In the past agricultural-economic year, the state collected more than 48.7 million euros from land leases, in dinar equivalent. The leasing of state-owned agricultural land for the current economic year, which runs from November 1, 2024, to October 31, 2025, has started well in cities and municipalities. By mid-December of the previous year, approximately 254,137 hectares of state-owned land were leased. As in previous years, rental prices varied, depending on the location and quality of the land.
According to information provided to “Politika” by the Ministry of Agriculture, the average lease price in Serbia was nearly 300 euros (297.51) per hectare. This indicates that lease prices are rising annually, as the average lease price per hectare for land of average quality between 2017 and 2019 was 196.23 euros. The lowest average lease price was recorded in public tenders in the Rasina, Pirot, Braničevo, and Bor districts (Brus, Dimitrovgrad, Žagubica, Pirot, Negotin), where the price ranged from 10 to 50 euros per hectare. The highest prices were traditionally seen in parts of Vojvodina, including the Srem, North Bačka, West Bačka, South Banat, and South Bačka districts (Inđija, Mali Iđoš, Kula, Pančevo, Srbobran, and Plandište), where the lease price ranged from 450 to 690 euros per hectare.
As reported, the prices for leasing pastures depended on their class and the municipality in which they are located, with prices ranging from 8 to 151 euros per hectare.
According to observations by Novi Sad’s “Dnevnik” newspaper, land leases for state-owned land in parts of Vojvodina were more expensive than for privately owned land, where lease prices rarely exceed 500 or 600 euros. The newspaper also reported that the first and second rounds of public tenders had already passed in 79 local governments.
In 33 municipalities, the first round of state-owned land leasing has been completed. The municipalities of Kovačica and Žagubica were the fastest in leasing land, having completed the first, second, and third rounds of public tenders.
A proposed amendment to the Law on Agriculture and Rural Development, which entered parliamentary procedure late last year, benefits tenants of private land. Recently, it was announced that it would allow farmers to register in the Agricultural Holdings Register, or to register a cadastral parcel based on the actual use of agricultural land, accompanied by a special declaration notarized by a public notary.
As explained earlier by Minister of Agriculture Aleksandar Martinović, this change is intended to support farmers.
“We have foreseen two such situations: when land is actually being cultivated by someone who is not the owner. This applies to cases when an administrative procedure has been initiated but not completed, or when the land consolidation process has not been finished,” said Martinović.