The IPARD 3 Program for Serbia has been adopted by the European Commission
The program will operate with a total budget of €288 million, supporting small to medium sized enterprises in Serbia in the current fiscal period until 2027.
The Ministry of Agriculture of Serbia announced that according to the European Commission decision of March 9, the IPARD III program for the Republic of Serbia for 2021-2027, worth €288 million in total, has been adopted.
IPARD (Instrument for Pre-Accession in Rural Development) is an EU financial assistance instrument intended for the aid of individual farmers or SMEs engaged in the primary agricultural production and/or the food processing industry. The goal of the IPARD support is to help EU candidate countries align their agriculture policy with that of the EU, as well as, to improve the agricultural sector of the accession country and make its rural areas more sustainable.
Now entering its third tranche, IPARD III aims to increase the competitiveness of the Serbian agri-food industries, to further its digitalization and to decrease the impact of climate change through adaptation measures. It is furthermore meant to increase the skill level of farmers, facilitate technology transfer and R&D investments.
The program supports investments that relate to the procurement of equipment and machines, the construction and reconstruction of facilities, with the aim of reaching EU standards in the field of hygiene, food safety, animal welfare and environmental protection.
The measures which will be supported by the IPARD III program are the following:
- Measure 1: Investments in physical property of agricultural holdings (farms)
(increase of the efficiency, competitiveness and more sustainable agricultural production in the agri-food sectors: milk, meat, fruit, vegetable, cereal/industrial crops, eggs, viticulture, fishery production);
- Measure 3: Investments in physical property which relate to processing and marketing of agricultural and fishery products
(increase of the competitiveness of the agri-food sector, improvement of the efficiency and sustainability of the food processing industry; providing a better response of the food sector to social demands for healthy food, including safe, nutritious and sustainable food, by investments in physical infrastructure in line with the relevant EU standards);
- Measure 4: Agri-environmental-climate measures and organic production measures
(sustainable management of natural resources and climate change adaptation and mitigation by the application of agricultural production methods compatible with the protection and improvement of the environment, natural resources, including water, air, soil, biodiversity, the landscape and going beyond relevant mandatory standards);
- Measure 5: Implementing local rural development strategies – LEADER approach
(contribution to building the social capital and development of community by engaging a wide range of multi-sectoral private and public partners in the development of the local development strategies contributing to the economic, social, cultural and environmental improvements of local areas);
- Measure 6: Investments in rural public infrastructure
(support to economic, social and territorial development, leading to a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth through the development of physical infrastructure);
- Measure 7: Farm diversification and its business development
(promote economic development in rural areas through diversification of farm activities, forming of small enterprises and job creation in rural areas);
- Measure 9: Technical aid
(support to building-up of the modern public administration for agriculture and rural development in Serbia, respecting good governance principles)
Whereas measures 1, 3, 7 and 9 had already been accredited through the IPARD II program, the IPARD III program envisages the implementation of several new measures specifically focusing on climate and the environment, local development strategies and investments in rural infrastructure, and it will include new sub-sectors.
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