Farmers in Serbia, especially those taking on new fields for cultivation, are facing delays in the verification process, which is impacting their ability to meet the deadline for applying for direct subsidies. The application period for the 18,000 dinar per hectare subsidy runs until March 25, and farmers are concerned they won’t have enough time to register new fields in the eAgrar system.
The Directorate for Agrarian Payments has stated that the verification of applications is ongoing. Farmers are also worried about meeting the payment deadline, which is set to complete by March 31, as agreed with the Ministry of Agriculture.
Additionally, the regulation on seed subsidies (17,000 dinars per hectare), which was expected in January, has not been finalized. Farmers also expressed concern over delayed excise duty refunds for diesel fuel, which were supposed to be paid within 14 days of purchase.
Farmers, like Goran Filipović, are worried that the subsidies won’t be paid on time and highlighted the difficulty in securing loans due to the perceived risks in agriculture, worsened by extreme weather conditions. Filipović also noted that land sales are becoming harder, with fewer interested buyers.
