The sitting was attended by Zeljko Radosevic, State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, and representatives of the Directorate for Agrarian Payments.

State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Zeljko Radosevic informed the members of the Committee about the state of winter crops, saying that the situation is satisfactory for now, especially the state of winter wheat, taking into account the weather conditions. Currently, it is necessary to provide detailed control of the areas and soil treatment to prevent diseases and the appearance of weeds, said Radosevic. He added that the planting of sunflowers, sugar beets and the final sowing of spring crops has begun, and 63% of the fields planned spring wheat, 91% for spring barley, 53.28% for sugar beets, 16.52% for potatoes and 1.65% of the fields planned for sunflowers have been planted so far. As for planting in protected areas, 18.95% of the fields planned for tomatoes and 11.15% foe peppers have been planted. Radosevic noted that the dynamics of sowing work will depend on weather conditions and soil temperature, especially considering the announced morning frosts in April, which can cause damage, primarily to fruit crops. The State Secretary also informed the Committee about the measures the Directorate for Agrarian Payments has implemented, in accordance with the Ministry’s basic idea of the Ministry regarding the distribution and use of the agricultural budget, by implementing 33% of the budget for incentives, i.e. paying out 37.5 billion RSD. Milk premiums have been paid, incentives per hectare have been implemented for 298,195 approved requests totalling over 33 billion RSD, which is a sign of the Directorate’s impressive efficiency, concluded Radosevic.

In the discussion that followed, the members of the Committee pointed out the impact of the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran on the oil markets, and therefore on the price of food, and the need for the state not to allow an increase in the price of diesel for agricultural producers. Some members of the Committee pointed out that the situation in agriculture is urgent and requires urgent measures, especially in the field of livestock farming, they said that the adoption of the Agricultural Strategy is two years late and that agriculture is in a catastrophic state, especially in those activities in which we are dependent on imports. They also pointed out the increase in food prices, the increase in the price of fertilizers, the increase in precipitation that causes floods and the need for river regulation. They emphasised that the current period is sensitive for fruit growing, that the situation in agriculture has been difficult for years and that it will now be even more difficult, because it depends on the prices of fuel, fertilizers and weather conditions. In the further discussion, there was talk of production prices increasing, while purchase prices remain low, the quantities of milk purchased from domestic milk producers, the reasons why Serbia imports fertilizer, the completion of the agricultural land irrigation project for predictable agricultural production, and more.

After the discussion, the Committee members adopted a relevant Conclusion by a majority vote.

The sitting was chaired by Committee Chairman Marijan Risticevic, and attended by the following Committee members and deputy members: Veroljub Matic, Zika Gojkovic, Dragan Jovanovic, Dejan Bulatovic, Miljana Milojevic, Milija Miletic, Jozsef Tobias, Slobodan Ilic, Dusan Nikezic, Verica Milanovic and Dijana Radovic.