Subcommittee Chairman Milija Miletic said that animal husbandry is very important for the development of agriculture mentioning that according to 2017 data the number of cattle, sheep, goats and pigs has been steadily falling in the last three decades, on average by around 3%.

Miletic said it was essential to stimulate the development of livestock breeding through subsidies to help the tide turn and start to follow an upward trend. Speaking of the most endangered areas in the south-east of Serbia, Miletic said that, because of very difficult living conditions, young people have been deserting them, making the average farmer there 65 years old. The state should motivate young people to stay in the villages and take over the farms. At the same time he praised the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management subsidy programme adding that it should be applied in the underdeveloped areas. He went on to add that of the around 600,000 cattle farms in Serbia, about 300,000 are working seriously of developing this branch of agriculture.

Zeljko Radosevic, State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, said that the Ministry had issued a public call on 2 July for subsidies for young farmers for physical property, as well as for the purchase of new machines and equipment for the advancement of agricultural production in livestock breeding. The 45-day competition will provide subsidies for young farmers, especially those from the most underdeveloped parts of south-east Serbia.

Radosevic said that the agrarian policy measures have yielded positive results and stopped the negative trends in agriculture, especially livestock breeding. It is essential that the local self-governments help out, especially the local media which should keep the young farmers better informed on the public calls and urge them to apply. He also said that the relevant ministries and the assembly committees dealing with the agrarian policy should propose a higher budgetary allocation for next year to enable the purchase of mechanisation and equipment, as well as for storage and subsidies for young farmers.

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