eKapija | EC approves IPARD funds – Deadline for first two calls expires

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The European Commission – Directorate-General for Agriculture officially confirmed today that Serbia had met the requirements for the implementation of the IPARD II program for agriculturists, the Ministry of Agriculture announced.

The Directorate for Agrarian Payments has so far registered 223 applications for IPARD funds, of which 51 for the procurement of mechanization and 172 for tractors, says the press release sent to Tanjug.

Two public calls have taken place so far, one for mechanization, the other for tractors, and the deadline for both expired today.

These are pre-accession funds of the EU meant for agriculture, in the amount of EUR 175 million, taking the form of grants for the period until 2020.

The funds are meant for enhancing the competitiveness of agricultural and processing capacities and improving food safety in Serbia, all to the end of harmonizing the agriculture of Serbia with the EU standards. These are incentives for investments in the physical property in farms.

The incentives amount to 60-80%, depending on whether the applicant is a younger agriculturist, whether the farm is located in a mountain area and whether the investments pertains to waste or waste water management.

The program entails sectors of milk, meat, fruit, vegetables and other crops (certain types of grains and industrial plants).

Incentives in the sectors of fruit, vegetables and other crops amount to 5,000 to 700,000 euros, and those for the sectors of milk and meat amount to 5,000 to 1,000,000 euros.

Eligible investments and costs pertain to purchase of new mechanization, equipment, and tractors and general costs (project and technical documentation preparation).

Minister of Agriculture Branislav Nedimovic previously told Tanjug that a total of EUR 225 million was available to Serbian agriculturists until 2020, as the EU provided EUR 175 million, whereas the national participation amounted to EUR 50 million, and added that the plan was to withdraw 40 to 45 million euros in 2018.

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