Thanks to a European Commission – funded Twinning project, Serbia has taken one more important step towards accessing the European Union’s principal financing instrument IPARD. IPARD aims at getting the rural development in line with EU standards and improving the competitiveness of Serbian agriculture in foreign markets.
IPARD funds a whole basket of measures such as investments in farms, product processing and marketing, diversification of rural economy through the support to rural tourism, organic farming and local action groups via the so-called LEADER programme. Typically the IPARD contribution is 60% where by the beneficiary farmer, food business operator and other beneficiaries shall co-finance 40% of the cost of the action.
The project “Assistance to managing authority of the Serbian Ministry of agriculture, forestry and water management in elaboration of IPARD 2014-2020 Programme, support to accreditation and training” had been implemented by Agrarmarkt Austrija (AMA), Austrian agency for agriculture and rural development.
Department for rural development as well as their colleagues from other organisational units of the Ministry of agriculture and environmental protection have also participated in the project.
Project’s aim was to enhance the preparation of Serbian agriculture, in particular to prepare the Department for rural development for the implementation of EU’s Common agricultural policy (CAP).
The intention was to strengthen the institutional capacities of Ministry of agriculture’s managing authorities so as to put in force the rural development component of the Instrument for pre-accession assistance (IPARD), which represents the European Commission’s main instrument providing assistance to accessing countries during the process of modernisation and improvement of their rural economy and agriculture.
“The set of measures to be accredited will help the sector of agriculture to advance and meet the European standards in fields of primary agricultural production as well as the processing of meat, dairy, fruit and vegetable products,” said Aleksandar Bogunović of the Ministry of agriculture.
“This will benefit individual producers, but also companies belonging to the group of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Apart from the substantial assistance in reaching European standards, support will increase competitiveness of our products and scope of production and trade, thus providing better conditions for the products’ placement on the ever demanding foreign markets,” Bogunović added.
Austrian, Bavarian and French agricultural institutions’ experts have shared their experience with fellow colleagues from the Serbian Ministry of agriculture during the eight-month project.
Much needed standards have been defined and all of the IPARD planning document chapters elaborated, whereas employees in charge with agricultural activities have received training during the drafting of the Programme.
