Bajina Basta

The sitting was opened by Committee Chairman Marijan Risticevic and the participants were greeted by the President of the municipality of Bajina Basta, Radomir Filipovic, who highlighted the importance of organising sittings outside of the National Assembly headquarters for local communities.
At the beginning of the sitting, the Committee members discussed the Bill on Financing and Securing Funds for Agricultural Production, elaborated by representative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Milan Cupric, and the Bill on the Confirmation of the Protocol on Flood Protection to the Framework Agreement on the Sava River Basin, elaborated by acting director of the Republic Water Directorate Miodrag Pjescic.
After a debate, the Committee decided to accept both bills in principle.
The participants of the sitting then went on to discuss the agricultural policy on the development of small and medium-sized households via the development of livestock, fruit and vegetable farming. The Committee members discussed the matter with State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Atila Juhas and Secretary of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce Association for Agriculture and Food Industry Nenad Budimirovic. They discussed stimulation measures in agriculture, its competitiveness and the treatment of small plot farmers by the state. Representatives of the municipality of Bajina Basta and agricultural producers’ associations outlined their problems and appealed for the adoption of a law on cooperatives.
The Committee members also talked about the problem of pounds and harmless disposal of animal waste and pointed out that, though Serbia has two state-owned pounds, the one in Sombor lacks the necessary capacities while the one in Cuprija has been out of service for more than a year. The Committee members agreed that these problems need to be addressed as soon as possible.
The sitting also touched on the subject of monitoring the post-flood recovery efforts and precluding possible future events of the kind (canal network and riverbed management, irrigation).
Having discussed these items on its agenda, the Committee adopted conclusions.
The sitting outside of the National Assembly headquarters was organised with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), via project Strengthening the Oversight Role and Transparency of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia.

The sitting was chaired by Committee Chairman Marijan Risticevic.