77 million HRK allocated to the national recovery plan for the digitization of the agricultural sector

ZAGREB, December 8, 2021 – The survival of Croatian agriculture largely depends on digitization, the key to increasing productivity and driving the development of national production, for which HRK 77 million is envisaged for investment, announced on Wednesday a conference on digital agriculture. .

Addressing the conference, Agriculture Minister Marija Vučković said that digital technology has the potential to significantly improve agriculture and that the digital transformation of Croatian agriculture has been included in the National Recovery Plan and resilience (NPOO).

A total of HRK 77 million is earmarked in the NPOO for the digitization of the agricultural sector – the digitization of public services (HRK 14 million), smart agriculture (HRK 50 million) and the launch of the Field project- to-table (HRK 13 million).

Vučković underlined the aging structure of family farms and the need to motivate young people to take over family farms. Digitization can also compensate for labor shortages in some areas, she said.

“We will have the funds, and living in rural communities, with the help of investments in local infrastructure and entrepreneurship, will be such that there will be no gap between the quality of life in rural communities and urban “, underlined Vučković.

State Secretary at the Ministry Zdravko Tušek said digitization will, among other things, help produce high quality food at competitive prices.

Efficient agriculture and its competitiveness depend on digital solutions

The transformation and survival of rural communities depend on digital solutions, which are already providing support and greater efficiency, said Danijel Koletić of the conference organizing committee.

Smart villages are a new concept and there is a need to educate and inform stakeholders so that Croatian agriculture can be more competitive in the future, he added.

Unfortunately, in Croatia there isn’t a single university that offers a course on digital agriculture, he said.

There is a need to educate all stakeholders in rural communities to start familiarizing themselves with digital agriculture, because without it Croatian agriculture cannot be competitive, Koletić added.

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