Agriculture Minister Marija Vuckovic was visiting Vukovar-Srijem County on Friday, where she presented contracts on the co-financing of projects from the Rural Development Programme and said that Croatian agriculture has shown resilience.

Citing Croatian Bureau of Statistics estimates, she said in Vukovar that agricultural production grew by 7 percent or 1.4 billion kuna in 2020, the highest increase since 2008, while gross added value and factor and entrepreneurial incomes increased between 14 and 16 percent.

Those figures show that Croatian agriculture is not on a bad path, that domestic producers are resilient and creative, and that the Rural Development Programme is showing results, the minister said.

“We have to insist on economic programmes for farmland, on connecting everyone in the food production chain and on boosting the processing industry, which will then best stimulate primary agricultural production,” Vuckovic said.

Without increasing productivity and competitiveness, Slavonia cannot become stronger, she said.

Speaking of a farmland bill, the minister said the government wished to debate it with everyone concerned. As our most valuable resource, farmland is worth much more than all the incentives we will receive from the EU, she added.

Responding to questions from the press, Vuckovic said the government and her ministry had done their best to boost the sugar industry in Croatia.