Serbian Minister of Finance and Economy Mladjan Dinkic and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Goran Knezevic met with Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) Mohammed Saif Al Suwaid and project manager of the fund Rashed Al Kaabi.
The ministers and representatives of the Abu Dhabi Development Fund agreed that the Serbian government should applies for a credit line in the amount of $100 million for infrastructure investment in agriculture, which would significantly increase the production of vegetables, fruit and field crops in Serbia.
Dinkic said after the meeting that it was agreed that the Serbian government immediately submits the request to the fund’s board of directors, which should consider it already in March, and expressed the hope that this credit line will be granted.
The loan would be used for two purposes, i.e., the cleaning of the existing network of irrigation canals and drainage systems and the construction of a new canal network, and also a low-voltage network to the fields in order to enable farmers to use cheaper sources of energy to start the engines used for irrigation and drainage, he said.
The second credit line would be intended for farmers themselves – both individual and companies that are engaged in agriculture, he said.
According to him, these would be long-term loans for the purchase of equipment and machinery, granted for 10 years, with a grace period of three years and a very low interest rate.
Dinkic confirmed that there are plans to carry out irrigation works throughout Serbia, noting that the funds will be for all registered agricultural producers.
He pointed out that this is only the beginning of cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Development Fund, whose representatives announced that if the project is successfully implemented this year, they will continue to financially assist Serbia in the same amount in the upcoming years.
He stressed that the goal is for Serbia to become the breadbasket of Europe, as well as to ensure that local agriculture is no longer dependent on climatic change.
It is important that our farmers finally get inexpensive funds to purchase new equipment and to increase the yield, and this is an opportunity that must not be missed, said the Minister.
Al Suvaidi said that today's visit was the result of a series of successful talks with the representatives of the Serbian government, and added that the topic of discussion was funding several projects, with the greatest attention paid to agriculture.
We are starting cooperation with a loan to farmers for the purchase of irrigation equipment and machinery, he said, adding that this is a great first step in a long-term cooperation with Serbia.
Source: Serbian Government