Janusz Wojciechowski, the European Commissioner for Agriculture, gave an exclusive interview to EUpravo about the European Union's measures to support agriculture in Serbia.

Agriculture represents one of the key sectors of the Serbian economy. Despite the challenges it faces, agriculture in Serbia has great development prospects. This is recognized by the European Union, which actively contributes to the productivity and sustainability of this sector.

In an interview with EUpravo zato, Janusz Wojciechowski, the European Commissioner for Agriculture, highlighted key programs, challenges, and strategies for improving the agricultural sector, and explained how the EU helps Serbia in addressing climate change and environmental challenges.

What specific measures is the European Union implementing to support agricultural development and sustainability in Serbia?

Our flagship programme in the area of agriculture is the IPARD programme allowing farmers to obtain support for 60-75% of their investment. We support the purchase of more environmentally friendly machinery, construction and re-construction of farming facilities, the use of renewable energies and more efficient technologies. Farmers can get solar panels to boost clean energy for food processing, have a farmhouse reconstructed and get brand new high tech machines which can include new tractors but it is of course not limited to that. In IPARD III Programme there is EUR 288 mil. available from EU resources complemented by another EUR 90 mil. from the national budget.

In addition to IPARD, in the wider context of the IPA programme, the EU has funded a number of capacity building projects whose main beneficiaries were the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Water Management of Serbia and its various directorates and institutes. The common objective of all those projects is to assist Serbia in aligning with EU policies in the areas of agriculture, rural development, food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy. The value of that part of EU assistance for agriculture sector (in addition to IPARD) exceeds 150 million EUR since 2001. We helped, Serbia for example, to continue aligning the legislation on organic production with the EU acquis, improve administration of fruit and wine varieties including the old and autochthonous ones, strengthen animal health controls, eradicate rabies and classical swine fever.

The increased digital side of agriculture is also a big factor since we work closely with the BioSense Institute in Novi Sad via the Horizon programme and the EIB has helped to finance its building which is another major benefit for Serbia to have a Centre of Excellence in Science which deals with digital farming. Overall one can summarise our pillars of collaboration into four areas: digital farming, the greening of agriculture, the modernization and mechanization of agriculture and the EU is of course also an important market for Serbian agricultural goods. So the trade aspect is also important.

How is the EU working to facilitate improved market access for Serbian agricultural products within the European Union?

Agriculture in Serbia is already doing very well in trade with the EU. A large variety of agricultural products is exported to the EU, which is the main export destination in this product category - as well as in many others). About half of Serbian agricultural export is destined to the EU and the value of it last year only was 2.2 billion EUR.

But it is important to see the overall development:

Serbia’s agricultural exports to the EU quadrupled over the past decade, from EUR 640 million in 2009 to EUR 2.2 billion in 2023. At the same time, Serbian imports of agricultural products from the EU have been on a steady rise during the previous decade from EUR 440 million in 2009 to over EUR 2.4 billion in 2023.

We surely expect that these figures will continue growing in the years to come. The EU strongly supports further development of agriculture in Serbia through IPARD and other assistance projects. Among others, we are currently helping Serbia through a twinning project to address the remaining requirements for export of fresh poultry meat and eggs to the EU. However, Serbia needs to abstain from introducing unilateral trade measures without prior consultation of the Commission, in line with obligations enshrined in the EU-Serbia Stabilisation and Association Agreement. Currently, quantitative import restrictions on sunflower oil and margarine and an import ban on wood pellets prevent trade, distort the market and are inefficient. In addition, Serbian import licences for products of animal origin and practices of border inspections need to be 100% predictable in terms of frequency, duration, volume and costs of sampling, which is not currently the case. These trade restrictions, measures or practices of the relevant authorities affecting EU-Serbia trade need to be fully in line with the relevant provisions of the SAA. This would promote mutual efforts in strengthening trade and economic ties between the EU and Serbia.

Given the growing concern about environmental sustainability in agriculture, what strategies is the EU promoting to encourage more sustainable farming practices in Serbia?

The EU is fully aware of those challenges. We adopted our Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategies to address them. Naturally, Serbia, as a Candidate Country for accession in the EU, is in the process of aligning its national strategies with those of the EU. We are talking here, for example, of putting even greater importance on organic production, reducing the use of pesticides and industrial fertilizers and many other aspects. Serbia needs to do this not only to fulfil conditions of the political process, but, above all, for the benefit of its own citizens. We are all aware of just how important it is to use our resources, including in agriculture, in a more sustainable way and protect them for our future generations.

With the increasing challenges posed by climate change, how is the EU assisting Serbia in adapting its agricultural sector to mitigate risks and build resilience?

Our agri-environmental and climate measure of the IPARD Programme has a component through which we will support farming techniques strengthening this resilience. We also have a dedicated project “Strengthening disaster resilience in agriculture” under which we are educating farmers and future farmers in schools, local self-governments and advisory services on concrete measures, establishing demonstration plots all around Serbia to show the farmers in practice how their can improve their resilience. Climate change is a reality and we all need to be prepared.

How do ongoing or potential trade agreements between the EU and other countries impact Serbia's agricultural sector?

As I mentioned, the agriculture sector in Serbia benefitted greatly from the trade agreement with the EU which is the main destination for export of agriculture products from Serbia. Serbia has also greatly benefitted from the implementation of the CEFTA agreement with steady growth of exports of agricultural products within the region.

The EU is one of the most outward-oriented economies in the world. We negotiate trade agreements to strengthen our economy and create jobs. The EU supports and defends industry and business by working to remove trade barriers so that exporters gain fair conditions and access to other markets. We expect all our trade partners to uphold the same principles, and of course that includes also Serbia.

How can Serbia and the EU further strengthen their collaboration in the agricultural sector to promote mutual growth, sustainability, and innovation?

We will certainly continue working on this together. The EU’s participation as the main partner of this year’s international fair of agriculture in Novi Sad is part of that effort. Some of our partners like the BIOSENSE institute that I mentioned, one of the leading institutions in Serbia when it comes to innovation in agriculture, will be there with us.

EU funds to support further development will not only remain available but will substantially increase through our Growth and Reform Facility for the Western Balkans.

EUpravo zato