Agricultural inspection in Serbia intensively controls agricultural farms in order to prevent abuses related to fictitious farms and to ensure that subsidies are received by those who really cultivate the land, says agroanalyst Milan Prostran. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management appeals to farmers to provide information on possible abuses, so that controls are more effective and funds are properly distributed. The goal is for the funds intended to strengthen agriculture to be maximally used to increase production and develop the food industry.
Prostran supports these controls and points out that it is important to prevent subsidies from going to the owners of the land who do not cultivate it, but waste it. According to the new rules, only those who actively cultivate agricultural land are entitled to subsidies, while owners who lease or do not use the land are not entitled to this support. Previously, it was possible to obtain subsidies based on ownership itself, which often resulted in underutilization of arable land.
Go into more detail about the problem
The state has introduced a regulation that limits subsidies only to those who cultivate the land, which seeks to encourage more intensive agricultural production. According to the data of the Republic Institute of Statistics, there are 508,365 agricultural farms in Serbia that cultivate 3,257,100 hectares of land. The state leases between 260,000 and 270,000 hectares of agricultural land, but the question remains whether the tenants of this land are entitled to subsidies.
Prostran explains that tenants, unlike owners who do not cultivate the land, can probably exercise the right to subsidies, but this depends on specific conditions. In this way, the state encourages the cultivation of as much agricultural land as possible, with the aim of improving the overall food balance of the country. The subsidies are designed to help farmers increase production and generate income. They are not there to support the owners who leave the land uncultivated, emphasized the agricultural analyst.
The main goal of this measure is to stimulate the productive use of agricultural land and contribute to better nutrition of the population and market supply. Prostran concludes that subsidies should serve food production and agricultural development. At the same time, he says, financing the owners who keep the land in parlog makes no economic or social sense. These controls and changes in the rules represent a step towards a more efficient and fair use of resources in Serbian agriculture.
Source: AgroTV
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