The event was organised by the Croatian Employers Association, Erste & Steiermaerkische Bank and the Croatian Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Ministry.
Assistant Agriculture Minister Srecko Selanac recalled that SAPARD was a special fund for agriculture and the development of rural areas the purpose of which was the adoption of EU legal standards for the common agriculture policy.
Croatia currently has the possibility to draw funds within two measures for which the SAPARD agency received accreditation from the European Commission and they refer to investing in private farms and the upgrading of processing and trading of farm and fish products, said Selanac.
During the first public tender in July-October 2006, 51 applications were made, but after administrative control only five projects were approved, a total investment of 25 million kuna, while 12.57 million kuna was approved in subventions.
(EUR 1 = 7.3 kuna)