MINISTER BOGOSAVLJEVIC -BOSKOVIC: THE "FERERO" PROJECT IS RUNNING AS PLANNED

21. January 2015.

Agriculture Minister Snezana Boskovic-Bogosavljević said that implementation of the previously reached agreement with the Italian company "Ferrero" on the production of hazelnuts in Serbia had begun and that everything regarding the project was going off as planned.

“The point at issue is a project by which it is planned to grow hazelnut trees on 10, 000 hectares of land - 40 percent of them would be planted on large plantations and 60 percent of them on individual cooperation farms”, "said the Minister.

“The plan is to first plant hazelnut threes in Vojvodina, and then to grow hazelnut trees for commercial purposes in central and southern Serbia – in the Morava, Kolubara, Nisava, Jablanica and Pcinj districts", said Minister Bogosavljević Boskovic.

According to her, hazelnut trees are currently grown in Serbia on around 1,000 to 1,200 hectares of land, while the production doesn’t meet even the domestic demand for the product, though, as she says, we have very favorable agricultural and meteorological conditions for the cultivation of the nuts.

The Minister pointed out that they had already formed four working groups for the implementation of the said project, which include representatives of "Ferrer", the Ministry of Agriculture, the Institute of Applied Science in Agriculture and the Institute of Fruit-Growing.

Their task is to determine the priority districts, the deadlines and the schedule of presentation of the project, while the Ministry will, by means of its Incentive Rule-book, determine the subsidies for growing hazelnut trees and will also set the additional subsidies to stimulate the production, amounting to 50, 000 dinars per hectare. The implementation of the project is to begin in September.

Source: “Tanjug” News Agency and Coordination Body