The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, Božidar Pankretić, today approved non-repayable financial grants for the financing of the rural development program in 2008 for the Zagreb County.
A total of 152 contracts worth 18,112,902 kuna have been signed, following the implementation of several types of tenders.
Agricultural farms in Zagreb County have shown great interest in infrastructural investments on their farms through connections to basic infrastructure, which places this County at the very top of the grants awarded by the Ministry. This is the first signing of a contract between the Ministry and a county, followed by other counties. The total value of the rural development model project is 140 million kuna, aimed at retaining the population in rural areas, equalizing the quality of life in rural and urban areas, enabling the return of the population from urban to rural areas, increasing the competitiveness of production, and thereby creating a higher income for agricultural producers.
– It is not a coincidence that we chose Zagreb County for the signing of the contracts first. It is not only because it has the most approved projects, but also because we value the work in this county. People are increasingly leaving the village, and that is why we needed these measures. If we want to strive for a pleasant, useful, and beautiful life in the countryside, we must invest money as well – said Minister Pankretić. The County Prefect of Zagreb County, Stjepan Kožić, thanked the Ministry for these grants, also emphasizing that this County has allocated over 100 million kuna for agriculture in the last five years, of which 50 million is non-repayable. (Edis Felić)
