Serbian government reaches agreement with farmers

Farmers who have been blocking roads in Vojvodina and other parts of Serbia since May over unmet demands from the Agriculture Ministry have agreed to measures with the government and promised to end the blockades.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, who spoke with the farmers in Kisac, said that an agreement was reached and that they agreed to hold another meeting again next Wednesday.

“We have reached a good compromise with the farmers, who will not reduce the amount given to other farmers,” Brnabić said.

Following the agreement, farmers will be able to buy 400 litres of fuel at the pumps, the state will help them to operate independently on the stock market, and the subsidies for milk will be increased.

Farmer representative Mileta Slankamenac said that farmers will never be completely satisfied, but there will be no new roadblocks.

“As early as Wednesday, we will have a meeting of farmers and the Working Group. They were representatives of the Product Exchange. They are moving towards implementing those laws as much as possible, and preparations are being made for the new legal framework when the new parliament is elected,” said Slankamenac.

Brnabić said that the talks were difficult and that many things needed to be done.

“The situation and problems faced by farmers are much clearer to me. We need to see how to organise the markets so that individual farms can participate in the Product Exchange, trade their own products, and not depend on different cartels and monopolists. For me is the most important thing from today’s meeting because it will define the sustainability of their position and business in the years ahead,” she said.

As for subsidies, they will remain at 18,000 dinars per hectare.

Brnabić, responding to journalists’ questions about subsidies for certified seeds, said that the Government of Serbia remains committed to increasing subsidies to 17,000 dinars per hectare but that they must agree on a broader meeting where other representatives of farmers – livestock farmers, fruit growers, and beekeepers – will be present to understand that it will not affect their subsidies.

Slankamenac added that they also discussed fuel subsidies and that they were told that the excise duty cannot be written off.

When asked if the state wants to help, Slankamenac said it has shown that it wants to.

“The state is your address to see if it implements what we agree on. The regulations must go,” he told reporters.

(Milena Antonijević/Euractiv.rs)

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