As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Ministry of Agriculture reported that the European Commission (EC) has approved an additional 220 million kuna in aid for livestock farmers and the Croatian livestock industry, in addition to existing aid mechanisms. The industry has, much like the majority of other sectors, been hit by the ongoing pandemic, and this EC-approved cash sum hasn’t come a moment too late.
“The European Commission has approved the final changes to the Rural Development Programme, which, after lengthy and successful negotiations with the EC, approved this additional aid to the livestock sector in the amount of an additional 130 million kuna through the Animal Welfare measure and an additional 90 million kuna for new support for the use of livestock manure on arable land,” the aforementioned ministry said in a statement on the matter.
The ministry also recalled that in addition to implementing regular support measures, since the beginning of the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic, the ministry has adopted a number of support programmes which directly involve and include the Croatian livestock industry, worth almost 450 million kuna, as well as various support programmes for the poultry and dairy sectors.
In addition to the above, due to the increase in prices of cereals and other components of typical animal feed, at the last meeting of the Council of Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries of European Union member states, Minister of Agriculture Marija Vuckovic called on the European Commission to examine all of the possibilities for granting financial support to stabilise the Croatian livestock sector and properly ensure the equal position of Croatia’s manufacturers on the demanding global market.
For more on both Croatian and European Union (EU) politics, make sure to follow our dedicated politics section.
