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Zagreb - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković said at a thematic session of the Agriculture Committee on Wednesday that Croatia was going in the right direction with agricultural production.
In the last 10 years total agricultural production has increased by about €1 billion, and in the next few years it is forecast to reach €3.9 billion, Jandroković said.
He noted that some sectors were adversely affected by EU membership, while some benefited from it, becoming globally competitive and showing that Croatia has knowledge and people that can cope with strong international competition.
"Particularly encouraging is the fact that Croatia is above the EU average when it comes to the number of young people engaging in agriculture," Jandroković said at the thematic session, with which the Agriculture Committee marked the 10 years of Croatia's EU membership.
The Committee's chair, Marijana Petir, said: "Although critics will say that the ratio of investment in Croatian agriculture in the last 10 years to actual output is not in balance, the fact is that without money from common agricultural policy it would be very difficult for Croatia to keep its head above the water. In these 10 years €6.84 billion has been invested from various European funds in Croatian agriculture, fisheries, forestry and rural development."
The national strategic plan envisages a considerable increase in the volume of agricultural production to €4 billion by 2030 as the government plans to increase production in the fruit and vegetable growing and pig farming sectors as well as build regional storage and distribution centres.