The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, Božidar Pankretić, today signed cooperation agreements in Zagreb for the implementation phase of the project ‘Consolidation of Agricultural Land’.
The agreements were signed with representatives of Bjelovar-Bilogora, Zadar, Virovitica-Podravina, and Sisak-Moslavina counties, which will establish four new county offices for agricultural land and four new county commissions as part of the project. As stated by the Ministry, the offices and commissions will carry out part of the preparatory work on a pilot basis, which will in the future fall under the jurisdiction of the Agency. The signing of the agreements is a continuation of the project activities that began in mid-2006 with five pilot projects in Varaždin, Vukovar-Srijem, Zagreb, and Primorje-Gorski Kotar counties. The project is planned to be completed by the end of May next year, and its value is 27 million kuna, of which 13 million is co-financed by the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden.
Minister Pankretić stated that the financial value of the project itself speaks to its importance, and the previous five pilot projects have had commendable results. – These pilot projects are the foundation of our future Agency – said Pankretić, adding that the consolidation of land and its activation for producers is very important for the future of Croatian agriculture. The Deputy Mayor of Zadar County, Džani Bunja, in which the land is the most fragmented among all counties in this pilot project, expressed satisfaction with the response from farmers. However, in relation to the rest of Croatia, land consolidation in this county will not be significant. – Our goal is to consolidate land to at least one hectare within five years – said Bunja. (Edis Felić)
