“The European Union provides significant financial resources to farmers in Serbia, mainly through our Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance to Rural Development (IPARD)”, said Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia, Plamena Halacheva, at the press conference announcing the 91st International Agricultural Fair.
The International Agricultural Fair will open its gates for all visitors on Saturday, May 18, and will end on Thursday, May 23. Exhibitors have been at the Novi Sad Fair for several days and are finishing the final preparations. Details of the 91st edition of the largest agribusiness event in this part of Europe were announced at today’s press conference.
The Deputy Head of the EU Delegation, Halacheva, highlighted some of the main examples of support that the EU has provided to domestic farmers through IPARD.
“To date, 15 public calls have been published within IPARD, resulting in more than 1400 signed contracts and payments made to Serbian farmers and food producers; the EU is now launching the third phase of the IPARD programme, which, along with complementary private co-financing, can bring up to 550 million EUR of investment in the agricultural sector in Serbia. In addition, the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy offers a stable and predictable future for Serbian farmers, as well as a support framework”, added Halacheva.
Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Nenad Katanić said that this event is one of the most important fairs in the region.
“It is a place where serious farmers gather with the idea of exchanging experience, purchasing equipment and mechanisation and acquiring some new knowledge and practices. Many more interesting topics will be covered through a series of lectures, round tables and education events that we organise in the Congress Centre “Master”. We believe that the National Exhibition of Livestock, which we have sponsored for years, will be the most attractive event, and I am pleased to hear that all capacities are filled and that the National Exhibition of Livestock will have something to show. There is also the Exhibition of organic products, products with a geographical origin label, the “Serbian quality” label, and craft beer, and I believe that this exhibition will also be very interesting for visitors”, added Katanić.
General Director of the Novi Sad Fair, Nikola Lovrić, pointed out that this year’s Fair is much better than last year.
“The partner of the event is the European Union. The focus of this year’s Fair will be the promotion of sustainable agriculture, and in six days, more than 40 events will be organised as part of the programme at the EU Pavilion. A large number of state-of-the-art agricultural machines will be exhibited in the open space of the Novi Sad Fair, and in addition to standard and well-known models, there will also be many novelties – we are talking about premieres that arrive straight to the Agricultural Fair after the Hanover Fair. Additionally, all other well-known segments and accompanying programmes are being prepared, both at Manjež and in other parts of the Fair. With numerous professional and business events and gathering, opportunities for education, but also entertainment, all that remains is to invite you all to come, added Nikola Lovrić.
The official opening of the Agricultural Fair is scheduled on Saturday, May 18, at 11 a.m. Opening hours for visitors are from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day. All information about ticket prices, Gift Game, programme of activities, quality assessment, accompanying events and other details can be found on the website of the Novi Sad Fair, and information about the programme at the EU Pavilion can be found via this link.
We would like to remind you that in the Promenada Shopping Centre you can also visit the exhibition that we organized in honour of the most successful partners and projects of the European Union, in the field of agriculture.
