Vučković says government's agriculture strategy is ambitious but attainable

In parliament on Thursday, MPs discussed government's proposed Agriculture Strategy until 2030. And while the parliamentary majority backed the proposal in full, some opposition MPs noted that it was based on data from 2017 and seriously out of date.

In presenting the strategy to parliament, Agriculture Minister Marija Vučković said that agricultural production in Croatia has been growing continuously for the last five years, noting that in 2021 it grew at a rate of 8.1%. She added that this was contrary to the very negative opinion held by the opposition. She went on to say that the proposed strategy would work to further boost production.

"The general goal of the strategy is to raise the value of our agriculture production from the current 20 to 30 billion Kuna by 2030. We believe that this goal is extremely challenging, but attainable. We hope that it will not be threatened by the crisis we are currently witness to on the Croatian and European markets," Minister Vučković said.

Opposition MPs however, criticized the government, saying that the proposal was far too little far too late. MOST Party President Božo Petrov: "Other than the fact that we're two years late with this, what exactly has changed in our agriculture over the past 20 years? What exactly have you done in the past four years? Where are the specific measures needed for Croatian agriculture? There aren't any! You could have just as easily given this program to Zimbabwe."

Source: HRT