ZAGREB, 3 March, 2021 - Last year the Agriculture Ministry paid a total of HRK 6.99 billion in support for farmers, which is 20% or 1.16 billion more than in 2019.
In a press release on Wednesday, the ministry said that support paid in 2020 from EU finds amounted to HRK 5.5 billion which is 23% or 1.04 billion more than 2019 and the largest amount of EU funds paid out ever.
In 2020, just before Croatia's presidency of the Council of the EU ended, a regulation on support for rural development from the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development was amended, enabling Measure 21 -"'Extraordinary temporary support for farmers and SMEs particularly affected by the crisis caused by the disease COVID-19," under which Croatian farmers were allocated an additional HRK 360 million.
Thanks partially to COVID measures, this year's wine envelope has the greatest absorption ever, by as much as 94% and about HRK 76 million was invested in the wine sector in 2020, the ministry said in its press release.
Amendments to the EU regulation on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, aimed at relieving the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, enabled measures amounting to HRK 180 million.
At the same time, HRK 3.04 billion was paid in direct payments to farmers last year, or HRK 121.34 million more than in 2019.
The ministry noted that money from the state budget is earmarked to finance national support programmes and in that regard HRK1.49 billion was paid out, which is 9% or HRK 121.47 million more than in 2019.
