Farm Officials Optimistic About Future of Slovenian Farming
The EU's budget framework for 2007-2013 offers good possibilities for Slovenian farming, agricultural consultants agreed on Monday at a meeting entitled "How to Efficiently Use the Money Offered by the EU".
The Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry (KGZS) has been extensively training agricultural consultants in the last couple of months, so they will be able to acquaint the farmers with novelties that new European programmes bring, said the president of the chamber, Peter Vrisk.
The 2007-2013 period is extremely important, since this is the last financial perspective when something can still be done for Slovenian agriculture, Vrisk added.
Slovenia's agriculture will receive SIT 278bn (EUR 1.16bn) between 2007 and 2013, a period that will be marked by structural changes. These changes are necessary and should be carried out more efficiently, said Agriculture Minister Marija Lukacic.
Lukacic pointed to the problem of the average age of the farmers in Slovenia, which is over 55. The authorities will therefore encourage early retirement of older farmers so that younger farmers can take over.
The authorities will also earmark 33% of the funds for the modernization of farm technology. Some 10% will be allocated for activities that bring additional income to the farmers.
We will encourage founding of small companies that would assure development of the rural areas, Lukacic said. She also believes that the Slovenian countryside is very appropriate for ecological and integrated farming.
We have been talking about family farms for a long time, however Slovenia does not have conditions for farms that could support whole families, Vrisk said. The development of Slovenia's countryside should therefore be based on middle- and small-sized farms, he added.
The rural development programme for the 2007-2013 period brings good possibilities for medium- and small-sized farms, said Vrisk. However, research has to be carried out to ensure that the money goes to the right people.
The criteria for acquiring funds are too high and if this continues many farms will be unable to get the money, said Vrisk. He believes that it is better to spread the money among a greater number of farms than to give big amounts to only few farms.
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