At the sitting held on 2 December 2022, the Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Committee considered the Republic of Serbia 2023 Budget Bill, Section 24 - Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, presented by Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Jelena Tanskovic as representative of the submitter.
Presenting the part of the Republic of Serbia 2023 Budget Bill dedicated to agriculture, forestry and water management, she said that, with all sources of financing¸ it amounts to 79.7 billion RSD and compared to 2022 is higher by approximately 17.7 billion RSD. The largest part of the funds is intended for the improvement of production, with only 46.9 billion RSD being earmarked for direct payments. 68.7 billion RSD is allocated for agricultural subsidies, which is 87% of the budget or 35% of total subsidies in the Republic of Serbia, and over 64.4 billion RSD are planned for agrarian subsidies. Minister Tanaskovic said that significant funds have been allocated for rural development measures, and payments will continue through the IPARD programme, as well as investments through the project implemented in cooperation with the World Bank. Funds have also been allocated for the continuation of regular activities such as management of watercourses, construction of irrigation systems and other, with a special focus on the introduction of the eAgrar system.
Following a long discussion, the Committee members decided, by majority vote, to propose that the Committee on Finance, State Budget and Control of Public Spending accept the Republic of Serbia 2023 Budget Bill, Section 24 - Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management.
The Committee went on to consider and by majority vote accept the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Activity Information for the period July-September 2022.
In the course of the sitting, responding to the Committee members’ questions, the Head of the Directorate for Commodity Reserves Zorica Andjelkovic, spoke about the activities of this body in the previous period, as well as about procurement, especially of agricultural and food products.
At the end of the sitting the Committee adopted the Decision amending the Decision to establish of a Subcommittee for Monitoring the Agricultural Situation in Marginal - Least Developed Areas of the Republic of Serbia - Areas with Difficult Working Conditions in Agriculture, changing the Subcommittee’s composition and replacing member Dragan Jovanovic by Dejan Ignjatovic. The Committee also amended item 4 of the Decision making it possible for the Subcommittee to have sittings outside the National Assembly seat, and item 5 of the original Decision was deleted.
The sitting was chaired by Committee Chairman Marijan Risticevic, and attended by the following Subcommittee members and deputy members: Dragan Jovanovic, Milica Obradovic, Miomir Stojilkovic, Zoran Sandic, Dr Nenad Mitrovic, Zsombor Ujvari, Momcilo Vuksanovic, Dejan Ignjatovic, Dejan Bulatovic, Milovan Jakovljevic, Miroslav Aleksic, Veroljub Matic, Dejan Matic, Dijana Radovic and Milija Miletic. The sitting was also attended by MP Dr Jelena Kalajdzic, who is not member of the Committee.
