KUZMIĆ: AGRICULTURAL SUBSIDY PAYMENTS PACE NEVER BEEN BETTER

BANJA LUKA, MAY 26 /SRNA/ – The pace of agricultural subsidy payments in Republika Srpska has never been better, with all of last year’s subsidies already paid out, along with about BAM 14.5 million in subsidies for this year, Republika Srpska Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Anđelka Kuzmić stated.

Kuzmić stated that this represents major support for farmers, particularly as the spring sowing season is nearing completion. She emphasized that approximately BAM 290 million will be allocated to agriculture this year - through an agricultural budget of BAM 180 million and additional support programmes. "For capital investments, we expected around BAM 30 million to be allocated, but based on submitted applications, they have already reached BAM 69 million. This speaks to the good condition of agriculture, the measures of the Republika Srpska Government and the line ministry, the fact that farmers are investing, and that we have around 680 applications for tractors, whereas last year there were half as many," Kuzmić said at a press conference. Speaking about the dairy sector, she announced that a meeting with producers and the largest milk purchasers in Republika Srpska is scheduled for tomorrow, where discussions will focus on resolving the issue of surplus milk in order to prevent a suspension of milk procurement. She recalled that the line ministry had increased premiums per liter of milk as well as per livestock head, adding that these measures were introduced in response to global disruptions in the dairy sector. "In the first three to four months, we have already calculated BAM 500,000 more compared to last year. This indicates that we have more liters of milk being produced and more livestock that we are financing," Kuzmić stressed. She also stated that dairy farmers had, at one point, been politically exploited by certain opposition politicians, adding that the ministry and the Republika Srpska Government are addressing the problems of dairy farmers and other groups and will continue to do so in the future.