September the 5th, 2022 - Croatian Government measures rapidly introduced for those most negatively affected by the global coronavirus pandemic managed to see many hotels keep their heads above water throughout that unprecedented crisis. Croatian farmers are now seeking the same aid for the agriculture sector, battered by a severe drought.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Jadranka Dozan writes, due to the unprecedented drought and owing to the impact of energy prices on production costs, including the problem of lack of fodder, Croatian farmers are rightly fearful of an extremely uncertain autumn. Several counties across the nation have declared a natural disaster, and the agricultural sector is increasingly relying on the government's autumn aid package.

The board of directors of the Croatian Chamber of Agriculture (HPK) said after last week's session that it believes that the government will now help suffering Croatian farmers as it did with hotels and inns after the outbreak of the global coronavirus pandemic back in 2020.

''Without the powers that be stepping firmly in, long-term consequences are likely, not only for this part of the economy, but indirectly for others as well,'' warned Mladen Jakopovic, president of the HPK.

The Chamber had input calculations made in certain segments of production, and Jakopovic says that this will show the losses suffered by Croatian farmers and the rest of the domestic agriculture sector. Representatives of the Chamber recently presented some proposals to Minister Marija Vuckovic and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, from earlier advance payments of subsidies and cancellation of leases for agricultural land and the gradual abolition of blue diesel. On Friday, at the opening of Viroexpo in Virovitica, the Prime Minister said that the government will "take care that Croatian farmers and fishermen get a special place in the new package".

Croatian farmers say they've never experienced a drought like this one, and the same is true for other European farmers across the continent. Even in the United Kingdom, known for its relatively pleasant summers and plenty of rain, the situation has been bizarre. The very concerning data from the so-called dashboards of the European Drought Observatory also confirm that what we've experienced this year is unusual.

The drought hit the spring crops the hardest of all, and although the drop in yields also depends on the area's micro location, both corn and potato crops suffered the most, but barley, sunflower, and wheat also had significantly lower yields. The combination of drought and intermittent heat waves also caused the forced ripening of various fruits and vegetables. At the same time, the movement of gas prices, announcements of an imminent increase in the price of electricity and more expensive artificial fertiliser make this autumn's harvest uncertain, although the weather conditions are currently encouraging for the sowing of rapeseed, for example. The situation is no less burdensome in animal husbandry, either. All production cycles that take place within closed spaces are more exposed to rapidly rising energy prices.

Along with the weak corn crop, there is also the problem of corn silage, which "almost doesn't exist", according to the head of HPK. Some herders from Lika complained that they had already started their animals on consuming "winter food" in the middle of August. In some neighbouring countries, cattle have also started to be sold for these reasons. This is precisely why the recent drop in meat prices on European stock markets, especially beef, is attributed to this, but they could go up again with the winter months.

''There are expectations of weakening demand due to expensive energy and fears of recession, as well as the pressure of quantities from the Black Sea on prices and difficult logistics. Then we've got the problem of droughts acrpss Europe and Asia, not to mention the constant risk of a new escalation of the conflict in Ukraine,'' pointed out Robert Jurisic from the company S-Grain BI, which specialises in agricultural commodities.

Due to the high price of gas as a result of spiralling inflationary pressures, a number of fertiliser producers across Europe have announced they'll soon stop being made. (the Norwegian Yara, the German SKW Piesteritz and BASF, the Polish Azoty). The problem of energy products is being constantly and intensively dealt with within the European Commission (EC), which is now strongly considering the possibility of freezing prices. The government's package is expected sooner than usual, and whether Croatian farmers will be satisfied with their share of these billions will be known soon.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business and politics sections.

August the 22nd, 2022 - Croatian Agriculture Minister Marija Vuckovic has announced a very welcome 200 million kuna package of measures for the enfeebled agriculture sector, brought to its knees with worry over the ongoing drought.

As Morski writes, due to the severe drought, the Ministry of Agriculture has announced an extraordinary measure for farmers worth around 200 million kuna, as revealed by Minister Marija Vuckovic on Sunday in Zlatar Bistrica in Krapina-Zagorje County.

Due to the severe drought and extreme temperatures, Croatian farmers from up and down the country asked the aforementioned ministry for a moratorium to be placed on exports, and according to Minister Marija Vuckovic, a decision has already been made. It refers to a deviation from the rules related to obtaining support, that is, direct payment advances at the end of October and the beginning of November this year.

''Farmers can't fulfill all the requirements related to obtaining this advance and their reasons for wanting this are justified. When a natural disaster is declared, we can see that the counties have really begun to declare justified natural disasters due to significant damage from the drought. As such, they won't have to meet the requirements that are normally projected, and they will be able to receive support,'' explained Marija Vuckovic.

Within the framework of the wider rural development programme, the ministry also announced an extraordinary measure that will be worth around 200 million kuna in total.

''Such a measure was made possible primarily because of Russia's brutal, unjustified and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine. However, all farmers who feel an increase in costs and a decrease in income, and who apply good agro-environmental practices, as this is one of the basic conditions, will be able to use this measure, which will be worth up to 15 thousand euros for them as a flat-rate support,'' Vuckovic said, adding that the ministry will consider other ways to help farmers as well.

Minister Marija Vuckovic said that the Croatian Government is trying with all possible measures to reduce the impact of the crisis on Croatian residents and is trying to help enterprises, and said that they are currently working on a new autumn package.

When asked by a journalist whether there is a possibility that due to the drought Croatia will first satisfy its needs and then turn to exporting, Minister Marija Vuckovic replied that the minister is seriously considering all the demands being made by the nation's hard-hit farmers, but emphasises that the path to restricting traffic on the single European market is not a good one to take, as reported by HRT.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated politics section.

August the 21st, 2022 - One of the lakes at the City of Zagreb's popular Bundek park has dried up during the longest and harshest period of drought the country (and much of Europe) has experienced in a decade.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the ongoing and long period of drought that has affected Croatia and the rest of Europe this summer has started to leave serious consequences on agricultural crops and other forms of greenery, and the pictures of dried up, baked sunflowers and corn from the fields of Slavonia and Baranja show that we're yet to feel the most serious consequences of this damage.

Fortunately, unlike some other European countries which quite remarkably includes the United Kingdom, famous for its rain and green land, Croatia doesn't yet have a problem with water supply, but due to low water levels in the rivers, restrictions on river traffic were introduced for safety reasons.

Croatian water levels are now at the lowest they've been over the last ten years, but the Sava River is still 40 centimetres higher (-298 cm) below the historic lowest levels in history (-338 cm) from back in 1993.

The small lake in Zagreb's popular Bundek park has almost completely dried up, and the last time such scenes were seen exactly ten years ago at the height of yet another long period of harsh drought, which lasted for as long as seventeen months.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

August the 18th, 2022 - Rain has finally graced the Neretva Valley down in southern Dalmatia, providing farmers, produce growers and of course the many fields some much needed relief. The area's fields had been without a drop of rain for too long, and there was a real threat to their yield.

As Morski writes, after several months of drought, heavy rain fell on Tuesday in the south of the country and in the Neretva Valley. This particularly pleased the farmers in the area, where this year only about 15 percent of the annual average precipitation has fallen, an event the oldest residents can't remember having happened before. These more abundant rains will now significantly improve the situation in the production of all agricultural crops, especially tangerines, whose harvest is expected to begin in a month.

After a dry period, rainy refreshment in the Neretva Valley saw local producers breathe a sigh of relief. For the mandarins growing there, and for which the Neretvs Valley is famous, this is a last-minute salvation.

''The situation has never been like this, as far as I can tell, and I've been doing this my whole life. In these six, seven months, not much rain fell, only about 140 litres in total, and the annual average is somewhere around 1,200 litres,'' said Branko Popic, an observer of the Opuzen agrometeorological station.

The farmers of the Neretva Valley watered the mandarins during the severe drought, and in this way they managed to successfully prevent more serious consequences from occurring. But due to the salinity of the water in this area, today's sudden rain is still a better option than anything artificial could ever be.

''This is precious rain for all of the mandarins here, for the vineyards, and for the olives in the marginal areas of the Neretva Valley,'' explained agronomist Robert Doko.

During these days, plots were being prepared in the Neretva Valley for the planting of strawberries and cabbage, and the land had been without rain for too long. ''It was so dry that it was the same as if we were working in the Sahara, not in the Neretva Valley. This rain will mean a lot to us for the next planting that we have scheduled for next week,'' announced Jurica Kapovic from Opuzen.

Local olives also felt the negative consequences of the harsh drought, especially those that grow in the hilly part of the Neretva Valley. Farmer Zivko Mustapic grows about 650 of them on an area spanning ​​about three and a half hectares.

''We'd reached a critical situation, the fruit has already started to fall down. Although I do add a bit of water, it's only like an infusion for them, just to keep them going,'' pointed out Mustapic.

Although only ten litres of rain fell per square metre in the Slivno area, it is expected to improve the development of the olive trees, at least for a while, because the fruit isn't yet what it should be. Neretva Valley locals are still wishing for more precipitation to fall, because the mandarin harvest is expected in one month.

''During that period, even if this amount of rain fell again, it would be ideal for the mandarins and usually would be for cabbages too, they'd need to be watered less,'' said Kapovic.

It was exactly this kind of rain which suited everyone, because they fear the hail that usually comes after a drought. So far, as Neretva Valley producers say, they are happy that at least that threat has bypassed them, as reported by HRT.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

August the 17th, 2022 - The ongoing Zadar hinterland drought is causing a feeling of insecurity and desperation among local winemakers of the area, of which there are a great many. The Zadar hinterland hasn't really seen any rain for around two months now, and it doesn't seem as if relief will come any time soon.

As Morski writes, it hasn't really rained in the Zadar hinterland for two months now, and the ongoing drought is severely harming both local farmers and winemakers, especially in Nadinsko polje, the most ecological vineyard in all of Croatia. Young vineyards with white varieties growing there suffered the most, and if there is no rain in the near future, the harvest will also be worse, and due to the lower yield, there could be problems in the wine cellars as well.

''There's a small amount only, it's pretty miserable. The rest [of what we have] is as it was a month ago, nothing is developing, it isn't getting any colour to it and it should already be turning yellowish so that you can see that it is ripening, but it isn't doing so because these leaves have been burned,'' pointed out winegrower and winemaker Tomislav Glavic.

Glavic planted a Marastina vineyard in the nutrient-rich mud here five years ago. After last year, when the crop was affected by extremely cold temperatures and adverse conditions, this year should have been very good.

''This is our autochthonous variety of Marastina which I had very high hopes for. Last year, everything was frozen, there weren't even any grapes to speak of. This year the harvest was meant to be excellent, it should have been one of the better vintages. Until a month ago, everything was fine,'' he said. The situation is the same in the nearby vineyard of Sime Skaulj in the Zadar hinterland. Both his varieties suffered.

''This is a young three-year-old plantation that should produce extremely high-quality wines, however, it will be difficult to get a quality wine from here now. There's been no photosynthesis, no ripening, no sugar in the grapes, even though these are varieties that achieve very high sugars, but this year that isn't going to happen,'' said Skaulj.

Droughts in the Zadar hinterland, scorching, damagingly high temperatures and storms this summer have all been a fatal combination for these young vineyards.

''We had days when the temperature was 45 and there hasn't been a single drop of rain here since June the 9th. Actually, we had about four tiny drops ten days ago, but that's neither here nor there,'' said Glavic.

''This vineyard needs about 30 litres per square meter. If 30 litres of water had fallen here back at the end of July, it would have been amazing. We don't need a lot of water here, but we don't have a lot of it either,'' explained Skaulj.

''The annual requirements of the vines in terms of precipitation are somewhere from 650 to 850 litres of rain water. From April the 1st to July the 30th, we had somewhere around 176 litres with a very unfavourable precipitation schedule. We've actually got a situation in which these bunches have been exposed to very harmful UV radiation,'' said Zvonimir Vlatkovic from the Croatian Ministry of Agriculture.

If there is no serious rainfall soon, even though the vines have deep roots and are more resistant to drought, even the older, well-established vines will feel it. The harvest from the young plantations could be below average, and the quality could also come into question.

There are about 1,330 hectares of vineyards in not only the Zadar hinterland but spanning the entire territory of Zadar County. All of them have been constantly exposed to extreme temperatures. The situation is better in those that have an irrigation system, although they're also struggling to maintain an average and high-quality crop this year. In recent years, Zadar's local winemakers have made a big step forward when it comes to quality. The market recognises and acknowledges them, and it would be much easier to maintain that level of quality if the plantations didn't depend solely on the whims of nature, which is often cruel.

The straw for not only the winemakers of the Zadar hinterland but for winemakers up and down the country could be EU funds. In the new programme period starting in 2023, the emphasis is, among other things, on irrigation systems, as reported by HRT.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.