The State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Danilo Golubovic, stated that the Bill on Stimulation of Agriculture and Rural Development should set up a long-term and predictable agricultural policy which would enable farmers to plan their budget and investments. Golubovic presented the set of stimulations, the requirements for them, manner of allocation and beneficiaries established by the Bill.
Following a long debate in which the Committee members shared their opinions on the Bill, the Committee adopted the Bill on Stimulation of Agriculture and Rural Development, in principle.
The Committee went on to discuss the Bill on the Confirmation of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The representative of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Milena Savic Ivanov, said that plant genetic resources for food and agriculture are part of biodiversity and need to be protected since biodiversity has been experiencing a planet-wide decline.
In the course of the discussion, the Committee members emphasised the importance of biodiversity and adopted the Bill on the Confirmation of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.
At the sitting, Committee Chairman Dusan Petrovic invited the Committee members to take part in the second public hearing on the impact of genetically modified organisms (transgenics) on the environment and health, organised by the Environmental Protection Committee, on 6 February, at the National Assembly.
The sitting was chaired by the Committee Chairman, Dusan Petrovic.