ZAGREB, 12 Jan (Hina) - In the Q2 2025, the amendment to the Agricultural Land Act is expected to be on the agenda in order facilitate land consolidation, boost production and to usher more transparency in managing state-owned agricultural land.
The announcement of the changes is welcomed by experts and the relevant professional associations that warn about the numerous shortcomings of the current law, which often does not serve the advancement of agriculture.
The issue of managing state-owned agricultural land has been a bone of contention for years, often causing controversy and tensions. It is almost never the case that everyone is satisfied, and there are always those who feel unjustly excluded, pointing fingers at local administrations and accusing them of favoring political or even family connections.
The leader of the Croatian Chamber of Agriculture (HPK), Mladen Jakopović, tells Hina that the Chamber has been requesting the amendment to the Agricultural Land Act for more than two years, as the current law is not functional and is detrimental to domestic production.
The HPK Chamber is calling on the government to make urgent amendments to the law, and if necessary, to halt its implementation through a decree and suspend all tenders until the law is changed.
The HPK believes that the amendments to the law should establish the actual state of agricultural land – both within the system and outside of it, announce tenders for free and neglected land, allow for the extension of contracts for current users whose primary activity is agriculture and who have complied with contracts, and set a maximum number of hectares that can be purchased or leased according to clearly defined categories.
Agricultural analyst Miroslav Kuskunović believes that the new law should prevent a potential "war" among those seeking access to land through dubious tenders.
The analyst says that the focus should be on production, the development of agriculture, and employment, while strict criteria should be used to eliminate "subsidy hunters" and those operating in the black market on state-owned land.
In Croatia, 70% of farmers use less than five hectares of land, while the average farm size in the EU is 17 hectares, says Kuskunović.
According to the economic value of the agricultural farm, Croatia is at 35.3% of the EU average, says Kuskunović, noting that agricultural farms in countries with larger average farm sizes generally achieve significantly higher economic value in terms of production and productivity.
He believes that the current law, adopted in 2018, which leads to further fragmentation of land parcels, should be amended.
Sustainable production units should be established, which would be leased to proven agricultural producers who have successful operations, pay taxes, participate in the agricultural product market, and possess the technology for land cultivation, he said.
HGK says two principles should be boosting productivity and competitiveness
Dragan Kovačević, the vice president of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK) for agriculture and tourism, believes that it is crucial for the Ministry to adhere to two key principles—productivity and competitiveness—when determining tender criteria.
He expects that representatives of the HGK agricultural cluster will be involved in the drafting of the new law or amendments to the existing one, that the legislative process will be transparent, and that the final proposal will undergo public consultation, which was not the case with the last amendments.
Kovačević believes that the very announcement of the change of the law indicates that the current legislation is not in line with the Common Agricultural Policy's Strategic Plan and long-term goals, particularly with respect to increasing productivity and competitiveness, issues that the HGK Agricultural Association has repeatedly raised.
He states that Croatia uses 1.45 million hectares of land for agricultural production, of which 64% is arable land. Approximately one-third, or 300,000 hectares of arable land, is state-owned, managed by local government units.
"Considering that 85% of direct production-related support, financed by the Common Agricultural Policy, is linked to agricultural land, i.e., paid per hectare, and that the management of state-owned agricultural land is one of the key tools for implementing agricultural policy, it is important that the ministry of agriculture adheres to two key principles—productivity and competitiveness—when determining the tender criteria in the new law," Kovačević says.
HUP's proposals
In early December, the Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP) Food Industry and Agriculture Association warned about key factors driving negative trends in agricultural production, including the unfavorable structure of producers and fragmented agricultural landholdings.
The association pointed to several issues, including the average farm size of just seven hectares and the Agricultural Land Act, which continues to fragment production and technological units, thereby reducing the acreage available to farmers. HUP argues that these factors are significantly contributing to the downturn in agricultural performance.
HUP suggests that the use of state-owned agricultural land and applying for lease tenders should be restricted for all agricultural producers who cannot prove legitimate agricultural production on their land, registered in ARKOD (Agricultural Land Registration and Control System) through invoices for the last five years.
They also propose changing the ratio of production and non-production points in order to increase agricultural production, and modifying the provision on maximum land area so that the maximum area is defined in a way that the user can receive up to 100% of the area registered for them in ARKOD.
