ZAGREB, 18 Oct (Hina) - Croatia's ministry of agriculture recognises the importance of rare horse breeds and will continue to financially assist efforts to preserve autochthonous breeds that belong to the cold bloods group, Minister Josip Dabro told a scientific conference on this topic on Thursday.

According to a press release from the ministry, the annual allocation from the state budget for this purpose is over €4.5 million.

There is a national programme for preserving rare breeds for the period from 2021 to 2025 as well as a strategic plan of the Common Agricultural Policy 2023-2027 that helps these efforts.

Keeping rare breeds contributes also to the preservation of rural areas and is a source of income for local communities, said the ministry.

The fact that the number of horses in Croatia has been rising at a steady annual rate of 4.3% in the last 20 years is encouraging, the ministry says.

The conference was organised in cooperation with the central alliance of Hrvatski Posavac horse breeders (SSHP) and the Croatian Agriculture and Food Agency (HAPIH).