ZAGREB, 10 Feb 2022 - Farm Minister Marija Vučković said on Thursday the European Commission's call on Croatia to ensure an effective monitoring, control and inspection of bluefin tuna farms referred to audits from 2017-19 and that Croatia had since significantly improved its agriculture legislation.

"Croatia has two months to prepare a response. We'll see if the Commission will recognise all that we have done. I think we have done plenty," the minister told the press in Sveti Đurđ in Varaždin County.

As part of this month's infringements package, Croatia received a letter of formal notice after an audit and verification by the Commission "identified serious shortcomings in monitoring the transfer and caging operations of bluefin tuna."

"National authorities should ensure that data are cross-checked, accurate and validated, and should investigate potential non-compliance cases and take administrative or criminal measures against those responsible for infringing EU law," the Commission said, adding that Croatia "has not taken the necessary steps to address these deficiencies."

Croatia has two months to respond to the letter and take the necessary measures, the Commission said, adding, "In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to issue a reasoned opinion."

The press asked Vučković to comment on fisheries inspector Marko Pupić Bakrač's statement after the letter of notice, that she should resign or the prime minister should replace her.

The minister is meddling in the work of the inspectorate and telling us what to do, while documents on tuna imports in Croatia are being falsified, he said.

As reported by Slobodna Dalmacija daily, Pupić Bakrač said Croatian tuna farmers were being favored by being made to register tuna imported from Libya only after they exported it to Japan.

Meetings on that are held at the Agriculture Ministry, attended by a dozen ministry employees, and the minister, in agreement with farmers, tells inspectors how to act, he said, calling it abuse of office. He also warned about suspicious activities in the unloading of forage fish intended for tuna farms.

Vučković said Pupić Bakrač was "lying incredibly. He claims that I regularly met with farmers and fisheries inspectors to instruct them on how to conduct fisheries inspections. He's lying... I have never done it. Let him find one inspector or one farmer who will back him up."

She also said proceedings had been instigated against Pupić Bakrač at the Civil Service Tribunal "for violating regulations" and that this was not the first time.

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February the 7th, 2022 - Croatian agricultural land must first be offered to the state at market price before being put up for private sale according to a new rule governing this process.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, nobody will be able to put Croatian agricultural land up for sale to a private party (or indeed anyone else) if they don't offer it to the state at the market price first.

Under a new set of rules, the state gets the right of first refusal when it comes to the sale of Croatian agricultural land, and the final proposal of this amendment to the Law went to be voted on by Parliament during a recently held session. The new Law stipulates that the owner of Croatian agricultural land cannot sell that land to another buyer below the price they asked for from the state, even if the competent Ministry rejects his offer, according to a report by Novi list.

The government has made significant changes to the Law to ensure that production is ensured on any available Croatian agricultural land, but it is probably an important motive for the state to be able to get the right of first refusal, although this is not explicitly stated in the government's proposal. The fact that at the beginning of next year the moratorium on the sale of agricultural land to foreigners or citizens of other European Union (EU) member states is due to expire.

In its explanation of all of the above, the government has stated that the right of first refusal of the state when it comes to Croatian agricultural land is "in the interest of protecting agricultural land as an item of special economic and ecological importance because agricultural land is defined by the Constitution as an item of special economic and ecological importance and [as such] has special protection."

Just how much these brand new provisions will prevent sales being carried out as they were before, and how much it will prevent sales entirely remains uncertain, because foreigners, and not only those from other EU member states, are already buying agricultural land in Croatia by using the ''loophole'' of establishing companies headquartered in Croatia in order to do so.

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ZAGREB, 2 Feb 2022 - The agriculture ministry has prepared two programmes to alleviate the impact of growing costs on farms and fisheries.

The aid scheme for mitigating costs during the spring sowing season is worth HRK 80 million, while the aid scheme for fishermen and livestock farmers is worth HRK 50 million.

The draft aid schemes will be forwarded in the coming days to the European Commission to give its consent and comments, the ministry reported on Wednesday.

Apart from these two packages, the ministry is also seeking a way to help cattle breeders who have not been entitled to the support under the previous HRK 170 million scheme aid.

The livestock breeders who met the conditions under this programme have received aid in December and January, the ministry said.

(€1 = HRK 7.524059)

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January the 20th, 2022 - 150 million kuna is foreseen for public Croatian irrigation projects after a tender was announced by the Ministry of Agriculture earlier on this week. With the scorching long days of summer often causing damage to Croatian agriculture, the move is very much welcomed by those who are engaged in the field.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, a tender for investments in public Croatian irrigation worth 150 million kuna was announced on Monday this week. This is a tender from the Rural Development Programme for investments in basic public Croatian irrigation infrastructure in order to reduce the negative effects of droughts during the warm, dry summer months, ensure the stability of domestic agricultural production and increase the competitiveness of agricultural production on the whole.

The total amount of available public support funds stands at the aforementioned figure of 150 million kuna, and the deadline for submitting applications for support and submitting a certificate of the said application submissions will last from the 1st to the 28th of February, 2022.

Eligible beneficiaries for this tender are regional self-government units, and eligible projects are projects for the construction of a complete irrigation system in accordance with technical solutions and building permits (reservoirs, canals, surface and/or underground drainage systems as elements of the functional unit of the project, pumping stations, pipelines, distribution networks, control systems, etc).

The intensity of the financial support on offer to those it concerns and who apply for the tender will amount to a maximum of 100 percent of the total eligible costs of the project, the competent ministry noted. They also stated that so far, within the operation 4.3.1 entitled "Investments in basic infrastructure of public irrigation" through seventeen different projects, the amount of support has been agreed to exceed the 666 million kuna mark.

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ZAGREB, 20 Dec  2021 - The average rental rate of arable land in Croatia in 2020 amounted to HRK 793 (€106) per hectare, which is HRK 26 (€3.5) more than in 2019, the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS) reported on Monday.

The statistics indicate that in 2020 the average grassland rent was HRK 525 per hectare or HRK 13 more year-on-year whereas pastures increased by HRK 12 to HRK 343 per hectare.

In Pannonian Croatia, the average rent of arable land in 2020 was HRK 811 per hectare, of meadows HRK 487 per hectare, and of pastures HRK 307 per hectare.

The average rent of arable land along the Adriatic coast was HRK 651 per hectare, of meadows HRK 558 per hectare, and of pastures HRK 468 per hectare.

In northern Croatia, the average farmland rent rate was HRK 853 per hectare, the average rent for meadows was HRK 676 per hectare and for pastures HRK 405 per hectare.

In the Zagreb City area, the average arable land rent rate was HRK 912 per hectare and for meadows HRK 1,080 per hectare.

The DZS notes that its data is based on Tax Administration data on farmland leases.

(€1 = HRK 7.513279)

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ZAGREB, 26 Nov 2021 - Digitalisation is the key to increasing productivity in agriculture and the driver of developing domestic production, an analysis by the Smarter consulting company said on Friday, noting that digital technology can help farmers to work more precisely, efficiently and sustainably and increase productivity.

"In Croatia, less than 10% of farmers use digital systems to manage production. In developed countries that share is far higher - almost 40%...and about 30% use information technology and keep their records using digital tools," Smarter said in the analysis.

It recalled that in addition to EU funds, Croatia has the opportunity to invest in digitalisation through the NextGeneration EU instrument and the National Recovery and Resilience Programme, which has ensured about HRK 77 million for digital transformation in agriculture.

Of that amount, HRK 14 million is earmarked for the establishment of digital public services, HRK 50 million for smart agriculture and HRK 13 million for traceability, which can significantly contribute to the wider use of digital technology in agriculture.

Digitalisation can help Croatian producers to improve decision-making and increase ecological efficiency, which is a must based on the EU green deal.

Smarter recalled that the COVID pandemic has impacted the application of new technological solutions and a large number of farmers organised their own digital platforms to promote and sell their products. This, however, is insufficient as users do not have sufficient experience in using digital tools.

In Croatia, digitalisation is present in large companies and among young people who are continually introducing new technology and are achieving European results in yields and productivity. However, in Croatia, most farmers are older and are poorly educated and IT literate.

The best solution would be for all agricultural producers, regardless of their size, to use a national IT platform that would ensure the introduction of digital management of production that would be open to every farmer in addition to the existing commercial systems.

Such a platform would also enable the ministry to have insight into and plan and monitor production, while producers would be provided with the best practices in their sector.

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November the 20th, 2021 - The agricultural technology Crop company published an ad on LinkedIn recently which they stated that they were on the hunt for land for the construction of the first high-tech greenhouse into which they plan to invest a massive 18 million euros, with the help of their Dutch partners, Dutch Greenhouses.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, the Crop company was founded last year by entrepreneurs from the digital business and public relations, Jan de Jong and Jerko Trogrlic, known to the public for the project of promoting digital nomads and the digital nomad permit (often wrongly referred to as a visa) in Croatia.

The goal with the Crop company is to implement the latest Dutch technology for greenhouses, which enables the efficient achievement of high quality production with hydroponic cultivation, for both the domestic market and for exports.

As early as last year, they pointed out in public that they already had many potential investors who had showed some significant interest, and then they considered several locations, but apparently none have worked out for them so far.

"There is a lot of unused land across Croatia, but it isn't easy to find land that meets all the criteria, as each location has positive and negative sides. Together with our Dutch partner, Dutch Greenhouses, and their agricultural investment fund, we plan to invest 18 million euros in a greenhouse that will cover six hectares, and use the latest Dutch technology, including lamps for winter cultivation,'' they stated.

They also stated some more specific requirements for their investment in land - they need flat land with a total area of ​​12 hectares, of which 6 hectares will be intended for the construction of greenhouses, and the rest for a solar power plant, but they also need good infrastructure related to energy supply. Since they plan to employ about 70 people there, it is desirable that it be located next to a settlement of at least 5,000 inhabitants.

They would like to see their first greenhouse in continental Croatia, ie in the Bjelovar-Bilogora, Virovitica-Podravina, Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja, Vukovar-Srijem, Pozega-Slavonia or Sisak-Moslavina counties.

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ZAGREB, 16 Oct, 2021 - Agriculture and the energy industry are the two main sectors enabling each society and state to function normally, and therefore in the next decade, €7.5 billion will be invested in the agricultural sector, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in Zagreb on Saturday.

Addressing an Agriculture Ministry event dedicated to promoting farming, fisheries and forestry, the Prime Minister said that his cabinet spared no effort to help agricultural producers, the food and timber industries and the fisheries.

The government has sent to the parliament a draft strategy on agriculture, and the document, which should be adopted this year, envisages investments in agriculture of some €7.5 billion in the next decade, which should help the Croatian agricultural sector to reach the target of HRK 30 billion (€4 billion) of annual production.

During the term of this government, over a score of state aid schemes have been designed and mostly implemented, and their value is estimated at €253 million, provided from the state budget, Plenković said, recalling prompt interventions to address market disruptions caused by the coronavirus crisis and natural disasters.

In the livestock sector, nine measures and schemes are being implemented in response to problems caused by the COVID-19 crisis, and HRK 450 million has been made available as part of the government's aid schemes, he said, adding that an HRK 163.5 million scheme is in the pipeline to help businesses affected by fodder price rises.

From 2016 to 2019, state grants amounted to HRK 11.1 billion, and in 2020, HRK 3.2 billion was disbursed as state aid, the PM said.

The Rural Development Programme has made HRK 22.8 billion available to beneficiaries, and of that amount 18 billion has been contracted, and 13.8 billion has been disbursed for investments in agriculture, the PM told the event.

The fisheries branch has been provided with HRK 2.3 billion in grants within the Operational Programme for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, and to date more than 1.2 billion has been disbursed.

Plenković went on to say that the government has increased outlays for investments in food safety and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan envisages the provision of infrastructure for a food bank and for participants in the food donation chain. This is one of the important reforms, worth HRK 32 million, he said.

Agriculture Minister Marija Vučković said that the aim of the strategy would be to increase the output in the agricultural sector to HRK 30 billion annually until 2030.

The implementation of the strategy will require €7.5 billion, and the government plans allocations for this purpose in the amount of five billion euros until 2027 through the multiannual financial framework, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and the state budget, she explained.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)

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October the 5th, 2021 - The Osijek International Digital Agriculture study is set to put this often overlooked Eastern Croatian city into the spotlight as the first generation of students of this study begin enrolling.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marta Duic writes, this year, the Faculty of Agrobiotechnical Sciences (FAZOS) and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Information Technologies (FERIT) in the City of Osijek are enrolling the first generation of students in the graduate university study of Digital Agriculture.

It is a study with the participation of professors and lecturers from abroad, classes will be held in English, and enrollment is possible until the 11th of October, 2021. There are 20 more places available, and in the first year, everyone will be exempt from tuition fees and will learn how to improve agricultural production in Croatia, but also in the world, in a unique study for future jobs.

According to Zdenko Loncaric, the vice dean for teaching and quality management of FAZOS, the study is for those who have completed agronomy, food technology, forestry, nutrition, biology, computer science, economics and other studies in these areas.

“By launching this study, Croatia has the opportunity to position itself as a centre of excellence for digital agriculture. It's significant that it opened in Slavonia, our most important agricultural region, with huge potential for further development, which, unfortunately, was underused due to huge levels of emigration. That said, I'm convinced that, thanks to the occupations and skills that can be acquired in this study, the negative demographic trend can slow down and place Slavonia back among the ranks of some of the most important food producers in the EU. The study is in English because it is primarily intended for students from abroad, but also because of the professors we have included in the programme. Although the coronavirus pandemic made internationalisation more difficult, a dozen professors from abroad have already been included in the study,'' Loncaric revealed when discussing the Osijek International Digital Agriculture study's foundations

The partner of the Digital Agriculture studio is the very well known and respected Agrivi, a Croatian technology company that will offer scholarships and provide jobs to the best of the first generation of students.

Matija Zulj, founder and director of Agrivi, explained that digitalisation can significantly increase the productivity of agricultural production, improve local self-sufficiency, increase farmers' earnings, and give consumers a completely transparent insight into the process of food production.

"In our company, we're constantly looking for experts with knowledge of digital agriculture, who will work not only on the digitalisation of agriculture in Croatia, but on projects of digital transformation with some of the largest global food producers," concluded Zulj.

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ZAGREB, 2 Oct, 2021 - The Faculty of Agribiotechnical Sciences and Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Information Technologies in the eastern city of Osijek are enrolling the first class of students for the new Digital Agriculture programme, Večernji List newspaper says in its Saturday edition.

The programme will be taught in English and will include lecturers from abroad. Admissions to the academic year 2021/2022 are open until 11 October and there are still 20 vacancies left. All first-year students will be exempted from tuition fees.

"With this programme, Croatia has an opportunity to position itself as a centre of excellence for digital agriculture," Zdenko Lončarić, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Agribiotechnical Sciences, was quoted as saying.

"It is important that a programme like this has opened in Slavonia, our most important agricultural region with huge potential for additional development which, unfortunately, has not been sufficiently tapped because of the mass-scale emigration of the population and loss of labour," he added.

Lončarić said he was confident that the new academic programme could slow the negative demographic trend and help Slavonia regain its place among the most important food producers in the EU. 

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