World Bank approves $50 mln financing of Serbian farmers

The financing will support the government’s efforts to improve agri-food market linkages of targeted beneficiaries through productive investments for eligible small and medium scale producers and strengthening public information systems of the agricultural sector, the World Bank said in a statement earlier this week.

The project will promote the use of agricultural advisory and business development services for producers on small and medium farms who are interested in and eligible for matching rural development to support them in improving efficiency, market entry, easier access to commercial loans, and greater resilience to risks.

"As Serbia seeks to modernise its agriculture sector and to align with the EU acquis, the effectiveness of public spending and service delivery is becoming a critical policy issue. This project aims at helping the government of Serbia in redirecting resources from subsidies towards rural development investments and targeting the small and medium producers of Serbia, especially in the South and Southeast of the country," Stephen Ndegwa, World Bank Country Manager in Serbia, said in the statement.

The project will also support the Serbian agriculture ministry to streamline its open data capabilities through the upgrade and modernization of existing information systems and their integration into an open data platform that will benefit agricultural producers in Serbia and provide access to agroclimatic and market information.

($ = 0.901565 euro)