At the Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad, Ambassador of the European Union to Serbia, Emanuele Giaufret, has talked with Minister of Agriculture, Branislav Nedimovic, and Minister of European Integration, Jadranka Joksimovic, about the IPARD 2 project and plans for IPARD 3.
Minister of European Integration, Jadranka Joksimović, has pointed out that Serbia has used 175 million euros through IPARD since 2015.
“There is still more work to be done, it is necessary to train farmers and owners of farms to use grants. The procedures are complicated, so sometimes it is easier for agricultural producers to apply for domestic subsidies, and then an imbalance is created that we will have to correct. We have agreed on concrete actions to fix this. Currently, the main topic in the world is agricultural production and food supply in the coming months and years. Therefore, it is important that we use everything that is possible, every fund that is available to us, in order to help improve our agricultural production and strengthen it in those areas that are strategic,“ Minister Joksimović has said.
Of all the countries of the Western Balkans, Serbia will receive the most funds for agriculture from the European Union funds.
For IPARD 3, it is a direct 288 million euros from the European Union, with the participation of Serbian producers worth 600 million euros by 2027.
“Based on everything we agreed on in Brussels, things are going well. All participants in this process, including the Ministry of European Integration, the European Commission, the Ministry of Agriculture, are doing their best to make as many Serbian producers as possible eligible for IPARD funds. So far, 581 agricultural producers have done so. I hope that we will reach the figure of one thousand this year,” Serbian Minister Nedimović has said.
European Union Ambassador to Serbia Emanuele Giaufret says that 55 percent of Serbian agricultural exports go to the European Union market.
The total agricultural exchange is 2.3 billion euros, where Serbia has a surplus of 700 million euros.
Last year’s surplus of Serbia is a record. The countries of the European Union are the largest and most important market for Serbia, in second place are the countries of the CEFTA region, he has reminded.
“We continue our cooperation through the IPARD programme. We want to further improve our relations and we have allocated significant funds for the IPARD 3 programme. We now need to focus on completing the IPARD 2 programme and to speed up payments. I am proud of the relationship I have with Minister Nedimović and Serbian farmers,” Giaufret has said.
The Days of the European Union are underway at the 89th International Agricultural Fair, and the host is the stand of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Serbia.
Source: Tanjug
