentives have allowed investors to increase their workforces and boost revenues (some by as much as 25% year-on-year). On average, the companies that have benefitted from this assistance each have 84 employees.

Foreign Aid

6) Inspection uncovers 948 hectares of abandoned state-owned agricultural land

December 21st, 2020, https://www.novosti.rs/vesti/ekonomija/946992/otkriveno-cak-546-napustenih-parcela-uprava-zemljiste

During recent field inspections, the Ministry of Agriculture uncovered 546 abandoned plots of stateowned agricultural land, covering 948 hectares. In total, it is estimated that between 200,000 and 350,000 hectares of arable land and meadows in Serbia are not regularly used. The Ministry is currently working on a plan to lease such land free of charge for five years, with the assumption that farmers will make improvements to the land during this time. After this five-year period, the land will be leased to the same farmers for up to 25 years under favorable conditions.

7) Agro Info Caravan to spread information on seasonal work in 15 communities

December 20th, 2020, http://rs.n1info.com/Biznis/a685571/NALED

Between December 24, 2020 and January 15, 2021, a new Agro Info Caravan will make its way to 15 local communities in order to acquaint agricultural producers and seasonal workers with simplified procedures for engaging in seasonal jobs via an online portal and mobile app. The caravan is part of a National Alliance for Local Economic Development (NALED) initiative to increase awareness about the electronic registration of seasonal workers, which will both protect worker rights and increase worker wages. NALED is being supported in this by the German Development Cooperation.

8) 50% of approved IPARD amounts to be made available in advance

December 18th, 2020, http://www.stips.minpolj.gov.rs/srl/vest/od-naredne-godine-avansna-isplata-dela-ipard-podsticaja

The director of the Directorate for Agrarian Payments of the Ministry of Agriculture confirmed that changes to the legal framework for the approval of IPARD projects will allow recipients to withdraw up to 50% of approved support amounts in order to make advanced payments. This change is expected to go into effect in early next year, after the adoption of amendments to the Law on Agriculture and Rural Development and after the beginning of the implementation of the IPARD III program.

Prior to this change, IPARD legislation stipulated that, after approval, a recipient was required to fully fund the investment (usually with the help of a financial institution) and then receive refund from IPARD.