– There will soon be a public debate on the introduction of e-agrarian, which should start on July 1, 2022, so that we could make everything completely available and accelerate the whole system, announced the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Branislav Nedimović at the conference “Agriculture on the First Place”, talking about financing in agriculture and subsidies.

– On the other hand, we will sign agreements with local self-governments, which should be a kind of service provider for all those who will not be able to uses the tools of the e-agrarian. The topic related to subsidies is always the most interesting one. The whole concept of common agricultural policy in the European Union is based on the policy of subsidies. I can say that we were very generous with subsidies last year and that trend has continued this year. We will have new calls, such as those issued by the World Bank, while we have shifted into the fifth-gear when it comes to our work with IPARD, said minister Branislav Nedimović.

However, according to Nedimović, there will never be enough subsidies. The Ministry started controlling payments rigorously this year.

– Subsidies are very useful, but it happens sometimes that they are late, says the chair of the Association of Sheep Breeders of Serbia, Marko Janković. He added that subsidies were most needed in the spring, when all works commence, but the fact remains that they exist and that can be used for everything related to agriculture and sheep breeding. – Apart from the subsidies, I take up loans from banks every year and that helps me a lot in my effort to build my farm, because banks offer favorable conditions, with an interest rate of one percent, especially to those younger than 40.

Member of the Executive Board of NLB Bank, Vladimir Čaprić, pointed out that bank services are very important when farmers want to turn their ideas into practice.

– We are always here for them, we follow the programs of the Ministry and actively participate in them, with an aim to help agricultural development and offer alternative ways of financing farmers, Čaprić said.

National banks are also needed

According to the vice-president of “Agropress”, Gorana Đaković, the development of agriculture in Serbia is such that the budget has doubled over the past several years and is now 400 million euros. Also, farmers can rely on the World Bank, as well as on the IPARD program.

– We also need national banks which are ready to help farmers, to invest in their human resources that would be available to us. People want to work, but they can’t always and at any moment meet the requirements of the administration. I think that the synergy between the state, advisory services and consultants is something that would create great benefits to everyone, Đaković pointed out.