IPARD 2 programme (Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance in Rural Development 2014-2020) was presented in Knjazevac today.

The presentation was jointly organized by RARIS - Regional development agency eastern Serbia, Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection and the Agency for Development of Knjazevac.

The presentation was attended by more than 80 farmers and agricultural experts from eastern Serbia. Although the realization of IPARD will not start soon, this presentation was a good opportunity for all interested people to get to know the rules and requirements of this Programme in order to timely prepare for its use.

The following participants spoke about IPARD:

• Dragan Mirković, Assistant minister, Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection
• Vladan Jeremić, member of Team Europe and director of RARIS - Regional development agency eastern Serbia

Through IPARD 2 programme around €175 million of grant funds will be available, and the funds will cover, on the average, from 50% to 75% of necessary funds for projects in the value of €6000-€2 million (depending on the purpose).

The main objective of IPARD 2 program is the promotion of agricultural sector with the support to the competitiveness of agricultural produce.

It was announced that the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection would accredit three measures in the forthcoming period:

1. MEASURE: Investments in physical property of farms (milk, meat, fruit and vegetables and other crops – grain, oleaginous plants, sugar beet);
2. MEASURE: Investments in processing and marketing of agricultural produce and fishery products (dairy processing industry, meat processing industry, fruit and vegetables processing)
3. MEASURE: Diversification of farms and development of business operations (development of tourist facilities and services in farmers and other economic subjects located in rural areas and support to the development of tourist and recreational activities, particularly for family and children’s tourism).