The president of the Independent Croatian Farmers Association, Mato Mlinarić, stated on Wednesday that the tender from the Rural Development Program for the restructuring, modernization, and increasing the competitiveness of agricultural holdings should be annulled, as family farms (OPG) have been disadvantaged in it.
This refers to the tender for measure 4.1.1. “Restructuring, modernization, and increasing the competitiveness of agricultural holdings.”
We were looking forward to the measures from the Rural Development Program, thinking that family farms would have a great chance of receiving funds, but it turned out that only six people received 580 million kuna, said Mlinarić at a press conference in front of the Ministry of Agriculture.
– We think this is tragic; we suspect that there were malpractices in the Agency for Payments in Agriculture, where the programs were scored and decisions were made. Minister of Agriculture Tihomir Jakovina is obliged to call the State Attorney’s Office and the Chief State Attorney Dinko Cvitan, said Mlinarić.
He believes that family farms have been disadvantaged and called on all disappointed farmers to complain about the decisions they will receive.
The advisor to the Minister of Agriculture, Marko Dražetić, stated that dissatisfied farmers can contact the Ministry of Agriculture in writing, through a complaint or objection, which will review the complaints and make a decision on their acceptance or rejection as soon as possible. He mentioned that some farmers had complained about measure 4.2. “Support for investments in processing, marketing, and/or development of agricultural products,” and that some complaints were accepted and sent for re-scoring.
