He said that their demands were not met and rejected the announcement by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, that the premium for milk will be increased to 15 dinars per liter, and the subsidy per cow to 30,000 dinars.

“Milk producers are furious with the attitude of the state towards that branch of agriculture. The correction of the premium for milk from 10 to 15 dinars is not an increase because it was paid in that amount for several months, so it was reduced at the beginning of this year. Now, if that promise is fulfilled, it would only be returned to the previous amount,” said Trajković, who owns a farm of 330 cattle, of which 160 are dairy cows in the village of Skorenovac near Kovino.

He pointed out that the situation in milk production has never been worse because dairies and trading houses imported huge quantities of milk when in the fall, due to carelessness of the authorities, domestic production was reduced and now there is a surplus of that product on the market.

He added that due to enormous imports, dairies reduced the price of milk to domestic producers from ten to 25 dinars per liter.

Trajković said that “the state has money to pay workers to foreign companies, but there is no money for agriculture alone”.

“Because the government led a bad policy towards agriculture, it should pay for the mistake. It is difficult for us now and we need help to get out of the crisis,” Trajković said.

He said that it is incorrect that the rebate per head is a better measure than the milk premium, as claimed by the Minister of Agriculture, Jelena Tanasković, because it would supposedly prevent dairies from abusing it and reduce the price of milk by that amount, because the state pays this aid through them.

“The milk premium is not the price of milk, but an incentive for the genetic improvement of animal husbandry paid by the state, and dairies cannot abuse it and reduce the price of milk by that amount. In addition, the state could pay that money directly to the producer, and not pay the dairy, and she uses the opportunity for the producer to reduce the price of milk as if they had paid the premium,” Trajković said.

Zoran Milićević, president of the Association of Agricultural Producers of Serbia (SPAS), said that cattle ranchers and other farmers are also dissatisfied, not only have their subsidies not been increased, but also all their debts from previous years have not been paid.

According to him, farmers do not have an adequate interlocutor in Minister Tanasković because she does not know the technology of production in agriculture. He said that, in addition, Tanasković said that she would pay all outstanding debts, and now she claims that she is not responsible for those debts that are from the period before she was appointed to that position.

He said that Minister Tanasković does not understand and that the measure of importing castrated piglets at 125 euros per piece does not contribute to the development of domestic pig farming.

“The bad policy towards agriculture has led to the slaughter of sows and no piglets, and now male castrated piglets are being imported for fattening so that the breed cannot be extended,” Milićević said, adding that this measure further destroys domestic pig breeders. .

The owner of the sheep farm and the old breed of “buša” cows, Dragan Adžić from the village of Šilopaj in the municipality of Gornji Milanovac, believes that it is unacceptable for the state to shorten by one month the deadline for applying for subsidies for sheep that have lambed for the first time and autochthonous breeds of “bush” cows. pig, “mangulica”, “Moravian”, buffalo and other types of livestock.

“Until last year, applications for subsidies for first-time sheep and autochthonous varieties were submitted twice a year, until June and for the second part of the year until January of the following year, and last year the deadline was closed by decree on December 30, and we did not have time to submit the application.” , said Adzic.

He said that on that basis he should have received about two million dinars. Minister Tanasković, as he said, said at one of several recent talks with farmers that the state did not have the money to pay that subsidy, but that they will allegedly be paid this year.