BJELOVAR, Dec 21 (Hina) - We need to reform our agricultural policy more for our own sake than for the sake of our neighbourhood, Agriculture Minister Bozidar Pankretic said at a government session in Bjelovar on Thursday. The session
focused on a package of laws on farming, including a general law on farming, which should define relations in agriculture, measures of the farming policy, and introduce new institutes such as the Croatian chamber of agriculture and a directorate for market and structural agricultural support. The proposed law also envisages an annual report on the situation in agriculture. A debate on this bill, which concerns almost all areas of farming, opened a series of other questions. Finance Minister Mato Crkvenac spoke about macro-economic issues warning about the low level of investments, including those in farming, and problems faced by agribusinesses, which the government was trying to help. Commenting on
BJELOVAR, Dec 21 (Hina) - We need to reform our agricultural policy
more for our own sake than for the sake of our neighbourhood,
Agriculture Minister Bozidar Pankretic said at a government
session in Bjelovar on Thursday.
The session focused on a package of laws on farming, including a
general law on farming, which should define relations in
agriculture, measures of the farming policy, and introduce new
institutes such as the Croatian chamber of agriculture and a
directorate for market and structural agricultural support.
The proposed law also envisages an annual report on the situation in
agriculture.
A debate on this bill, which concerns almost all areas of farming,
opened a series of other questions.
Finance Minister Mato Crkvenac spoke about macro-economic issues
warning about the low level of investments, including those in
farming, and problems faced by agribusinesses, which the
government was trying to help.
Commenting on the latter problem, Vice Premier Slavko Linic warned
that government conclusions were not being implemented at lower
levels.
In a debate on the general law on farming, government officials
stressed that state incentives in agriculture must be separated
from social welfare and that schools, too, must give their
contribution to the furtherance of agriculture.
The session also supported a bill on farming land under which towns
and municipalities would decide about the sale and tenure of state
land. Advantage in the renting and sale of state land should be
given to co-owners, family farms, locals and demobilised soldiers
whereas funds gathered in this way would be shared equally between
the state and local units of authority.
The government today decided to postpone a vote about the hail
defence system until after New Year holidays in order to previously
consult with the State Weather Institute, which is the bearer of the
project.
The session also discussed a bill on changes to the Law on Hunting.
Participants in the session were informed that new laws on
genetically modified organisms were being drawn up.
The session was informed about a study on production and
consumption, according to which Croatia produces a lot of wine,
wheat, corn, eggs and poultry meat but not enough potato, pork,
beef, vegetables and milk.
The session was also informed about the reform of a system of some
130 incentives. The reform should result in a simpler system of
incentives and make it possible for incentives to be paid
exclusively in cash and in the same amount over a period of at least
three years.
The session also discussed the need to continue the consolidation
of food companies and announced the restructuring of the Croatian
Forests public company.
(hina) rml