Minister of Agriculture Tihomir Jakovina signed today in Berlin at the Green Week fair, the Danube Soy Declaration, which aims to increase the production of GMO free soy in Europe due to increased demand, as announced by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Croatia.
The declaration was proposed by Austria, and the signatories of the declaration are countries from the Danube region, including Croatia and Germany, Austria, Bavaria, Hungary, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia.
The intention of the signatories of the declaration is to increase the production of GMO free soy in Europe, with the goal of raising the level of soybean production from the current 3 percent of arable land in the EU, as stated in the announcement.
The project plans to sow a total of 1.8 million hectares across all countries in the Danube region, thereby reducing the dependence of European animal feed producers on imports.
In Croatia, a pilot project will be conducted at selected locations for interested farmers who will sign contracts with the Danube Soy Association, thus securing a fixed price for the sale of the produced soy.
Current members of the association are Austrian and Swiss companies and oil mills, and the inclusion of other countries along the Danube is expected.
“The signing of the declaration marks Croatia’s contribution to improving soybean production at the European level, as well as the recognition of its own resources and their use in the European context, which can have a positive impact both scientifically and commercially,” said Minister of Agriculture Tihomir Jakovina at the signing of the declaration.
