The agencies responsible for implementing IPARD in Serbia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia have signed cooperation agreements related to the European Union accession process in Belgrade. In the presence of the Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia, Plamena Halacheva, the agreements were signed by Marko Radonjić, Director of the IPARD Payments Directorate of Montenegro, Ilija Stoilev, Director of the Agency for Financial Support to Agriculture and Rural Development of North Macedonia, and Slobodan Nikolovski, Director of the Agricultural Payments Administration.
The Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia expressed great satisfaction at attending the signing of the agreements, especially between the countries in which she had previously served, and stressed that it was important to particularly welcome the strengthening of the shared vision of the Western Balkan countries for their agriculture to become more innovative, resilient, and sustainable.
“EU support is not only significant but also transformative. Through the IPARD programme, we empower farmers, agri-food processors, and entire rural communities to modernise and innovate their activities. The European Union has supported Serbia’s agricultural sector with more than €150 million since 2001, and an additional €175 million in EU support has been secured for farmers and agri-processors through the IPARD II programme. The current IPARD III programme will bring even more opportunities for Serbian farmers – they will have access to new EU funds amounting to €288 million. IPARD truly drives innovation, and we believe these grants will make a significant difference and transform rural areas,” said Plamena Halacheva, encouraging agricultural producers and processors to seize this opportunity to improve production.
She also reminded that the EU market has traditionally been the most important export destination for Serbian agricultural products, with more than half of agricultural exports directed to the EU.
“I am particularly pleased and honoured that today, in the offices of the Agricultural Payments Administration, we have signed cooperation agreements with the payment agencies from Montenegro and North Macedonia on the EU accession process. We have exchanged experiences, knowledge, and skills in the implementation of national incentive measures and the IPARD programme. Our experts will continue to work intensively on improving all measures to ensure that funds are disbursed to agricultural producers as quickly and efficiently as possible,” said Slobodan Nikolovski, Director of the Agricultural Payments Administration, reiterating the call to agricultural producers to regularly check their eInbox, download decisions, and waive their right to appeal, so that the additional funds of 10,000 dinars per hectare of crop production can be disbursed as efficiently as possible.
Within the IPARD II programme, out of 1,556 approved projects, 1,231 requests have been paid out, amounting to approximately €118.4 million, while approximately €9 million is in the process of being approved for payment. With strong support from the Government of the Republic of Serbia and an awareness of the importance of IPARD support for the further development and improvement of the agricultural sector, the new programme cycle has been successfully launched. The trend of high participation in the programme continues, with 389 requests received for the first public call under Measure 1, and as many as 847 requests for the second.
“Signing this type of agreement is another step forward towards the European Union, and thus towards the closure of negotiation chapters 11, 12, and 13. During the day, we will have a constructive discussion about the things we are doing at the Ministry of Agriculture and the Payments Directorate, as well as what is being done by the Agricultural Payments Administration of Serbia and the Payments Agency of North Macedonia. The exchange of experience on how to improve the use of IPARD programme funds is crucial. The Ministry of Agriculture of Montenegro is very pleased with the absorption of funds from the IPARD II programme, which is slightly above 90 percent. Even more motivation to continue our good work comes from the fact that under the IPARD III programme, we have much larger funds available and much more generous support for our farmers,” emphasised Marko Radonjić, Director of the IPARD Payments Directorate of Montenegro.
“Our three countries are destined to cooperate on harmonising and implementing European legislation in the agricultural sector. The friendly relations between our countries and the successful payment agencies, which have excellent experience and outstanding human resources, are of great importance in this process and in the efficient exchange of experiences. Although we are facing serious challenges, such as climate change, we are on the right track to successfully implement the IPARD programme,” said Ilija Stoilev, Director of the Agency for Financial Support to Agriculture and Rural Development of North Macedonia, adding that the experience of absorbing 85% of IPARD programme funds would be selflessly shared with the agencies in Serbia and Montenegro.
