Subcommittee Chairman Milija Miletic emphasized the importance of harvest and related activities for both the producers and end users. He said that the harvest of wheat has started in Vojvodina and central Serbia in June, parallel to the harvest barley in South-East Serbia. So far, 40% of the crops have been harvested, said the Chairman adding that 650,000 ha of wheat and 30,000 ha of barley had been planted this year. He went on to say that the recent rains had been bad for the crops and that he hoped the farmers would still manage to harvest an adequate amount of wheat and barley.

Miletic said that crop insurance is very important because it allows the farmers to recoup expenses in the aftermath of bad weather. Having spoken with insurance of companies he concluded that insurance of 1,500 to 2,000 RSD per ha would be adequate.

Representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management said that the period of rain coincided with the harvest of wheat with unfortunate consequences, but was good for field and vegetable crops.

650,000 ha of wheat was sown in the autumn of 2017 and the yield is expected to be higher than last year – about 3 million tons with around 4,700 kg per ha monthly. The Ministry had allocated considerable funds for anti-hail nets and other protective measures, said the representatives adding that of the 14,000 rockets secured for this year 8,000 had been used to protect wheat, crops and fruit against the elements.

The Subcommittee members were also addressed by the representatives of the Novi Sad Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops. Professor Malesevic said that the bad weather had a bad impact on the last vegetative stages of wheat and on the quality of the crops. He expects that 5 to 6 good days would be needed to complete the harvest.

Finally, Milija Miletic said that the harvest should be followed by an expert analysis, with a special focus on the agricultural support services.

The sitting was chaired by Subcommittee Chairman Milija Miletic, and attended by Subcommittee members and deputy members: Dalibor Radicevic, Zarko Bogatinovic, Nada Lazic and Mladen Lukic.