Takac: Agriculture Ministry Launching Eight Calls Worth €221 million

        Bratislava, 8 June (TASR) - The Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry has announced eight calls totalling €221.23 million under a strategic plan for the agricultural sector, Agriculture Minister Richard Takac (Smer-SD) told a press conference on Monday, adding that the calls are intended for farmers, food producers and foresters.
        Of the total volume, three calls worth €94.98 million are intended for farmers, one call for €54.25 million for food producers, and four calls totalling €72 million for foresters.
        Takac specified that the calls designated for farmers include 'Productive Investments in Agricultural Companies', 'Productive Investments (Young Farmer)', and 'Investments in Reducing Greenhouse Gas and Ammonia Emissions'.
        Food-processing companies can invest in expanding their capacities, while foresters can use the funds to increase the water-retention function of forests, as well as for remediation measures and for improving the practices applied in forest management.
        "By announcing eight calls for the agricultural sector today with a total allocation of over €221 million, we're sending a signal to the sector that we're ready to engage in a dialogue and communicate. I'm pleased that no fundamental objections were raised even within the monitoring committee for the individual calls. I believe that the sector is satisfied with how this was set up," stressed Takac.
        "We're setting up the calls exactly as we said we would when we took over at the ministry. i.e. focusing on special plant production, fruit and vegetables, animal production, supporting processors, while at the same time taking steps to preserve the high quality of our forests and their resiliency to climate change," said Takac, adding that "all of this is reflected in the individual calls that we've presented to the entire sector today".